Less Than Desirable Cage Weld Repair

[jamesjedi]

Found a tub that looks great. However, the cage welds do not look great. Can these welds be repaired without weakening the metal?

Thanks in advance.

[stownsen914]

If the cage is mild steel, it's accepted practice to grind the welds and re-weld.
Note that if the cage happens to be chromoly, you'll get different opinions about how it should be welded. But the above statement should generally still be true.

[jamesjedi]

My first guess would’ve been that the steel on the body would lose some strength. Thank you for the reply. Here is a picture.

[stownsen914]

It's true that grinding on sheet metal is trickier since it's easier to grind through the metal, or blow through it when re-welding. For sheet metal, if I felt the need to grind them, personally I'd probably do a lighter grind, being careful to not grind away the base sheet metal, and then weld.

You might ask a welder's opinion if you can get one. Re-doing all the welds on a semi-tube chassis would be a lot of work. Those welds aren't the prettiest, but see if it would really be necessary.

[jamesjedi]

Thanks for the reply. I did ask a welder, he did not like them.

[dannobee]

Ehh. I've see worse welds kicked out from the Porsche factory.

What's that old welder's line? "A grinder and paint make me the welder I ain't."

But yes, a little die grinder and flapper wheel work, then mig weld some new beads.

[jamesjedi]

Made me laugh! Thank you. Just not sure I could sink money into it.