seam welding front end

[steveR5GTT]

hello all, ive got the fully seam welded subframe all poly bushed and im goin to do the front end while the engines out, what are the main parts to ensure hav the extra welds, is there any points i should have plates of metal welded over to put more strength into the front end, all in all i only want to do the job once and make sure there is as much strength/stiffness in the front end as i can poss get so any advice and pictures would be great.

also ive seen a few 5s with the bulk head removed, i have thought bout doing this to gain abit of space, is there much strength in this part or would it make no difference in removing it ?

cheers

[steveR5GTT]

Anyone :scratch: ???

[Markey Mark (BD)]

I removed the firewall on my old 5, wasn't hard to do but to be honest i wouldn't be doing it again.

To be honest is there any areas that need seam welding on a 5, i've never really looked into it. If i was then i'd prob go over all the spot welded joins and stitch the panels together.

[Alastair]

hello all, ive got the fully seam welded subframe all poly bushed and im goin to do the front end while the engines out, what are the main parts to ensure hav the extra welds, is there any points i should have plates of metal welded over to put more strength into the front end, all in all i only want to do the job once and make sure there is as much strength/stiffness in the front end as i can poss get so any advice and pictures would be great.

also ive seen a few 5s with the bulk head removed, i have thought bout doing this to gain abit of space, is there much strength in this part or would it make no difference in removing it ?

cheers

Steve, youll get a lot more stiffness by triangulating your cage to the strut tops. B'head panel provides little structural integrity IMO. You could always add a sump guard from decent guage ally to add stiffness. Areas to look at seam welding are:

Chassis legs where they meet the shell, especially where they wrap around the box section.
Cross member front flat plates.
Inner wings where they meet the slam panel.
Sills to jacking points.
:smokin:

[car.crash]

the last subframe i seam welded i did inch on inch off all the way over it. but i would say the most important area would be around where the wishbones bolt in to stiffen them up.

[Jessop]

Agree with alastair.

Be careful when welding box sections also. youll find after seam welding over/around them the underseal / paint behind will just perish and youll have to cover agian otherwise over time it potentially may rot inside out. You can get spray guns with horizontal nozzles though to just drill a small hole and spray inside that way with the special nozzle.

[Os8472]

i had my subframe and engine bay seam welded, made such a difference.

When the bay was stripped before welding I was shocked at how little actually holds its togther and how weak the factory welds are.

Defo get it done around the strut tops, chassis legs, cross member and around the subfrzme mounting points, i had angle plates put in aswell from the chassis legs on the cross member to help keep the front from spreading under load.

I would defo recomend doing it and I'll always do it to any track or road car I'd ever build

[Alastair]

. You can get spray guns with horizontal nozzles though to just drill a small hole and spray inside that way with the special nozzle.


Most new underseal / Shutz guns come with a lance and jet to do this - cost about 15 quid and a tin of shutz is a fiver. Connect to a compressor and job done. :agree:

[steveR5GTT]

cheers for the advice guys, goin to be crackin on with it after the weekend so will take a few pics ect for any1 else if they wish to do the same ;)

[SCHWARTZ]

did this ever get done? Am interested in doing it myself and would like to see where needs welding etc...:D