Filling Small Holes in Sheet Metal

treue · Post by **treue** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:23 pm

Guys,

In looking at the engine bay of 9129, I noticed a lot of holes (20?) in the sides of the bay. They were apparently used to mount several items which are now gone. They are less than 1/8” in diameter. My question is: what would be the best way to fill the holes? Welding and body solder would bond best but would require a lot of distorting heat. I am not certain about how well body putty would bond.

Tom

Post by **330GT** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 11:36 pm

The easiest solution is to put a small pop rivet in each hole. Then paint them black. It looks just like something is riveted to the other side so no one suspects anything. And it's fast and easy. If you ever pull the engine and re-do the compartment, they are easily drilled out and the holes brazed up. I have several holes fixed this way on my 330.

You could also solder them up. Just clean the area around them (on both sides), use liquid flux and plumber's solder with a propane torch. This won't put too much heat into the sheet metal. Then you can sand/grind the surface flush and repaint.

Bondo would bond fine, but it's a lot more work for the finishing aspect. Plus the other side will have the putty sticking through. If that gets wacked, it will probably pop the whole piece out.

330Jim · Post by **330Jim** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:26 pm

I use a soldering gun from Sears (the type with two heat settings) and fill the hole with solder. It works very fast and only heats a very small area a minimum amount. Note, a cheap soldering gun will not put enough heat into the area. I also use electical solder because it flows better. Be sure to use a good flux and clean the surface.

Cheers Jim

treue · Post by **treue** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:47 am

Thanks, guys. I still wonder what all the holes (1-2 dozen) were for. If the devices or objects mounted at the holes were so useful, why didn't the previous owners leave them in place? Oh, well, I needed more to do.

Tom

Post by **tyang** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:29 am

Thanks, guys. I still wonder what all the holes (1-2 dozen) were for. If the devices or objects mounted at the holes were so useful, why didn't the previous owners leave them in place? Oh, well, I needed more to do.

Hi Tom,

If you can post a picture here, we might be able to figure out what they were for!

Tom Y.

treue · Post by **treue** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:37 pm

Guys,

Here are two pix of 9129’s engine bay. Each little white circle is where a hole is located. They range in size from about 1.5 to 6mm. A few of them look regular (factory) and have a backing plate on the wheel well side. The others (most) look like someone attached something with small sheet metal screws.

The right side:

… and the left side:

Tom

Rudy van Daalen Wetters · Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:37 am

If you connect all the dots it spells "Pininfarina". I just knew there was a hidden message here. Probably done on a monday morning.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705

Post by **tyang** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:22 pm

Hi Tom,

Thanks for posting the pictures. Hopefully someone with a Series II 330 can tell you if they have matching holes.

You have a great opportunity to clean up the engine compartment with the engine out of the car. It takes relatively little effort to clean things up now than when the engine is in the way!

Have fun!

Tom