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forever young

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
After not touching the rusted monster for over a year and a half, I am getting out the mig machine and going to continue stitching in a piece in the floor at the drivers foot section where I left off. All of the other pans have been changed out already. Then, I am going to start the cowl ends by the door hinges next.The next time I decide to do a car, I will not............
Roland
 
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#2 ·
Hang in there Roland. I've been in the throes of my restoration for over 4 years now... too many competing priorities and now I've got a new baby arriving in the next 3 weeks. Just take it one day at a time... work on it when you feel like it... otherwise, it's no longer fun and you risk the quality of work (if you try and rush). Good luck!
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
I hate this thin tin that was used in the body. At what point can I use Rage and not sacrifice any structural integrity. I have pinholes I am trying to fill with weld and I am making holes that just get larger. I have adjusted the heat, backed with copper and more blowouts. I hate mig, it is not user friendly. I go in quick and get out and still blowing holes. I am thinking of just covering with Rage and be done with it. Any thoughts?
Roland
 
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#4 ·
forever young said:
I hate this thin tin that was used in the body. At what point can I use Rage and not sacrifice any structural integrity. I have pinholes I am trying to fill with weld and I am making holes that just get larger. I have adjusted the heat, backed with copper and more blowouts. I hate mig, it is not user friendly. I go in quick and get out and still blowing holes. I am thinking of just covering with Rage and be done with it. Any thoughts?
Roland
Click to expand...
Roland, the pinholes are telling you to cut them out and weld in a patch panel. You'll have a much easier time with your mig stitch-welding fresh metal. I'm going through the same thing with mine, it's frustrating at times, but be patient. Cut your patch panels to the exact shape of the holes so they fit with no gaps. Hang in there.
 
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Discussion starter · #5 ·
Randy, this may sound dumb, but you say exact. With metal this is not an easy thing to do. The floor pans went in easy to the rear / trunk. But the patch panels shoud have approximately 1/8" to 1/4" overlap so that I would be doing a very exagerated type of fillet, from one edge to the base metal. Is this correct rather than a butt joint?
 
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#6 ·
If at all possible, you should try to butt weld your patch panels in, unless they were a factory lap joint.

Like Brandon said, hang in there. I've been at mine off and on (more off than on) for 17 years. I'm on a roll these past few weeks, and the car is getting close to being paintable. Not perfect, but I'll be satisfied with it.
 
#7 ·
I feel your frustration. Every time I get to where I think I'm about ready to start finishing up the body, I find more metal that needs to be cut out and replaced. Right now I'm repairing the third floor brace. I was in the process of preparing the floor for painting when I discovered it, and I initially said screw this and just jammed the hole with seam sealer but then took a breather and decided to back up a few steps and get it right. As it is there is no way I'll be able to get all the rust out of the body, and I'm faced with jamming it full of POR15 - hammer open the seams between the spot welds, stuff it full, hammer them closed.

In retrospect, I probably should have just found another rust free body rather than go the route I did. BUt oh well, I'm a pretty good welder now though :)
 
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Discussion starter · #8 ·
guys, I will keep going at it but I get so aggrevated I swear I want to make it into a pile of brillo pads and give the perfect chassis away and write off the bad experience. I have stick welded 7018, no problem running this rod, I've tigged carbon steel and stainless and been successful, but this mig machine is going to be a boat anchor one of these days.
 
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#9 ·
forever young said:
I have stick welded 7018, no problem running this rod, I've tigged carbon steel and stainless and been successful, but this mig machine is going to be a boat anchor one of these days.
Click to expand...

That's funny, I've been mig welding so long, I hate stick welding. I recently tried tig welding at work, but suck at that too. To be fair, at work, we build a lot of stuff with 6061 aluminum, so the mig is way faster, but a little less pretty than tig. Only time I had trouble with my old Lincoln MigPak 15 is when the rotary switch got dirty, started losing efficiency. Wasn't putting out much power at all. I opened it up, cleaned up the switch contacts with a file and sandpaper, and it works like brand new again.
 
#10 ·
forever young said:
Randy, this may sound dumb, but you say exact. With metal this is not an easy thing to do. The floor pans went in easy to the rear / trunk. But the patch panels shoud have approximately 1/8" to 1/4" overlap so that I would be doing a very exagerated type of fillet, from one edge to the base metal. Is this correct rather than a butt joint?
Click to expand...
Roland, you'll get much better results with butt welds. Cut your patches slightly larger than needed and use a 3" angle grinder to size them up. Use tiny tack welds all around the patch to prevent overheating the metal. Then do more tack welds between the first welds. Your final pass will fill in between the tack welds. As you gain more experience with your mig, you'll find you don't spend a lot of time grinding your welds smooth. Good luck.
 
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#11 ·
pnugene said:
Roland, you'll get much better results with butt welds. Cut your patches slightly larger than needed and use a 3" angle grinder to size them up. Use tiny tack welds all around the patch to prevent overheating the metal. Then do more tack welds between the first welds. Your final pass will fill in between the tack welds. As you gain more experience with your mig, you'll find you don't spend a lot of time grinding your welds smooth. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I made an oversized patch, secured it with sheet metal screws and the cut through the middle of the overlap all the way around, resulting in a perfectly fitting patch with a cutting disc width at the seam.
 
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#13 ·
rubadub said:
What mig welder do you have and what kind of shape is it in?

Rob
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I'm sure he has a Lincoln and of course like all Lincoln welders it functions flawlessly and even makes coffee in the morning :)
 
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#15 ·
forever young said:
Rob, I am using a new Hobart. It is getting me more than crazy........
Roland
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What model is it, 110, 220, c02, argon /c02, .23 wire and also is it a vari speed or separate feed settings.

Some guys can use any type of wire feed mig and make it work, you might need a different welder to get these welds to keep blowing out.

List what you have on it.

Rob
 
Discussion starter · #17 · (Edited)
Andy69 said:
I made an oversized patch, secured it with sheet metal screws and the cut through the middle of the overlap all the way around, resulting in a perfectly fitting patch with a cutting disc width at the seam.
Click to expand...
Andy, my brains are going soft. that's the exact way to make a cut and patch and make it fit. I will try that next time I go out to the rusted behemoth. My machine is a Hobart 140.
Roland
 
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#18 ·
I have no issues with my Hobart 220v 180 with .23 wire. As long as you are welding with good metal, no issues. When you add 40 year old rusted metal with a new welder, you are going to run into problems. Take it slow... no rush here.
 
#19 ·
That satin paint is really cool looking. However we learned the hard way that it is not easy to shoot. You only get one chance at it. There's no sanding or buffing the imperfections. Initial gun setup and really good spray technique are required to shoot this stuff. We'll be going another round with it come the beginning of March, but this time in a paint booth.

It is also very hard to keep clean once painted.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Andy69 said:
I made an oversized patch, secured it with sheet metal screws and the cut through the middle of the overlap all the way around, resulting in a perfectly fitting patch with a cutting disc width at the seam.
Click to expand...
Andy, I am going to lay the patch piece in and pin it with tech screws. That's how I did the 3 floor sections to the trunk and they came out good. It's a nice day in NY today and I will fit it up accordingly. The piece I need to replace is the hump above the tranny going up the firewall and a piece just in front of the pass. side front floor pan..
Roland
 
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forever young
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