Sheet metal work to install the fuel tank #2

This weekend I repaired the trunk floor around the fuel tank using the formed sheet metal I made last week.

First of all I made the holes on the formed sheet metal for riveting. I emphasized sturdiness rather than a smarter appearance.

I used steel rivets with 4mm diameter.

Aluminum & steel rivet or stainless rivet was more popular. But to avoid the erosion I looked for the all steel rivet.

I placed the formed sheet metal on the part to be reinforced and made the holes at the same position on body side.

Then, the remained POR-15 tank sealer was painted on the body to be repaired and both sides of the formed sheet metal. POR-15 hardened rigidly after drying, so it would be very effective for both the rust prevention and the reinforcement.

The remaining POR-15 was wrapped in a plastic film to be shielded from the air, but the surface had already begun to harden. But the inside was still soft and usable.

The formed sheet metal painted with the tank sealer was riveted on the body.

As a finish the tank sealer was painted on the rivets and stuffed in the small gap between the formed sheet metal and body.

I guess that its appearance was not very smart, but strong enough.

I also painted some other parts with remained sealer to utilize it as much as possible (it would be completely hardened in next days).

(My original blog was written on 28th Sep. 2008)

Comments

Tip to repair rubber parts

I disassembled the rear axle before. There had been no progress on it because I started the repair of the fuel tank during my summer holiday. While painting the fuel tank , I repaired the torn rubber boot of the parking brake wire. I guessed it didn ’ t cost high because it was small rubber part. But I wanted to try the repair method I read on the magazine article before. This was the condition before the repair. The rubber was torn apart and separated almost. I used this self-adhesive type butyl tape. I pasted lots of small pieces of the butyl tape on the back side of the rubber boot. As time goes by , these tapes would melt and stick together. After this I applied plenty of adhesive “ Super X Black ” on the rubber boot. On the magazine of MOTO MAINTENANCE , I read the article that the motorcycle seat was repaired with this method. So , I wanted to try it. After drying 1 day , it became like this....

Pad spring repair

One of the springs to hold the brake pads was broken. At first I thought to buy it, however, I tried to fix it using rivets. It seemed to be strong enough just to hold pads. Later I removed the rust and cleaned them. Note: I have been using this repaired pad soring for 10 years and there is no issue. Pad spring is not an expensive part ptobably (I don't know the exact price), but it is easy to repair if you have ar1750gtv hand rivetter. (My original blog was written on 10th May 2008 )

Body repair around the fuel tank

I found some rust at the flange in body around the fuel tank as I expected. I believed this level of rust in this area was quite usual for old Alfa Romeo. It seemed that this area didn ’ t influence on the body strength , however , I was considering the method what I could do by myself. Anyway in order to prepare the sheet metal for the repair at first , I started to look for the store where I could buy some sheet metal near my house. I tried to research the store on internet , but I couldn ’ t find appropriate stores. Finally I asked the person at repair shop , who did maintenance of my Renault 5 , about the store I could buy some sheet metal. They kindly taught me the store , but at the same time they gave me some sheet metal for free. That was enough volume for what I wanted to do. I didn ’ t expect it. Thanks a lot!!! (My original blog was written on 12th Sep. 2008 )

The day my "onboro ALFA" would revive

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