Technical 1980 Rust Resurrection

[124BC1]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you can get galvanised sheet in the right guage I would use this in areas subject to corosion. It a bit less pleasant to weld but better in the long run. -----------------

Experienced welders will be aware of the following safety advice, but people new to car repairs, welding etc, may not be, so this is for 'newcomers'

I'd urge great caution about using galvanised steel sheet. When welded, dangerous fumes are given off which can be extremely harmful to your health. The usual advice is to grind the zinc (=galvanised) coating from the vicinity of the areas to be welded (which sort of defeats the purpose of using galvanised sheet). Afaik, in industrial settings, air-fed welding helmets and fume extraction equipment must be used for health and safety reasons.

2 additional cautions re. welding.

Be very careful if welding brackets, bolts, nuts etc. on older Fiats that have a yellow finish.
Should this coating be cadmium, the fumes given off when welded can kill you. (i.e. more dangerous than zinc fumes)
Alternatively if this yellow coating is 'yellow zinc', the fumes given off when welded can make you very ill.
A silver finish is likely ordinary zinc plating, the fumes given off when welded can make you very ill.

Many people use 'brake cleaner' spray for degreasing etc. Some even use it for preparation before welding....
If there is any residue remaining - I know it usually evaporates quickly but some can linger for longer in crevices, rust patches, body seams/flanges etc.
The fumes given off when brake cleaner is heated, e.g. by welding nearby, can kill. Don't believe me? , key in 'Heating Brake Cleaner' in a search engine....
I no longer even use this stuff for cleaning inside my 'shop unless I have plenty of ventilation (exposure to it's fumes also cause health problems).

Stay safe!

 

[Twink80]

Experienced welders will be aware of the following safety advice, but people new to car repairs, welding etc, may not be, so this is for 'newcomers'

I'd urge great caution about using galvanised steel sheet. When welded, dangerous fumes are given off which can be extremely harmful to your health. The usual advice is to grind the zinc (=galvanised) coating from the vicinity of the areas to be welded (which sort of defeats the purpose of using galvanised sheet). Afaik, in industrial settings, air-fed welding helmets and fume extraction equipment must be used for health and safety reasons.

2 additional cautions re. welding.

Be very careful if welding brackets, bolts, nuts etc. on older Fiats that have a yellow finish.
Should this coating be cadmium, the fumes given off when welded can kill you. (i.e. more dangerous than zinc fumes)
Alternatively if this yellow coating is 'yellow zinc', the fumes given off when welded can make you very ill.
A silver finish is likely ordinary zinc plating, the fumes given off when welded can make you very ill.

Many people use 'brake cleaner' spray for degreasing etc. Some even use it for preparation before welding....
If there is any residue remaining - I know it usually evaporates quickly but some can linger for longer in crevices, rust patches, body seams/flanges etc.
The fumes given off when brake cleaner is heated, e.g. by welding nearby, can kill. Don't believe me? , key in 'Heating Brake Cleaner' in a search engine....
I no longer even use this stuff for cleaning inside my 'shop unless I have plenty of ventilation (exposure to it's fumes also cause health problems).

Stay safe!

Great advice!
There are lots of hazxards repairing and renovating old cars and plenty of safety implications changing or refitting the parts.
Unless you fully understand the specification and repair / replacement process do the research and build confidence on smaller tasks first. A good workshop manual like Haynes etc is key as this shows most of the key information based on a strip and rebuild. On the plus side you don’t need a laptop and VCDS to fix a Spider!