Has anyone cut out spare tire well...

V

V6UnderPressure

The Artist FKA Scott4DMny
Joined
May 27, 2001
I am doing this and want to have a plate welded in the trunk in place of the spare tire well, I have an idea for my huge trans cooler, not to mention, I wont be using it. What kind of materials would be needed to accomplish this? I would assume a rotozip to cut. What kind of metal plate should I purchase that will weld properly to the trunk floor? And lastly, what type of coating could I use for the plate that looks like the coating of the trunk floor (rubberized?). Any help/tips on this would be appreciated!
 
i did this and that is where my battery box is bolted on top of and my fuel pump is mounted on the bottom with msd vibration mounts. Get 14 gauge steel, tac weld it in place, becarefull not to burn through, you should make the plate a .5 inch over lap all around, once its welded use a silicone or a seam sealer to seal it up real nice. You can use some por-15 and/or some 3M rubberized undercoating. on top and bottom. Have fun
 
If you use a copper backing plate you shouldn't have to worry about burning through the sheet metal. If you do quick spot welds it shouldn't be a problem. Stitch welding isn't that hard.
 
1000MileStylez said:
i did this and that is where my battery box is bolted on top of and my fuel pump is mounted on the bottom with msd vibration mounts. Get 14 gauge steel, tac weld it in place, becarefull not to burn through, you should make the plate a .5 inch over lap all around, once its welded use a silicone or a seam sealer to seal it up real nice. You can use some por-15 and/or some 3M rubberized undercoating. on top and bottom. Have fun
Click to expand...

So is tac welding my only option? I will probably have someone come over and do the welding anyways as its definitely not my forte. I just want to get the hole cut and plate in place to get it ready. I wondered if I cut the opening and then had a plate cut, and drilled and use bolts and locknuts with some sealant to hold the plate in? This way, I wouldnt need to weld. What do you think?
 
If the metal isn't ground paper thin you should have no problems MIG welding the plate in. One way to do it is to plug weld the plate around the the edge where it overlaps the floor and then seamseal the edge. There is no reason to weld the outside edge solid.(especially if you do it this way) You could nut and bolt it in too, like you said. It's your choice.
 
A plug weld, top plate has hole drilled and then clamped onto the lower plate. Then the hole is filled with weld which ties the two together. this way the edge is clean. I would not use a plug weld in this application. Get it cut clean the edges cleaned up of rust, paint, down to clean metal and then spray with a weldable primer. That way when it's welded anything that is covered and not welded will not rust later. Then get your cover plate made and fitted just how you like it. Take the car to a reputible welder (quality is rairly cheap) but you should be able to have it welded for very little. I would have a muffler shop that I deal with do it. Tack it in place and work around the plate with small welds (about 1/4-3/8" long) and move from one side to the other so you let it cool and not warp. Jon
 
Scott, I'll walk down the block with my welder and take care of it for ya if you want, just let me when you're ready or you decide to bolt it I have some thin sheets of aluminuim just laying around
 
i would plug weld a steel plate because the end result looks better if done right with high heat and scatered welding, unless you want to TIG it, then i`d weld the entire outside the same method. either way it will be plenty strong enuff...my opinion. weldable primer makes the weld have porosity and it smells/taste quite fowl once you start welding. and make sure your trunk is off so you dont screw up the sticker on the inside, good luck!
 
BlackBettie6 said:
a bottle of argon/regulator+ ac/dc arc welder+ Tig torch/leads = tig welder
Click to expand...

TIG welder = FUN!

Not to mention you will have "friends" that you never knew you had:biggrin: )



<<DR BOOST why on earth would you cut out the spare tire well....wtf? dont do it numbnut >>

I say........do what ever you want to your car. I had folks tell me not to build a twin turbo deal, too. Glad I did. I also installed my battery in the spare tire well. It have a screw on lid so I can gain access to the battery. There is a picture here: http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/general-turbo-buick-tech/221466-new-twin-turbo-headers.html
 
I am not trying to install a fuel cell or anything like that, but since I will never use the spare tire well, I want to cut it out and use it for other things. Is that so bad? I'm not worried about resale value here as I DRIVE my car. <----NO jokes DR. Boost!!!
 
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