Welding body panels, butt or flange?

The Doge

Well Oiled
Jun 15, 2011
1,075
Allen, TX
Willys Model
  1. Wagon
Willys Year:
  1. 1958
I took a welding class yesterday in preparation for installing some body panels and the instructor had recommended getting a flanging tool and putting a flange on the original piece of body for the replacement panel to sit on. It seems that most of the members builds that I have seen that involved installing new panels that they butted them up to each other. Any thoughts from experienced body guys?
Thanks
Dan
 
A butt joint is best but sometimes flanging will do. I had taken sheet metal forming & welding at a vocational school many moons ago. I had checked out pricing on a refresher course but it is out of my price range at the moment. There are tons of instructional videos on YouTube. I have the equipment but will need to practice a lot before I do anything on the wagon
 
Butt is king, if you have a little hammer welding experience it is even better. The only time I used to flange was when I used a spot welder.

Bruce
 
A flange will hold moisture,which makes rust , which makes more welding.
 
Flange joins will also show through on final paint work on hot days due to different expansion rates.
 
Hi Doge

If you want strength do the over lap method....I use overlap joints (1/4" or less) for my floor patches and I butt weld all the outside patches. The key seems to be small tack welds...I tack weld everything and then fill in between with more tack welds. The more time you have the heat on the panel more chances for warping to occur. My last project was a 1947 CJ2A and it has over 50 patches on it to bring it back to where it used to be.

Oh yeah I dont finish any bodywork, I butt weld, grind the tops off the welds and then shoot some rattle can paint over it. I like old Willys that look their age...I love the patina of an old finish on metal...

My smelly old 2 cents....

MikeC
 
Like Mike says...small tacks then fill in with more small tacks. Be sure to let an area cool before returning to it. I've heard that MIG makes too hard of a weld to hammer...but I can't speak from experience on that.

Bruce
 
I assume that a butt joint is 2 pieces of the metal that just butts up to one another with no overlap ? And
A lap joint laps the metal over each other? So that leaves the flange joint.
So that flange is made with a flange tool that bends the metal to have a Z bend in it, that the replacement piece lies on the Z part and, where the seam is, should be level with each other ?
 
I assume that a butt joint is 2 pieces of the metal that just butts up to one another with no overlap ? And
A lap joint laps the metal over each other? So that leaves the flange joint.
So that flange is made with a flange tool that bends the metal to have a Z bend in it, that the replacement piece lies on the Z part and, where the seam is, should be level with each other ?

You are correct. I have found both hand and air powered devices that will make this flange. Most have a hole punch on the other side to make a hole to allow the welding of the top plate to the bottom via the hole. I think that I may try both the flange and butt for the parts I need to replace. There will be some sections where the backside is inside of the cab and should not be exposed to moisture and then some that will not be protected on the back side.
Dan
 
Butt weld, grind, butt weld, grind, repeat until there are no holes to weld. Moving around the panel to avoid heat buildup/warping. A copper plate on the backside will allow more than a tack weld and prevent blow through, only the warp factor is more of a possible problem.

Gary
 
Butt weld is the way to go so that you can finish the metal properly, not trap water and promote rust, overall a more professional job. I work on high end hot rods and do lots of patch panels. I always butt weld unless the factory overlapped and spot welded. I also use a tig welder to do butt welds and a mig to do plug welds that look like spot welds. Tig welds are softer than mig welds and can be hammered without cracking. Jim Ford (61zep)
 
Back
Top