Car dolly caster disaster

I needed a way to turn the car around in the garage, wheeling it outside wasn't an option as the ground slopes away quickly from the garage and i also wanted to be able to take the subframes off and still move the car around. After surfing around to steal some ideas i built a simple dolly

Frame made from steel racking

Racking welded up to raise to correct height

Casters bolted on

100x50, 4x2's or 2x4's (depending which measuring system you use!) added
to spread load along length of sills

Car lowered onto dolly and oops

After removal, cheap and nasty caster had buckled when trying to swivel around

Serves me right for being a cheapskate and getting the cheapest casters i could find. Rubber casters were a mistake as well as they were difficult to swivel which probably led to the wheels demise. So off to Richmond casters (not Savebarn where i bought the first set) where they pointed me in the right direction with some 125mm nylon casters rated at 200kg each for only a few dollars more - lesson learnt

The good next to the bad and ugly

Taking the weight

Turned 90 degrees, so easy to turn, works perfectly, wheels just off ground

A different perspective

And turned 180 ready to attack the drivers side floor and inner sill

Despite the false start, I'm really happy with the result and will make life so much easier, particularly when the subframes are removed, i would recommend making one, with the proviso that your sills are solid!

Firewall-Inner wing passenger side

Another section finished including a tricky area where the firewall and inner wing flanges join and attach to the 'rifle butt'

Patch for inner wing tacked in
 - notice gap between patch and rear edge of rifle butt

Patch for firewall next

after butt welding in the inner wing patch

Coco Pops box makes good template material!

Patch formed and tacked in

Plug welded to the inner wing flange and plug
 and fillet welded to the rifle butt 

Plug weld from rear to show good penetration

And finally temporary protection with black zinc primer

This completes the front passenger side floor/firewall repairs, i want to do the same repairs to the drivers side now, which means turning the car around - time to build a car dolly - watch this space!!

Passenger floor finished

Progress continues, weld beads are improving so time for more boring progress shots!

Base of A panel removed

To reveal small rust holes

Looking down the sill inner sill looking good

Rust removed and pinholes welded up

Floorpan Tacked

Final patch for passenger side floor

Weld beads looking good, better access allows straight welds!

Welds ground

Cleaned

And protected

I'm happy to leave the welds visible, grinding them down to try to make them invisible risks grinding the already thin (20 gauge) steel even thinner. The floor will be covered with soundproofing on the inside and stonechip on the outside so not an issue cosmetically.

Passenger Firewall Patch

Boring photos of another small patch!

Patch cut to fit tightly

Tacked

Tacks cleaned

Butt welded

Welds ground down with flap disc

And protected with zinc rich paint

Firewall patches

More patches, weld quality is improving, small adjustments to wire speed and voltage help when gaps in the butt weld vary, also getting in a comfortable position with left hand steadying the gun and a good view of the weld pool makes for a nice straight weld - not always possible in the confined space under the dash!

Drivers footwell patches continue

And finished with a piss coat of Zinc primer for temporary protection

Onto the passenger firewall/footwell

Plug welded and tacked

Same patch viewed from the plenum

Slow but steady progress so far, little bites on a regular basis, hoping to have the shell welded up and ready to go to the media blaster in about 6 months - we will see!

First patch welded in

Managed to find some time to start welding in the patches i had cutout. I started with a small patch in the drivers side footwell, this is the process i will use to do the rest of the car.

Area to be welded cleaned first with wax and grease remover then paint removed with a 2" Coarse grade Roloc disc on an angle air die grinder to avoid any removal of steel

Patch positioned and held in place in this case with magnets

Ist Tacks

Tacks nearly complete, notice large gap on untacked edge - not good, patch cutting practise required!

Copper pipe heat sink placed behind gap to help avoid tacks blowing through

Tacking completed

Stitched welded in short sections, not pretty especially along the seam with the large gap, penetration not a problem with 20 gauge!

Welds ground down first with a solid grinding disc, then as i got closer to the panel changed to a flap disc to avoid grinding the parent steel 

And from the other side

Definitely not happy with the look of the welds, practise and more accurate cutting of patches should improve this - onward and upward!!

Welding Cart

As is traditional first welding project was to build a cart, nothing flash but keeps everything together and mobile

Even found a spraycan of red paint

Unfortunately any further welding has been put on hold as a car smashed into the side of my sons 1979 KE35 Corolla causing this -

Time to break out the big hammer!

Damage extends to the inner wing but not the chassis rails or suspension mounts, hopefully we can get it back to a drivable condition so i can get my car back!