Cracked IDA can it be welded?

[Phil West]

Hi guys,

One of my IDAs is cracked.  Anyone out there know if it can be welded or brazed.  I think ally tends to melt inside before outside when its welded?

It's a 1cm curved crack round the outside edge of the adjuster grub screw securing the secondary ventury.  (weld only required on the outside of the main carb body, nothing on the inside)

Any help much appreciated, this is a show stopper for the drag season ahead.

Cheers
Phil

[benssp]

two words for you phil, jb weld, marvelous stuff, used it to seal a golf gearbox

[Phil West]

Ta mate - not used it before but I guess it's time to give it a try.....

[Neil Davies]

Make sure it's clean, grease free etc - might be better to use a small engraving tool to open up the crack a little, so the JB weld can penetrate. I used it on an engine case many years ago...

[Phil West]

actually the crack is only noticable when the grub screw is in all the way, it opens up a tiny bit under the pressure.  So I can apply it with it opened up and then remove the screw and it should squidge some of it into the crack itself.

Cheers Neil.  Will we be seeing you out this year?

[richie]

Phil,
 pete has had one welded,worth giving him a call?
cheers richie

[John Rayburn]

 If it can be welded, great!!! If not the JB weld will do it. I ran a set of Webers for many years through the 80's that I repaired that way. The current owner still runs them today , and the stuff is still holding up !

[Neil Davies]

actually the crack is only noticable when the grub screw is in all the way, it opens up a tiny bit under the pressure.  So I can apply it with it opened up and then remove the screw and it should squidge some of it into the crack itself.

Cheers Neil.  Will we be seeing you out this year?

Well... Not on track I don't think.  My brothers car needs some work doing to it, the '70 is still unfinished and the '51 is still unstarted! The '70 was supposed to be done and sold over 12 months ago and money raised was to be spent on the '51, but that was until I found out how much repair work it needed. Now it'll be done when it's done, but it has put me back a while! Although I have got a bit of a plan... If I can raise a bit of cash to have the 1500 'box I've got spare fitted with a superdiff, that could go with the 2007 motor I bought a while back and be put into my brothers bug - it's near enough mine anyway! Then I can at least have a blast in RWYB! The motor ran 12.50's in Headstraight so should be good for low 14's to high 13's in a stock weight car I would think? Don't want to go too fast without a cage though!

[Phil West]

Still together after 20 years?  Man that J-B stuff must really work......not bad value for 6 GBP!

Rich is that Big or Little pete?

[ESH]

No one tests IDAs like Big Pete! And no, JB is not a light weight alternative to bodywork so don't start weighing the stuff.

[Neil Davies]

Don't forget that JB Weld can be tapped as well, so if you get any into the thread it's not that big a problem as long as you can run a tap down the hole!

[Phil West]

actually the crack is only noticable when the grub screw is in all the way, it opens up a tiny bit under the pressure.  So I can apply it with it opened up and then remove the screw and it should squidge some of it into the crack itself.

Cheers Neil.  Will we be seeing you out this year?

Well... Not on track I don't think.  My brothers car needs some work doing to it, the '70 is still unfinished and the '51 is still unstarted! The '70 was supposed to be done and sold over 12 months ago and money raised was to be spent on the '51, but that was until I found out how much repair work it needed. Now it'll be done when it's done, but it has put me back a while! Although I have got a bit of a plan... If I can raise a bit of cash to have the 1500 'box I've got spare fitted with a superdiff, that could go with the 2007 motor I bought a while back and be put into my brothers bug - it's near enough mine anyway! Then I can at least have a blast in RWYB! The motor ran 12.50's in Headstraight so should be good for low 14's to high 13's in a stock weight car I would think? Don't want to go too fast without a cage though!

Such is the dliemma of juggling two cars!  it sounds like there's a combo in there somewhere!  Good luck with it.....

[Phil West]

No one tests IDAs like Big Pete! And no, JB is not a light weight alternative to bodywork so don't start weighing the stuff.

You joke but believe it or not last night I was actually considering the relative weight of the JB material being added on to the carb    got it bad!

[Neil Davies]

We're not going to see a Duncan Goodhew all over hair removal system to drop another couple of pounds are we?

[benssp]

phil takes this before he races



get's rid of precious pounds

[Phil West]

Quavers are the best food to eat before racing.  They weigh almost nothing.

I've just drilled out my ignition key.  Wonder if anyone else has thought to save weight that way?

[Neil Davies]

There was a bloke used to race a Rover V8 powered TR7 back in the 80's who had a false leg, I remember reading that he had a lightweight carbon fibre racing leg that he's swap for his regular prosthetic leg before racing. Now THAT'S extreme!

Phil, come back with the hacksaw!

[Phil West]

I know we have race wheels and tyres, and Russ uses race doors I think, but how cool would race legs be?  Got to be worth a tenth.  I allready have a couple of race teeth - titanium of course.

[Neil Davies]

The big weight saving I'm surprised you haven't gone for is that ragtop! How long before it gets replaced by a Perspex panel a la Lightning Bug and Inch Pincher Too?

[Phil West]

it's in the works....I have looked at the mech but with doing the van I ran out of time.  I may start next winter by taking it all apart and lightening the metal and wood that's in there.  I'll try to get it all weighed to see how much i can save using perspex.  Would look pretty crazy!  Either way the fittings now are very heavy duty, there's a lot of steel bolts in there that do not belong!

[Neil Davies]

I seem to remember reading that No Mercy was a zwitter ragtop (how rare!) but that KS took a fibreglass mould off a regular roof to make a solid roof panel. It would look very smart if you took a mould off the closed ragtop so the replacement panel looked just like stock!

[Phil West]

very cool indeed.  I really like the idea.  The flat perspex does flatten the roof line a bit, I love the stock curves - very sexy.  I want my car to look pear shaped and not size zero!  but I want it to weigh size zero not pear shaped....

Same as my headlamp plastic - moulded from the Hella lenses to keep them curves baby.

You've really sold this on me.  Keith if you're out there I must ask you about how you did yours

Phil

[ESH]

I've just drilled out my ignition key.  Wonder if anyone else has thought to save weight that way?

Not forgetting the race spec dip stick...

The flat perspex does flatten the roof line a bit, I love the stock curves - very sexy.

There's a gold oval now belonging to Ingrid in France that I think has a very good 'fake' ragtop (jr59 or Liou on here would probably know for sure).

 

[Fastbrit]

You've really sold this on me.  Keith if you're out there I must ask you about how you did yours
Phil

Well, I cheated. At the time, Wizard Roadsters was offering a glassfibre Beetle bodyshell, so I got Peter Cheeseman to mould me just the roof section, which I then trimmed to size. MUCH lighter than the steel section I had originally.

And Neil, yes, you're right: it was a sun-roof Zwitter...  )

[Neil Davies]

You've really sold this on me.  Keith if you're out there I must ask you about how you did yours
Phil

Well, I cheated. At the time, Wizard Roadsters was offering a glassfibre Beetle bodyshell, so I got Peter Cheeseman to mould me just the roof section, which I then trimmed to size. MUCH lighter than the steel section I had originally.

And Neil, yes, you're right: it was a sun-roof Zwitter...  )

I think Dave Fisher at Kingfisher Kustoms has the moulds so might be worth giving him a call!

[Phil West]

Hmm not sure if I were to use that mould if I will be able to get it to represent the full length sunroof on my 61?

[Neil Davies]

In that case then Phil, cover the roof in cling film, mix up a load of fibreglass and make a mould!

[Jon]

Place a donor roof in a big power coating oven. Place a big piece of Plexi glass on top of the roof and a tarpaulin that covers it all, but still doesn't reach the floor. In each of the four corners of the tarpaulin you add a weight that pulls down the tarp. Turn on the heat and take out a beautifully curved plexi roof after ten minutes...  Just an idea...

[benssp]

Or you could just go bigger