Is this factory weld normal

[Moliver]

 

[Pittsburghkid]

Have you owned the car since new, cause that sure doesn't look like a factory weld.

 

[charlief1]

When I did the new frame for my car the welds looked just as crappy. I even found 1 spot where the robotic welder missed 6" of the seam.

 

[Mike T]

I've found exactly what Charlie has. In the body shop we've seen some horrible factory welds and it was not uncommon to miss the seam altogether. Not just the older stuff some of the newer cars have had issues as well.

 

[Nick Micale]

One reason robots replaced the union welders, robots care, welders did not give a damn!

 

[TURBOTIMMER]

Yup, definitely factory welds. Lord knows I've had enough of em stripped down to the frame.

 

[turbo nasty]

Gorilla snot welds

 

[dynoman]

What kind of welders do they use for the frames ?? All of our parts are laser welded and inspected with cameras , but they are so small you need a 1ox magnifier to see the weld .

 

[DarthBuick]

Completely normal. I bought a brand new 1986 Monte Carlo SS and it had 1 inch long welding wire pieces sticking out like a porcupine

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Those frames were not made by GM. [Note the white plastic circle behind the rear wheels.] AIRC, the company manufactured grain handling equipment, and then became "experts" in the automotive industry.

 

[Mike T]

Those frames were not made by GM. [Note the white plastic circle behind the rear wheels.] AIRC, the company manufactured grain handling equipment, and then became "experts" in the automotive industry.

Wow! That seems like quite a leap from grain equipment to frame manufacturer.

 

[novaderrik]

why? it's just metal that gets welded together and a frame on a grain trailer will see more hardcore stresses in normal daily use than a frame under a 9 second GN will ever see at the track..

oem build quality was horrible in the 80's and finding 4" chunks of welding wire stuck to a shitty looking weld that may or may not even be on the seam that it is supposed to be fusing together is perfectly normal.

 

[Mike T]

Strength is one thing but frames need to have very specific crush zones to absorb energy in a crash. I'm sure GM wouldn't have given the contract to just anyone but I would have though that there would have been a more specialized manufacturer out there.

Having a background in frame repair we were constantly on alert for something that could be a liability in a crash so I couldn't imagine letting something out the door with gaps in a seem that was meant to be welded or by the same token making something too stiff that was suppose to collapse.

 

[charlief1]

What kind of welders do they use for the frames ?? All of our parts are laser welded and inspected with cameras , but they are so small you need a 1ox magnifier to see the weld .

The equipment at the time was a basic robotic welding unit. Robotics came in during the 70's and it really hasn't gotten much better since. i worked on a welding line once and we had guys at the end that fixed things that were missed.I'm sure it was done the same way where the frames were made but that doesn't mean they were great welders doing it.

 

[MDavis]

Had my engine out and welds looked the same. One of my wheels sits further back than the other.
Not sure if that's a factory mishap or what, but the welds sure look the same.