Just wondering if anyone has experience using a Oxy-Acetylene gas welder and a steel plates to fill a hole for a antenna,holes in the floor, and holes in the trunk.

Any tips on how to do the job right and how to use these animals? What type and thickness of steel plates should be used?

Thanks,

Monteman, Oxy-Acetylene welding is pretty hard to do if you haven't done it before, and it put alot of heat in the metal which will cause warping. Your best bet would be find a mig welder or someone thats got one and go that route. On mine I used 16 gauge on the floor and 18 gauge will probably be thick enough for the antenna hole, though you could use 16 it should make any differents. Make sure you cut out the hole in the floor and trunk pan to good metal and hold the metal flush with your orginal pans and weld it in. Also weld on one side for about an inch and go to the other side and back and forth until it's completely welded. Hope this helps.

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Kevin (Slappy) Wiggins
1966 Malibu still under constuction

Thanks Wiggins,

I have taken a course in ARC welding but alas ARC welding will probably burn right through sheetmetal. I have also heard that MIG is a totally different ballgame than ARC so I would have to learn something new.

I'd recommend that you go back to the school where you learned arc welding, plop down a couple more bucks, and have them teach you how to use a MIG!! Once you know how, you would also have a better idea on what to look for when buying one. For body work, it's the only way to go!! I've done body work using a torch, and it's just not worth the effort compaired to MIG.

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Wes. Vann
Technical Reference section
Gold Member #5

Mig and Arc are pretty straight forward, either one can be learned in a few hours playing with scrap and your machine. Oxy is more time consuming to learn just because it is less forgiving. It is easy to burn through thin metal, and warpage is another problem. For your needs, get a mig setup with a CO2/Argon mix, the gas makes for a cleaner weld. All I use my torches for anymore is for cutting, and thats just until I can afford a nice plasma setup.

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Dave (NY)
70 chevelle ss396 conv
66 chevelle ss396 hdp/conv
72 chevelle
TC member #493
Never forget Earnhardt!

[This message has been edited by drptop70ss (edited 03-08-2001).]

Thanks guys,

I would have taken an automotive welding course which uses Mig but I have hockey on that nite. ARC will probably come in handy when I have to weld thick metal. Maybe next term.