seam welding chassis

[Error404]

As my car is stripped back to bare metal underneath, and naked (or getting there at least ) and i'm getting some weding done to cure my rust issues, i day dreamed over lunch as to whether there might be a good opportunity to seam weld some of the joins in the chassis anywhere it could add strength and improve it from its flopped standard. Things like the turret seams, subframe mounts, chassis rail seams etc.

Anyone know anything about this sort of thing from a chassis perspective?
Which bits might benefit from it, and aside from the amount of time and skill it woud take (I know a friendly pro ) any comments on whether it might be a worthwhile exercise?

Cheers
Alex

[speeding-g60]

it would be decent, but needs done with care. and i would stitch weld it, not fully seam welded if it were mine. the heat can and will warp things really fast. one inch stitches then two inch space, something like that. if you have unlimited time, you can go back and fill the gaps. but do not concentrate too long on one spot.

another word or two on it? they use seam-sealer or some hardcore glue stuff when they build. and there is no way to get that all out from between the panels you want to seam weld. thus making the welds not great. contaminants, porosity, etc. and the metal is really thin. it takes some skill to weld it. trust me... i just am finishing up the 10pt roll cage in mine, and i chose to bolt the floor plates and not weld them as welding them really sucks.

i have read on the use of minimal expansion foam used in rocker panels and sill plates, too. for race cars primarily. it can trap moisture, and promote rust situations on a road going vehicle. and be careful not to use too much of the foam at a time. seen a boot lid or two destroyed that way, trying to cure rattles from loud stereos in the boot

[Error404]

Yup - well after reading up on some sites yesterday, looks like I will try to employ my mate who is a welder by trade to spend a couple days seam weld an inch on then inch off on as much of the turret seams, subframe mounts and floor pan seams as possible while the car is stripped at the back end and underneath can then tackle the front end in a similar fashion when my engine and gearbox come out later in the year
Hopefully it'll make the chassis a bit stiffer without having to put a cage in which IMHO is OTT for a road and occasional track car, and massively dangerous without a helmet on.

Theres no way i am putting any kind of porous foam anywhere near any steel cavities on my car
Rust is the reason i've got this far with stripping the car in the first place!!

[G60Rallye]

You will find that seam welding a VW or Audi is a nightmare! Its very difficult to get the seams clean enough for welding. I stitch welded my Quattro and it was a nightmare, I wont ever bother doing it again!