Quickly pulling various info together out of the tubular seat rails thread and my Mk1 thread. 1) Start with a wipe of the inner rail area with thinners, to remove grease and reveal the dimples in the metalwork from the spot welds. There are 6 or so spot welds per side (visible on inspection), plus 4 Migd bits, top & bottom, at each end. The front parts need angle grinding, and can be trimmed back with a belt sander later (below). 2) Centre punch, and then start with the spot weld cutter. Careful not to drill for too long, or youll create holes (and may as well be using a normal drill). Frosts spot weld drill recommended - ~ 12 - also sold by LB Restorations as seen at various shows (Beaulieu, NEC Classic). Machine Mart ones are no good do not bother. Pic here, from 16valver: Tips A trick is to start at one end, and hammer a screwdriver down the back, to get tension between the metal parts. Once the spotweld drill gets through the first half, it should ping apart. Due to the stiffness of a seat rail, you cant rely on this though, and need to keep checking. Otherwise youll be MIG-ing up holes afterwards. Also recommend one of these belt sanders, rather than the sledge-hammer/nut angle grinder, except for where necessary. Black & Decker belt sander / power file. Great bits of kit. From B&Q - linky Takes a while to get these out as it is, and patience is needed to avoid hole through the floor/tunnel! Estimate 2-3 hours to carefully remove your first one. End result: Estimated 1.3 kgs/pair. HTH
OK guys, So I ballsed up a bit and made a mess of removing the rail on the exhaust tunnel and went right through. Is this just a single skin or is there more to it? I'm thinking of cutting out a strip and welding in a new piece, prob 1mil thickness. Any help is much appreciated. Andy
Gurds, that was exactly the answer I wanted! I'll tack a strip over and then waxoyl the underside. Can't wait to see this turbo project unfold! Cheers, Andy