wheel horse rust

[JamesC-120 204]

Hello,

I am running into a problem and the hood on my lawn ranger has rusted through ware that ridge is crimped around the bottom of it and I am wondering how I should fix it. It would be great if you could give me some advise. 

[redidbull 54]

Ideally cut out the rusted areas and weld in fresh. If you are not a welder you could pop rivet and a little bondo. Or leave it for "character". Jim

[Old Ways 30]

The way I'd do it is to blast/wire-wheel the edges, and go down the side with the welder set for thin metal.   Just fill it in and grind to perfection.

[sorekiwi 761]

That is a separate edge that was added to the roundhoods in '63.  It is a folded up piece of steel that is slipped over the edge, and does a fine job of trapping water.

 

I don't remember how it was held on from the factory, I'm thinking probably it was spot welded in 3 or 4 places down its length.  I removed mine, cleaned up the edge of the hood itself, and folded up a replacement piece in a sheetmetal brake.  I'm sure you could find a sheetmetal place to do it for you.  I considered gluing my new piece of with some of the panel bond adhesives that they make these days.  That would have the advantage of filling up the seam and denying any room for water to get in.  But in the end I just tack welded the new pieces on the inside of the hood.

 

[AMC RULES 37,125]

With the degree of rust shown...

it's not going to be an easy repair.

[sorekiwi 761]

With the degree of rust shown...

it's not going to be an easy repair.

 

That rolled over lip around the edge does hide a lot of the blemish's, and also stiffens it all back up.  I think I made mine a touch higher than the stock one to cover a little more.

[Martin 2,131]

i am unfamiliar with this model hood, but if its the way mike explains it, i think your best bet would be to do what he did. lightly bead blast the area first to remove the rust and then protect that edge from future decay. then do what he did and add the folded up piece and finish the panel.

 

i thought that was maybe just a folded over edge like on most of the bigger horses, and welding a piece against that edge would take some real skill seeing the amount of rust damage, but since there is an added piece i think you could save it. 

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Without cutting that scale out...    

any attempt at welding there is going to just blow right through. 

[JamesC-120 204]

When I put on a new edge on the bottom, when I bend it to go around the curved part of the hood isn't it going not going to go over the hood because it will close up

Thanks for all the ideas

[AMC RULES 37,125]

I'm hoping it's a repair you document here in the restoration forum.  

[953 nut 54,996]

If you are real good with a mig or tig welder you can "E tank" or beadblast the area and then clamp a copper strip acrost the thin areas. The weld will stick to the steel but not the copper.

 

I like the suggestion sorekiwi made. You will want to clean and paint the area first, then use an automotive seam adhesive to attach the new edge.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[953 nut 54,996]

When I put on a new edge on the bottom, when I bend it to go around the curved part of the hood isn't it going not going to go over the hood because it will close up

Thanks for all the ideas

 

If you put a piece of material (stiff cardboard) the thickness of the hood in the groove and bend it to fit the curve before putting it on, problem solved.

[sorekiwi 761]

I didn't completely close the bend until I had it on the hood.  I bent it to about 175 degrees, and then crimped it tight with a pair of vice grips (squeezing on some cardboard to prevent scarring the metal).  Just close it gradually along its length.

[Tankman 3,518]

The way I'd do it is to blast/wire-wheel the edges, and go down the side with the welder set for thin metal.   Just fill it in and grind to perfection.

Thin metal, clamp a piece of copper behind the part to be welded. We always used flat bar, copper, 'bout 3/8" to 1/2" thick.

Welded 20 ga steel with no problem, no blow holes.

 

Keep a piece of copper flat bar with the welder. You need it for thin metal welding.

[Kegler 68]

What do you restorers think of products like "Krud Kutter" or similar rust prep solutions? Do they wowrk and stop the rust? Any metal prep suggestions beyond sanding or blasting.