Help suspension damper mounting rusted

[tranyman]

Help, on the way home today in my mk1 1967 pickup a loud banging sound started from the near side wing. On closer inspection I found the top damper mounting, where it joins the inner wing, a slighghtly raised area with a square mounting socket in the centre, had rusted away completely and the damper was waving around at the top. Is this the kind of repair for a novice mig welder? is there a repair pannel available? if so where from? if not how easy would it be to make a repiar pannel?

Thanks

Chris

[FredTransit]

Welcome tranyman, have to say that sounds a bit serious. I don't weld myself, but if I did I would take that to an expert (ours is unfortunately is nowhere near you, good as he is.) On the other hand, I am sure somebody here will help, I might be being too pessimistic!

[Gunslinger]

its not as horrendous as it sounds, you should use repair panels, and especially if you are a novice, as those panels are some weird shapes.

now for the good news, there was some of these damper mounts on ebay a little while back, and i don't think they sold (i could be wrong) best bet is to look through our ebay section for the auctions (i posted them in there)

then try to contact the ebay member and see if he still has them and will re-list them.

now for the inner wings, these are not quite as bad a shape, but still not "simple", the area behind the mounts is hollow until you get to the inner wing, so you have a little leeway as to the shape of the inner wing, and can play around making the replacement section 2 or 3 times with no detrimental effects.

the hardest part of the job will be removing the old stuff, as you cut it out you will start to think oh crap what have i done ... but once all the crap is cleaned out it will start to look better.

before you start cutting large areas out, try and find some good reference points on your new panels, and the same points on the original, and measure to an area you are not going to touch, do this a couple of times so that when you have finished cutting away, you have a guide as to where the new shock mounting panel should go, also use the other side for reference too.

as for the welding, if you are not sure on your welding, spot weld it and get someone who knows what they are doing to seem weld the rest, i would not recommend only spot welding it, especially if your an amateur

[Luke]

I think i may have had the one off ebay £5 bargain - the other side cost me £25 from Bodicar in sheffield!
These are remanufactured repair panels so there not too difficult to find!!!

I'll flog this picture to death butthis was mine!!! (also a 67 pickup) all done now!!!
Gunslinger has covered most of the details but, tips - fit the shocker in place while tacking the plate on - then remove it to weld it up and i wouldnt worry too much about being millimeter perfect - it doesnt affect the suspention geometry - ie steering or anything like it does in the later models

[baconsdozen]

Handy though to be able to check the tyre tread whilst sitting down.

[tranyman]

Welcome tranyman, have to say that sounds a bit serious. I don't weld myself, but if I did I would take that to an expert (ours is unfortunately is nowhere near you, good as he is.) On the other hand, I am sure somebody here will help, I might be being too pessimistic!

Thanks FredTransit !!

[tranyman]

its not as horrendous as it sounds, you should use repair panels, and especially if you are a novice, as those panels are some weird shapes.

now for the good news, there was some of these damper mounts on ebay a little while back, and i don't think they sold (i could be wrong) best bet is to look through our ebay section for the auctions (i posted them in there)

then try to contact the ebay member and see if he still has them and will re-list them.

now for the inner wings, these are not quite as bad a shape, but still not "simple", the area behind the mounts is hollow until you get to the inner wing, so you have a little leeway as to the shape of the inner wing, and can play around making the replacement section 2 or 3 times with no detrimental effects.

the hardest part of the job will be removing the old stuff, as you cut it out you will start to think oh crap what have i done ... but once all the crap is cleaned out it will start to look better.

before you start cutting large areas out, try and find some good reference points on your new panels, and the same points on the original, and measure to an area you are not going to touch, do this a couple of times so that when you have finished cutting away, you have a guide as to where the new shock mounting panel should go, also use the other side for reference too.

as for the welding, if you are not sure on your welding, spot weld it and get someone who knows what they are doing to seem weld the rest, i would not recommend only spot welding it, especially if your an amateur

Thanks Gunslinger!! Your advice will realy help! I will cut away the rot next weekend then get the repair panel or panels. I will check out the other side at the same time as it is probably in the same state. I will take your advice and find someone who knows what they are doing to actualy do the welding!!

[Gunslinger]

Handy though to be able to check the tyre tread whilst sitting down.

as for fitting the shock first while fitting the panel, wont that try and push the panel up or are you talking about jacking and supporting it on something other than the front axle ? ... i supported mine on the front axle when working under the arch (i kept getting stuck with the wheel still in place !!) luckily i only had a small section of that panel to replace where it had trapped water at the bottom but had to replace 90% of the chassis out rigger, 50% of the floor and 3 inches all the way around the arch to floor joint

another trick is to actually use self tapping screw to screw the panel into place before welding it, then just weld up the holes when your done, this takes a little more time but you'll usually end up with a better finish, you can buy grip pin type things for this purpose, but they dont normally like the heat from the welder too much

[tranyman]

I think i may have had the one off ebay £5 bargain - the other side cost me £25 from Bodicar in sheffield!
These are remanufactured repair panels so there not too difficult to find!!!

I'll flog this picture to death butthis was mine!!! (also a 67 pickup) all done now!!!
Gunslinger has covered most of the details but, tips - fit the shocker in place while tacking the plate on - then remove it to weld it up and i wouldnt worry too much about being millimeter perfect - it doesnt affect the suspention geometry - ie steering or anything like it does in the later models

Thanks Luke! Your photo gave me hope, but mine will probably look as bad once I have cut out all the crap. I have found the number for Bodicar in Sheffield and will ring them tomorow to check they still have them in stock. This will realy help as I think trying to fabricate on would have taken me forever if not imopossible!!

[Gunslinger]

see here

http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6922#6922

[ovlov]

Hi trannyman just a thought Im just down road near Middlesbrough If you want some measurements you welcome to come and measure my mk1 its a twin wheeler but I think tere the same