welding front quarters. please help

[wagoon 2,429]

The wagon I just bought has ALOT of bog shoved in the lower section of the front guards, so much so the car was knocked back for roady on it as it could be seen very easy. So I have cut out the bog and I have spare guards (XF so can't just swap) that I can cut up to repair the sections. What I would like to know is how much of the guard in the first pic do I cut? I have cut the guard where the paint went from the black lower to the solid colour( I have added the 2nd pic just for reference) Do I need to cut out more of the guard? There is no more rust or bog but the steel around the holes quite thin. Is there a spot that is easier to weld than where I have cut the guard? My main concern is shrinkage after welding making the guard to short and not fitting. I will be treating the rust on the support panel as well be fore welding. Cheers Ryan

 

 

[n00bus m@x1mus 465]

I prefer to slice it along the internal fold of the swage line, this makes for a very easy repair as you have reference points on both guards and an easy to bog/sand join. Almost cant get it wrong.

[wagoon 2,429]

Cheers Noobus. Would you weld from the front side or backside? If backside do you cut the support panel or just work around it?

[hendrixhc 10,921]

Id weld from the front carefully. tack in spots and keep it cool to prevent warping.

[n00bus m@x1mus 465]

Id tack in the rear where u can get to it and then little stitches along the front, do 20mm then move to the other end then come back, because u are on a solid crease u will find u will get minimal to zero warping but too much heat will blow it through so keep your pool cool

[gerg 10,871]

I wouldn't stitch weld the panel... Still too much warp for my liking. I like to tack at each end and then the middle, then halfway between each of those tacks, then halfway between those (keeping each tack as far from the last as possible) and keep going until all gaps are filled. Keep a wet rag with you and douse it every few tacks. Invest in a good flapper wheel for your grinder rather than using a grinding wheel. That's all I got for now

[wagoon 2,429]

thank you for the above suggestions. That's the info I needed.