Welding questions

[Th1nk]

I was told that re-welding seams on the frame can increase the chassis rigidity i was wondering how much stock was held in this.

If it's true, where in particular should be welded?

Any help is appreciated.

[treekiller]

yes, true and accurate.

Most important is around the suspension pickup points, but anyplace stress is focused in the chassis can benefit. keep in mind what the chassis is and what is non-structural, it's easy to get carried away and waste your time, or worse weld something that can be removed.

be careful a lot of modern cars use adhesives in the seams to act as pseudo welding, which can stink, make it hard to weld, and make you ill in large doses.

all in all a good thing if you have an old tired chassis.

here you go

Four Star Motorsports: Body Seam Welding (http://www.fourstarmotorsports.com/Services/BodySeamWelding/tabid/70/Default.aspx)

British Motor Heritage's 1964 FIA-spec MGB Race Car (http://www.britishv8.org/MG/BritishMotorHeritage-1.htm)

Honda Integra Type R Dc5 Engine Bay Welds Photo (http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/features/0611sccp_opera_performance_honda_rsx/photo_11.html)

[KJ]

The start of any true road race car begins with stripping and stitch welding the unibody after the cage is built. If you try to stitch weld before the cage move around alot and don't try to finish one area too quickly. Weld a few one inch seams and then move to another area of the car. Very time consuming and you should use a mig welder to do this. Using a tig to stitch a car is a pain in the ass, I won't do it again. Also a chassis rotisserie helps alot.

[Th1nk]

Thanks for the info guys.
I'm looking for an s13 shell now and I figured this was the first thing I'd have to do to start my drift project.
I'll look at NOPI ruleset to see how many points my cage needs. And start there.