[dsmbob]

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned in the previous article Part 1, I explained to you proper the steps you need to take during the disassembly process and about the proper tools you need to succeed in making a proper repair or disassembly of the structural portion on any DSM.
Part 2 in this feature is a follow up from Part 1.

As I went through and started to cut out the spot welds on my Front end of My 1991 Plymouth Laser, I discovered some unique challenges that were in my way to complete the disassembly process. In using the tools I described in Part 1 of this Body Tech Guide. I discovered that there are a few areas that need to be modified in order to complete my disassembly of the front end. Here is what I found:

If you are working on the front corners of your car/project take notice of the welds that are used to hold the Front end upper panel reinforcement to the side of the car. There are 5 welds here in particular that need attention. Here is the tools you will need and the steps to properly cut through the welds.

FIRST- Seperate the two sections from top to bottom using a Hammer and a Screwdriver or Chisel. While doing this be sure that you do not break the welds or you will not have material to use when you put the parts toghether again. This is only for you to look along the weld points to allow you to see how much material you need to cut.

SECOND- The auber tool that is being used is too short to do the job since the drilll and chuck gets in the way from making a perfect straight cut, so you need to extend it manually! Why? Blair MFG. does NOT have or PRODUCE a LONGER auber tool.
Here is how you extend the auber:
Take the auber and a 1/4 inch socket that has a 1/4 inch drive attachment.
(There is not much room to work here so space is HIGHLY IMPORTANT! A 3/8 drive socket will be too big to use.)
Attach a 6 to 8 inch extension to the 1/4 inch socket. this will push the drill back away from the car so you can make the holes you need to drill. Just be sure you have a steady hand so you do not cut the edge of the flange off.

THIRD- When you start to drill , try to only cut through the first layer, not through both panels. It will make welding the section together somewhat easier when you need to reassemble the car.

If you are working on or removing the Sidemember to crossmember brace keep in mind there are THREE sheets of metal to cut through. The Cutter Tool Described in Part 1,
(Blair 13200 1/4 inch Spotweld cutter) is NOT BIG OR DEEP ENOUGH to cut out the welds in this section. For this portion of the car you will absoultly need a longer cutter tool that Blair MFG. makes called a 11100-3. This is from the Blair 11000 seies of hole/spotweld cutter tools. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO USE A 1/4 DRILL TO FINISH THE JOB!

I tried this, thinking it was a short cut only to discover it is a VERY bad idea. There is a wire harness hidden in this section and when I tried drill out the hole, I almost cut the harness. I know, I can move the harness out of the way by cutting the ties, but why bother with the excess work you do not need to do, if the object can be out of your way natuarlly by going around the object.
Something to think about when doing a restoration project- move or remove as little as possible to make life easier on you. TAKE YOUR TIME WHEN DOING ANY REPAIR OR RESTORATION PROJECT!

THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. PART THREE IS COMING SOON. KEEP CHECKING HERE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES.

Back to my project now. Thank you for reading this DSM BODY TECH TIP. See you on the boards.