seam welding front cross members for added strength

[83slimer]

Hi Guy's

Just wanted to throw this out there, would i improve the regidity of the front section of the car, ie motor suspension cross members , by seam welding all the overlap joints?

I'm currently cleaning up all the factory spot welds and thought to myself why dont I just weld all the seams solid? Thought it would maybe keep everything together better and add some strength

Good ? bad ? unnecessary?

 

[72HCODE]

sure if you welded all the lap welds it would make the front end stiffer, its a crazy amount of welding.

some people that track cars weld up all the body spot welds solid.

 

[Hemikiller]

I did some strategic welding on my 71. No idea if it helped, but it made me feel better.

 

[Omie01]

Just make sure to move around while doing this as too much heat in one area could warp and distort things. I thought about this as well, but didn't want to do anything too drastic before I confirmed that the car worked well as is.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Back in the 60's & 70's you could order a Ford car with a special DSO order code and call for "Sealer Delete". They left all the seam sealer out so that you could do what you are talking about. This was done to help support the NASCAR and other racing guys out there. There are probably some areas that would not benefit from the welding but most would. I think all the Shelby R code cars were sealer delete and welded to beef them up by Shelby.

When you spot weld you need to have some space between the weld of they do not weld good the current just goes through the previous weld.

My X wife crashed our 20th. ann mustang and no body shop would put the new radiator support and inner fender panels in using spot welds due to state laws requiring wire welds or MIG. I just got the insurance to give me a check and I went and bought a Miller Spot welder. I cut all the old panels off took to frame shop and got everything pulled back to dimension. Then me and a friend got every clamp and vise grip we had and clamped everything in place and measured it out to the tooling holes. We practiced on a scrap piece to learn how long to hold the trigger and welded it all back up. Well the X crashed it again and it had to go on frame machine again to pull the front end over about 3". I was there watching and waiting for my spot welds to pot but they held and he got it all pulled back. Still have the car.

Some flex in a body is good for long life. Look at the frame and cross members on a heavy truck, tractor trailer. You will not see any welds only rivets or bolts. This allows the frame to twist and flex or it would just stress the welds and start cracks.

David

 

[83slimer]

With our bumpy roads some flex wild be better than a solid bang from a pot hole cracking something, I am putting a few select welds on . Everywhere there is metal spread from rust I spot weld drill the original ones out remove the caked up rust and then flatten each piece out. Then weld back up. I don't want any joined pieces that are straight looking all wavey from rust pockets expanding the metal. Loots of fun work lol

 

[mustang7173]

Definitely look into sub frame connectors. That will add help in making the frame section stronger and you will see a difference in how it drives. Also, most of these mustangs are pretty much street driven anyway, correct?

mustang7173

 

[71fast]

Don't forget the recall

http://www.fordforumsonline.com/recalls/1971/mustang/50496/

 

[83slimer]

Don't forget the recall

http://www.fordforumsonline.com/recalls/1971/mustang/50496/

Which cross member is the recall talking about? the motor one or the strut rod one?

 

[mustang7173]

Wow, did not know about this one. Need to look at my 1971 Fastback soon.

mustang7173

 

[Hemikiller]

Don't forget the recall

http://www.fordforumsonline.com/recalls/1971/mustang/50496/

Which cross member is the recall talking about? the motor one or the strut rod one?

I believe it's the strut rod. My 71 has some "non-stock" welds that predate my ownership...