Anybody have advice and photos on doing it? I am thinking of putting an EZ30 in my 83 Wagon but its pretty wide. Also have a customer with a 78 Wagon with an ej22 installed that has a section cut out of and it worries me a little for crash safety.

Micks brat has some cut and reweld pics. I have cut several

Bodies apart and think that patching in about 12guage is possible

Without using flux core. If you find yourself having to use a flux

Core only then make sure you pay attention to your heat settings....

I've chopped a lot on a couple Cherokee's(unibody Jeep), and other unibody cars including my wagon. Make sure you clean the metal down to bare shiny and be in a very well ventilated area. Be very aware of whats on the other side of the weld, things like carpet and paddings burn great and autobody caulk stinks something fierce. I don't know about Subaru, but many manufacturers coat there sheet metal with an anti corrosive zinc coating. Zinc poisoning has happened to most welders and it usually doesn't kill, but it will make you feel like crap for a few days...its not fun..its like the flu. Stay ventalated and always have a fire extinguser or hose on hand if things go south.

 

I wouldn't recommend a flux core at all...having a negative electrode puts a lot more heat into the parent metals your working on than you need. Not saying it can't be done, but your asking for frustration. If you do use a flux core its gonna leave flux all over the finished weld and you have to clean the flux off everytime before starting your next bead or you'll trap big inclusions in your weld and on thin metal, that means a big weak spot. When welding sheet metal, do not weld a seam in one long pass ever. You will seriously distort it from the excessive heat, creating really bad internal stresses, which will make dips, waves, twists and bends. Weld in small beads no longer than an inch long and spend time dialing in your machine. Remember to disconnect the battery ground before welding so nothing gets fried. Unibodies, in my experience, are very forgiving and inherently strong, but before cutting into the sheet metal, support as much of the area as you can and give thought as to what stresses will pull it where when you've cut it and try to reduce those stresses(lots of jackstands, remove tires and suspension, pull motors etc., but it depends on where/what your welding) Taking reference measurements ahead of time can let you know if things have moved.

 

12ga is my favorite patch metal for unibodies for stregnth, but if its ascetic, then I use the same thickness as the surrounding metal. I use an older Miller Mig welder with out all the autoset crap. For autobodies I run %75/25 Ar/CO2 shielding gas for a cleaner weld and a softer arc, I use either a .023 or a .030 wire depending on what thickness I'm welding and where. I can fairly easly weld down to about 24ga with my welder, any smaller and its time for a Tig.

 

Anytime you modify a unibody you are messing with the engineering of the unibody and if you are worried about crash safety, maybe you shouldn't be doing this. Keep in mind your putting a heavier motor in there changing weight distribution, which can affect handling, stopping and overall vehicle stability...is what it is...your putting a motor in a car not designed for it, but that certainly doesn't mean it willn't work, or be safe. The risk is yours to weigh, but its something I'd do if I had an EZ30 laying around. Please share pics if you do it!

 

Josh

If you genuinely needed to hear everything

Josh said then you probably have no business

Tackling this job. Get a pro ,or at least a hardcore

hobbiest to help out......

Hey Shawn,

Ive seen this done but cant find the build threads. Ive read that there are cases that without a lift kit your good on the width, just a bit of bfh does the trick. I can appreciate your safety concerns also. Heres a link to a guy who modded his frame rails and firewall to build this pretty awesome Brat. Its beeen featured on this site some time ago and has made several magazine apperances. I didnt see a build thread but ill bet the guy would rerspond to any questions.

 

http://z15.invisionfree.com/Mv_Brat_Brumby/index.php?showtopic=69

Thanks guys.

 

I knew most of what Josh said but its nice to have a reminder.

 

I have a Miller with a bottle as he described. Been getting better with it and the practice sure helps.

 

Im not sure I am going to do the EZ30 anymore. As awesome as it is I think I will have almost as much fun with a frankenmotor build. Might put the 3.0 in a Vanagon. Gotta tear the engine down and see what is wrong with it before I decide. If it needs a full rebuild I might just have to sell it to a customer rebuilt instead of spending that kind of cash on my car.