BXProject

[Vanny]

How feasible is it to replace the front slam panel?

When i first did the TD engine change on the valver i installed the front mount IC from a Xantia, to do it i made room but cutting some chunks out of the car!



basically I call but cut out part 7, both sides. Did stitch in some 3mm plate at the same time mind (with a shitty low power gassless mig), but it has always weighed on my mind that its there screaming for it to all go wrong! wasthinking if i could get a full (new) front slam panel (part 3) which turn up from time to time, then i could weld it back in. I could also do with section 8 as well as its like swiss cheese after 4 different types of radiator going into the 'extra' holes what i made.

I suspect No9 would have to come off, but i'm totally unsure on how best to go about ti to stop the whole thing caving in and then fucking bonnet alignment and every thing else. I appreciate the wings hide (or provide) much of the mis alignment.

so, thoughts?

[Philhod]

3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9 although separate items, are made up into a sub assembly and go into the jig in one piece, when the chassis, or monococ if you prefer,is made.

If you want to do a proper job, cut the complete assembly from a scrapper, leaving approx 40mm
from the ends of the connecting panels...inner wing turn up's and lower panel.

Before removing yours you need a piece of 30mm square tube with 2 pieces of 4mm plate 100x75
welded each end, the whole long enuff to brace the 2 flat bits of inner wing, behind and below the headlights. you can either drill holes and bolt to pos, or temp tack weld.
On yours when you cut, leave a bit of your slam panel assy, about 20mm, so it will overlap when welding in and add strength. Quite a lot actually, enuff to fuck up the crumple zone anyway.
(it won't). leave the brace in till you've welded it up and for fucks sake don't use gasless MIG

[docchevron132]

Erm, thats a tad overkill aint it Phil?

the whole front end is made of cheese, and has all the integrity of a dossier on WMD..

I believe DLM has a complete, new, front panel in stock mate. Or he did a while ago.
If not I could unstitch one from one of the two scrappers, well actually I'll have to do both cos I need a another front end for another BX..

Before now, I've hacked the whole front off, without any bracing at all, by drilling out every spot weld till it fell off, then welded another in. If the arches and wings were level before, and it aint been hit and pulled about there's no reason why it wont just slide together and spot weld up perfect.

But yeah, gasless welding = PHAIL.

[Philhod]

I put that very important word proper, in Doc. If most of what he has is in fact cheese and the front end varies between fubar and new in patches, then it 's usually the best solution.
Depending on what's under the bonnet, you can move the whole thing forward up to 40 mm using the overlap bits I mentioned,
and pack the bonnet catch backwards to suit.

I always use a brace because I do the job with the wheels on the ground. if you remove the thing holding it apart, it does sag, by about 5mm (depending on how much rust there is elsewhere)

It really doesn't take very much longer and if you happen to rear end anybody...it doesn;t move

[Vanny]

The metal work that is there is okay,not rusty, not bubbly, just missing the odd chunk or two! Which worries me!

On the DLM front, if you can negotiate a price and collection thats great, dont expect you to and i doubt i'll bother as i find DLM difficult to arrange stuff with (wonder if he still has that box of AX parts, i hope not by now!).

[Philhod]

If it's ok yes, just weld the bitz in, but you did say it was...err cheese which is not very strong and doesn't weld too well either...... unless of course you can find some really strong cheddar

Don't just fuse weld the seam edges, drill some 6mm holes in one side, in from the edge, at random and window weld them, This will give a lot more strength even using cheddar

[Bx Bandit]

If you get stuck for the bits for any reason Vanny then you can have the front bit of me TGD!

[Vanny]

Will only be fitting a new one though, not worth the hassle otherwise, can soon weld up the existing 'gaps i guess. Might take a grinder up the farm next time i'm there and if its still there i can cut chunks from the old scrap valver.

[docchevron132]

Phil, this is Vanny ate, Proper and scouser are wrds that do not under any circumstances go in the same sentence!

I'll gladly ask DLM mate, I get on very well with him, so if he's still got it cant see it being a problem for peanuts.
Although it was 2 or 3 years back he mentioned it...

[Philhod]

Yeah I thought it was perhaps a little presumptuous Doc

Bandit. If you are making one up mate, the bit I was rambling on about to Vanny is quite important.
Where you have welding runs to do that are not attached to anything solid.
You need to stiffen your assembly by tacking some temporary stiffeners, made from square tube or
angle, in judicious positions. Once you've welded it up and it's cooled, just take em out and all should stay where you put it

[Bx Bandit]

/\ Well, I offered the front off my TGD but apparently it's not good enough!

Now I thought that the welding (upon cooling) would set up the stresses anyway and so by removing any bracing, any structure will 'ping' back as though the bracing wasn't there in the 1st place (all be it not as much)

[Philhod]

No. quite the opposite happens Bandit. While it is "held", the thing heats up, can't go anywhere, then cools off in that position and "sets".

This works on thin stuff best, because the ratio of heat produced relative to the thickness of material
is greater. But we still use the same process right up to say a frame made from 250 x 100 with a gap to stiffen of say 15000 across. The stiffeners for something like that would be made from 150x 75
channel iron made and stitch welded into a box beam, with plates measuring 200x350 x40 thk,.slotted into the beam and welded to the frame.

They wouldn't go to all that trouble and expense if it didn't work

[Fish_Botherer]

I believe DLM has a complete, new, front panel in stock mate. Or he did a while ago.
If not I could unstitch one from one of the two scrappers, well actually I'll have to do both cos I need a another front end for another BX..

Just came across this , erm....rephrase that , found this while looking around BXP to see what folk've been up to. No longer have the panel. Unlike most of my parts, knew exactly where it was (Tom's shed) but Tom sold it to Adamski on my behalf yonks ago with other stuff to repair the ivory 19GT after he'd given it the frontal treatment (just before I was about to buy it).

Funny, was just thinking today who owns that car now... Ironic to say the least, given that I saved the panel just before it was about be skipped along with other perfectly good BX and Xantia stuff, by a CCC-recommended outfit nearby. They'd failed to sell it at a CCC jolly where the good and great (harrumph) had declined to purchase anything so vulgar as BX body parts.

[docchevron132]

Ho hum!
One will turn up I'm sure!
I wonder where that panel went then?
Since Tim just hit the old panela bit witha toffee hammer and polished it all, after fitting the fog lights or something.
No new panel ever went on that car.

[Vanny]

There have been a few pieces on the bay of E but i've never been to worried about it, but now i think i should. Bah, anyways, it seems like DLM and i might have a cunning plan, involving the farm Docco, in May, second week, book some time off and i'll help you hit stuff with hammers!

[docchevron132]

Erm, I have no more time off mate!
It's all gone...
I have weekends off, but I'm doing, er, something with JonKW and a 16v on the 7th ish of may, but should be up the farm the weekend after, I think.
What we hitting with hammers then?

[Bx Bandit]

What we hitting with hammers then?

Knuckles thumbs and creme eggs! Experiment: calculate the energy absorbed by a creme egg during a high speed impact. If sufficiently high, remove slam panel and fill with creme eggs! Jobbed!

[Fish_Botherer]

No new panel ever went on that car.

So - not the first time I've mused wrongly, nor the last, I'm sure.

There was a doorskin and hatchback rear valance too in that lot. Anyone heard from Adamski lately, or know where he is?

[docchevron132]

I think he's still on David's forum?
Although I think he has a BX again now and lives in Bath or some such?

[Fish_Botherer]

Barf barf barf...well well well.

Several people I know or am related to seem to have decided that's a good idea (Bath, not barfing). Expensive, though. Last spoke to Adamski when at my brother's houswarming party 18mths+ ago, when he rang me for a reason I couldn't quite fathom at the time, or afterwards. Perhaps that had something to do with the party.