Mopar Muscle – October 2019

TECH | RECONSTRUCTED LIPS

SOURCES

AUTO METAL DIRECT

866-591-8309

AUTOMETALDIRECT.COM

MUSCLE CAR RESTORATIONS

715-834-2223

MUSCLECARRESTORATIONS.COM

With the welding finished, the welds will need to be ground

flush. While it’s mostly impossible to completely avoid touch-

ing either panel, it’s critical that only weld material be

removed to avoid thinning or grinding through on either side.

Once the welds are

ground flush, the panel

is coated with a good

rust-preventative, except

for the lip where the quar-

ter will be spot-welded to

the wheelhouse. That gets

sprayed with Copperweld

Weld-Through primer to

protect this interior seam

from rust in the future.

As the cut is being made, tack welds are placed about every

inch. A small screwdriver is positioned into the gap to manip-

ulate the two parts so they are perfectly level with one another

as the tack welds are applied.

The gaps in between the first set of tack welds can then be

filled in by up to five or six quick tack welds. If the gap needs

more than that, place another tack in the middle between two

welds and come back and tack-weld the now-smaller gaps

with a quick series of tack welds. Air-quench after each

series of welds.

Don’t even think about running a short bead weld anywhere

on the seam. The entire welding process is nothing but a

series of tack welds that end up being tack-welded together.

This eliminates any chance of heat-warping the panels.

22 moparmuscle.com