savor Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) Hi guys. I have started the process of stitch welding all the seams of my 280z and ran into a issue. How do I prep the crevice between the rockers and the floors for welding? It seems to narrow for my wire brush, on my grinder, to get the paint off. Hell, do I even have to reinforce this area? Edited March 16, 2014 by savor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I'm surprised this is the first you have dealt with this issue. Good luck , I haven't read many success stories of welding with this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) I used a knotted wire wheel first, then dug the rest of it out with a pick. Worse is the arch over the wheel wells, BTW. If I had it to do over again I'd lay a piece of sheet over the joint and weld that. In the wheel well there are 3 or 4 layers, and getting them all clean enough to make a decent weld is a real PITA. Edited March 17, 2014 by JMortensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) It looks like that joint has a spot weld every inch and a butt-load of sealer to get out. I wouldn't bother welding that section (the pain to benefit ratio does not support the required effort). Since you have a 280z, I would really pick and chose where to stitch weld if at all. The 280z is like a 1,000 times sturdier than a 240z with lots more spots, whereas the 240z has lots of edge welding from the factory with large spaces between welds (the metal at the edge of the weld fatigues and breaks away from the weld), especially in the trans tunnel at the rear of the tunnel and at the firewall. But honestly, the pros would know better than I do; I'm only reflecting what I have seen personally. Edited March 17, 2014 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morbias Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If you decide to do it, it would be better to weld the seam between inner rocker and floor underneath the car, otherwise the stitch welds would be redundant as the spot welds would take the stress first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savor Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) I guess I got to the easier stuff first; I already welded the laps at the firewall/floor and at the rear of the transmission tunnel (behind the seats). I will definitely heed your advice and weld between the rocker and the floor, underneath the car. It's pretty relieving to hear that I can have choices on where I want to stitch weld. What I've been reading is that I should be aiming to weld every seam/lap in a S30. So in that case, are there particular areas that needs more attention than others for a 280z chassis? It would be especially nice to hear that I can ignore the wheel wells Edited March 19, 2014 by savor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Please keep coming with as many pictures as you can that deal with the floor pans. We can never have to many pics on this repair. I know there are many, including myself, who will tackle this same issue. The more pics, I think, the better.... Thanks - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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