Our old F250 was a fire truck. There are five holes in the roof for a light bar. The largest is probably 1/2 the size of a dime. Short of having a welder and actual skills, and leaving the JB in the cabinet. Is there a way to weld the holes closed?
Our old F250 was a fire truck. There are five holes in the roof for a light bar. The largest is probably 1/2 the size of a dime. Short of having a welder and actual skills, and leaving the JB in the cabinet. Is there a way to weld the holes closed?
3 batteries, jumper cables to connect them and a stick welding rod.
LOL - my buddy bought this in the late 70's. You burned pellets and gas? It never worked right for him.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
So much better in Spanish!
In reply to MrChaos :
Nothing like making sparks while generating hydrogen...
I don't have a proper answer, but I have two thoughts:
MAPP (or whatever the replacement is) gas torch and silver solder a disc to fit the hole and a backing plate to give it some surface area up there?
Same idea, but with modern automotive structural adhesive?
With the holes half the size of a dime, I'm imagining a backing disc the size of a quarter, with a piece the size of the hole on top to take up the bulk of bringing it up to flush. The larger plate takes care of adhesion to the body, the smaller one means you don't have the volume of the hole in filler...
I don't like either of these ideas half as well as welding in a patch.
Rent a welder. Sunbelt carries them.
Just stick some windshield butyl in the holes and call it good.
Solder
3M Panel bond if you are worried about distortion
Look around on the GRM list? Is someone near you with a welder? I'd be happy to top 'em off for someone in my area..
But yeah, if the back of it will be hidden behind a headliner or something, I'd use a a piece of aluminum glued into place with some liquid nails (or Silaprene body adhesive if you're feeling fancy), then just fill it in with some putty. I did that for the wing holes on the rear deck of the beater miata because it was faster than breaking out the welder and less likely to distort the thin sheet metal.
Why not use a little RTV and some snap-in hole plugs?
You can see how we filled in some extra holes in the firewall of the F2
Datsun310Guy said:LOL - my buddy bought this in the late 70's. You burned pellets and gas? It never worked right for him.
Wow I had one of those. It sucked. Wouldn't cut E36 M3, and you would have better luck with Elmers glue trying to weld with it. Nobody sold the pellets for it after a couple of months. Guess they were smarter than I was.
You'll warp the roof with most welding solutions.
Use panel bond or a lower temp brazed solution.
I mean some 3D printed (in ABS or PETG) plugs and epoxy would work too.
Whichever solution works, cover with filler, primer and paint or wrap with vinyl, put the headliner in place and mosy on down the road.
I would use a piece of sheet steel on the underside held on with panel bond, then a skim of bondo over the hole.
In reply to Stefan (Forum Supporter) :
Vinyl is a good idea, why not just vinyl the whole roof?
Or put some stickers over the holes?
The roof in these trucks is a double layer, you can't easily get to the backside of the outer skin without mangling the inner skin.
How about heavy duty aluminum tape over the holes, then filler/paint or vinyl on top?
I would recommend a plug used for ex-service vehicles, something like https://nenno-products.com/product-info/PVALHP-PVASHP
In reply to Stefan (Forum Supporter) :
Right on. That sounds like the best solution. The metal is pretty thin indeed on the roof. Thank you!
Not what you asked, but I bought stainless bolts, washers, and rubber gaskets to solve a similar problem.(edit, maybe not too clear, filling holes from an aborted luggage rack.)
If you can't hide it, flaunt it.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :I think I have one of those in my garage!
Lots of easy options. How good does it need to look is the question.
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) said:Not what you asked, but I bought stainless bolts, washers, and rubber gaskets to solve a similar problem.(edit, maybe not too clear, filling holes from an aborted luggage rack.)
If you can't hide it, flaunt it.
Perhaps the origin of this car?
As for the hydrogen thing, AIUI lead-acid batteries release hydrogen when charging, not when discharging.
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