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Old 06-20-2017, 02:19 AM
Kip Kip is offline
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Default Factory Ferrari 308 weld

Hi guys and girls,

I'm doing some work on a Ferrari 308 at the moment and I came across this today. The length of the front fenders has an oxy weld. I was cutting out a rust patch at the front of the fender and the vibration of my air saw created a split about an inch long up the factory weld.

I stripped the deadener off the back of the panel and saw what in my maybe limited opinion. Looks like a weld with not enough penetration? I can see where it has been tacked but can still distinctly see the two panels. The outside is all metal finished and looks fine but I just wonder how much it is holding on by.

My boss says it's been like that the past 30 years so just weld the 1 inch split.
Should I be running another pass of oxy along it? And if so should I go from the backside or mark it out on the top side and weld from the top?
The rust patch is finished and I just mig welded that in so I guess there isn't mush of a start point for the join to vibrate and split from
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What do you guys think?
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Old 06-20-2017, 06:36 AM
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neilb neilb is offline
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i can only tell you what i tell the younger guys i see doing this trade, your job is about personal pride, if it comes back it's then your fault because you worked on it last
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Old 06-20-2017, 07:00 AM
Kip Kip is offline
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So I'm guessing you agree that the weld really hasn't penetrated enough?
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Old 06-20-2017, 07:46 AM
kiwi john kiwi john is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neilb View Post
i can only tell you what i tell the younger guys i see doing this trade, your job is about personal pride, if it comes back it's then your fault because you worked on it last
Dr Neil has spoken
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Old 06-20-2017, 12:39 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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For that type of work it is pretty normal - full penetration here and there.
A more confident welder will make his welds more penetration - consistent, but edges will be left here and there on production work, much of the time. Earlier eras had more skilled craftsmen - the 308 came late in the game.

Sanding coatings off of aluminum sheet is not the preferred method, as it diminishes sheet thickness quickly .... urk!
And thin aluminum of varying thickness is Very difficult to weld ... and also to planish.
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Old 06-20-2017, 01:35 PM
mechaniker mechaniker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crystallographic View Post
For that type of work it is pretty normal - full penetration here and there.
A more confident welder will make his welds more penetration - consistent, but edges will be left here and there on production work, much of the time. Earlier eras had more skilled craftsmen - the 308 came late in the game.

Sanding coatings off of aluminum sheet is not the preferred method, as it diminishes sheet thickness quickly .... urk!
And thin aluminum of varying thickness is Very difficult to weld ... and also to planish.
I´m not a great panel beater, but have some experiences with "Horsed Cars".

Sorry, but no Aluminium here Its a steel body on all 308s besides the 1976 and 1977 build "Vetroresina" cars build.

I would only weld the split plus a little bit more, as the Ferrari Owners (normally) would like to keep as much original as possible. But thats only my (absolutely unimportant) opinion
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Old 06-21-2017, 01:01 PM
Rick Mullin Rick Mullin is offline
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I have worked on literally hundreds of 308s and 328s over the years (customer cars and FNA directly). I can honestly say that you are encountering the norm. About 50% of the welds were done well. The front ends on the 328s were built differently and were electrically welded. Not that much better than the 308s. I would be careful re-welding the rest of the seam. The panels were filed and ground rather aggressively at times. It could be very thin. As you get back toward the windshield, it is all lead finished. I would consider TIG welding rather the OA torch as you may have a bit more control over the heat.

Hope that is of help.
Rick
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