Need help with lock post replacement

sfoster13 · 11-09-2009, 12:58 PM

I can't find any spot welds on the lip of the quarter panel. I cut a piece of the quarter off to do some repairs and see them on the backside, but not the front - even after quite a bit of grinding. Tried using a torch as well in case of lead but no luck.

I'm not crazy, right? You have to drill out the spot welds to get the lock post panel off.

I found this image from someone's repair:

sfoster13 · 11-10-2009, 02:05 AM

bump

sc_rufctr · 11-10-2009, 02:14 AM

That looks difficult...

You could trim the Kidney bowel so that only a small strip is still in place and then gently pry it away until you can see the spot welds as the metal separates.

Mike O'Meara · Mike O'Meara's Garage

Yes, there are definitely spot welds, and they do get drilled out from the outside as per your pics of another lockpost repair in progress. They are sometimes hard to see, what with any lead and dressing that was done at the factory, but they are there! If you can work a suitable thin separator between the panels as you work around the seam, it will stop at each spot weld and help locate where each one is. HTH

sfoster13 · 11-10-2009, 07:46 AM

good idea on the separator - thanks

Mike O'Meara · Mike O'Meara's Garage

Here's another look at drilled-out lockpost spot welds

sfoster13 · 11-10-2009, 08:06 AM

thanks mike that's great. how are you planning on smoothing out the lip on the quarter? Just hammer and dolly then filler?

robmog · 11-10-2009, 09:01 AM

sean,
in your picture i can see 4 spot welds.
sometimes side lighting will help.
you can gently pry open the joint with a screwdriver, that'll help alot.
remember you will use those holes to plug weld in the replacement lock post
so try to avoid the edge. later you'll grind the plug welds down, then finish with filler.
also next time try a wire brush instead of a grinding wheel. it shows them better.

Jagshund · 11-10-2009, 09:34 AM

I had the same problem finding the welds on the RH 993 quarter I'm using on my project. I found it was best to hand sand off the coating front and back and used a DeWalt pilot-tip bit to drill through the welds. The LH piece was removed from the donor car so well that I left it on to reuse (the new pieces I purchased are the same as the ones on the 993).

Patience'll save you some $$$

sfoster13 · 11-10-2009, 09:53 AM

Thanks guys

sfoster13 · 01-09-2010, 06:35 AM

update - in case some of you find yourself in a similar situation. through some investigating I've found that the factory used various methods for spot welding this area. one method was a spot welder with a copper plate on the exterior side and a spot weld tip on the other so as to avoid an indent on the exterior portion. that is why they can be very hard/impossible to see on the exterior flange. In other situations they used a standard two tip spot welder and lead to smooth the indents.