Elise chassis repair / aluminium welding? Advice needed..

[Corranga]

So my mini-rebuild has come to the point where I'm starting to screw it back together, or so I thought..

I started with the front drivers side as it's the easiest to access. The upper wishbone wasn't keen to slot in as I'd expect, and upon closer inspection it looks like the mount hole has bent / is barely holding on now due to corrosion..

I guess I didn't notice it when removing parts as I was concentrating on getting the bits off, and looking at the corrosion under the damper bracket..

Anyway, a couple of photos. I put a red lid behind so you can see the red through.

From the inside where the wishbone should be.
DSC_0430 by corranga, on Flickr

and the outside..
DSC_0431 by corranga, on Flickr

Wide shot..
DSC_0432 by corranga, on Flickr

Any advice on how this can be repaired, or who might be able to repair it in Dundee / Scotland?

Presuming that a mobile aluminium fabricator / welder can't be found, any advice on how to move an Elise with 3 wheels...?

I'm off to look at the other side and see if that should be 2 wheels



Chris

[BiggestNizzy]

Can you remove the bush and bond in a larger repair bush? You would probably need to get them made.

[woody]

IIRC Craig at MMC repaierd/had someone repair N1 Tut?

I'm sure I've recently seen a repair where the rotten material was cut-out & a sleeve was welded in place.

[woody]

Can you remove the bush and bond in a larger repair bush? You would probably need to get them made.

Not sure bonding is DIY or doable outwith a specialist environment, i.e. I'd be confident about coming up with a solution at work where we can etch & use controlled heat sources.

[foz01]

Yeah Murray can weld, other option is putting in a whole new box section as such.

Prices are not as alarming as you might expect either

[Corranga]

Thanks, that's reassuring. I've dropped Craig an email as I couldn't get an answer on the phone, will try again tomorrow.

Chris

[haggis catcher]

Was that chap Cammy from Dundee not a welder ?

[robin]

Craig is off sick so he may not be getting back to emails/voicemails in his normal stylee ...

That top mount is knackered, but clearly it will hold well enough to bolt the wishbone back on - so you can get it on 4 wheels and thus transported easily from where it is to wherever you get it repaired.

Cheers,
Robin

[Corranga]

Thanks Robin, I guess it should hold together enough to get it back together, it was god enough to take me up to Tomintoul etc. a few times last year and couldn't have got that worse that quickly
It looks as if the other side is more load bearing anywa.

I've updated my build thread in Technical, so am repeating myself a little, but in summary here, on closer inspection, the wishbone is also bent, so I can't get the wishbone back on the car anyway, so I'm off to do some wishbone shopping now

It never rains...

Chris

[rossybee]

Was that chap Cammy from Dundee not a welder ?

Cammy is now involved in sustainable energy/insulation/infra-red heating

[thesurfbus]

Thats a bugger, I think I noticed a bit of corrosion in the same area, but nothing that bad, but will be having a closer inspection tonight.

[foz01]

How many miles has the car done?

[Corranga]

Somewhere around 75k so easily not the highest. It's a mid 98 car so fairly early, build 2727.

I guess it's more about storage etc over the years, and possibly the amount of adhesive between the aluminium and the steel bush

[Corranga]

Ok, so for better or worse, I decided to have a go at making a reinforcement panel and bonding it in place..

This is what I have so far:




This is it sitting approximately in place:


My idea is to recess 3mm or so into the new alloy to go over the steel bush, then have the m10 bolt go through the new piece, so it will be held in place by the bolt as well as the glue.

I figure if it all goes pear shape, then I can fall back on getting it welded anyway.

[woody]

What are you gluing it with, how are you prepping it & how well it be cured?