Tip for making small panel patches

[scherp69]

I know there are lots of great fabricators and body guys on this site, none of which would ever need any advice from a guy like me, but I thought I would share a tip a discovered today,all because I was lazy the other day.

This is for anyone who had a hole in a panel that they needed to fill in with more sheet metal. I'm sure a lot of us have sat there cutting and testing, cutting and testing until finally the filler piece is the right size. Sometimes it may take several attempts, but eventually we make it. Today I was doing some more work on smoothing my firewall now that I now I will be using a drive by wire throttle. I cut out the area I wanted to smooth and started looking at the hole I had to fill trying to figure out the best way to make a template. I happened to look over on the floor and saw a roll of masking tape that I was too lazy to pick up the other day and it gave me this idea.

I thought of taking pics after I had the tape on, but you'll get the point.

The area I wanted to fill in was the pedal holes to the left of the steering column hole.



Once you have the hole cut, cover the entire hole with masking tape.



I used an exacto knife to cut along the sides of the hole



I then stuck the newly cut piece of tape to some sheet metal giving me my template



If you cut it along the side of the tape, it will be the about the same size of the hole. Since I wanted to butt weld it, I cut a little smaller than the tape



Take the tape off and you have your patch



Tack it into place. The nice thing about trimming a bit smaller than the tape was it left me nice gap to fill in with weld



Finish your welding



And finally after some clean up

[oestek]

That is a good trick. Saves time over cutting a piece of cardboard, trimming it, transferring the design to steel, trimming it, seeing that it doesn't fit, trimming more, then getting it right.

[dhutton]

That is a great tip. Thanks.

[Damn True]

You know those moments in life when you see something and think, "geez I am such a spaz, why didn't I think of that?". I'm having one of those right now.

Great idea man.

Sticky material.

[Bjkadron]

Looks good! great idea!

[parsonsj]

I've done this myself, and it is a good way to transfer a "void" to a piece of sheetmetal. Nice writeup.

One comment about putting a gap in the patch panel. You're right that it makes getting full penetration welding a lot easier, but it also puts stress on the patch and surrounding sheetmetal. When the weld is applied, the metal in the joint is liquid. As the joint solidifies, it shrinks, and pulls the metal edges closer together. In a firewall, it won't matter, but on exterior sheetmetal it will cause warping.

jp

[Damn True]

So when filling for instance, a side marker light, you'd want the tightest fit possible between the patch panel and the fender?

[parsonsj]

So when filling for instance, a side marker light, you'd want the tightest fit possible between the patch panel and the fender?

Exactly. The welding is harder, since more heat is needed to get full penetration, which means you need to take more time when welding. Watch and make sure the metal edges stay lined up, take your time, and work in a methodical way. It will make a big difference in the amount of distortion you induce.

jp

[67SS]

What a easy solution...i trim, fitup, and trim some more. Great idea!

[Gearhead Dude]

That's a great idea! Thanks for the tip.

[gearbanger]

Man, this is the best tip I have gotten in a long time. It came at the most opportune time too! I have been patching all the holes in my firewall for a smoother look, like the old electrical bulkhead, and the grommet holes and so forth. This tip works far better than any other way you could do it.

Thanks for the tip scherp69 and thanks Pro-Touring.com!

[Jim Nilsen]

Don't forget to buy one of those welding magnets with all of the angles on it. You use the magnet to hold the piece flush while you tack it in. These things are priceless and come in many sizes.

[camaro2nv]

Dont forget these bad boys!
http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-pa...-set-of-4.html

[Greg from Aus]

Dont forget these bad boys!
http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-pa...-set-of-4.html

Awsome little tool I use them all the time.

Greg

[BigBlockOlds]

Dont forget these bad boys!
http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-pa...-set-of-4.html

I have set of those and they work really well. Bought them from Eastwood. However, after seeing that my local Harbor Freight sells the same dumb things for $5 I'll never spend the ridiculous $30 that Eastwood wants for them. Especially when you get 8 instead of just 4.

[67 ls1 vert]

Harbor Freight Eastwood.

exactly

[John Wright]

I have set of those and they work really well. Bought them from Eastwood. However, after seeing that my local Harbor Freight sells the same dumb things for $5 I'll never spend the ridiculous $30 that Eastwood wants for them. Especially when you get 8 instead of just 4.

Do you happen to know what the HB product number is or what name Harbor Freight gives these doodads....didn't see them on their site while searching

[BigBlockOlds]

I haven't been able to find them on their website either. I just happened to see they carry them in their retail store once when I was in there.

[bigblockcamino]

I have lots of panels like this can you come do em for me .... ;)

[67 ls1 vert]

Do you happen to know what the HB product number is or what name Harbor Freight gives these doodads....didn't see them on their site while searching

I was just at HF the other day and I seen them in the welding section. Plenty in stock.