Some responses in no particular order (delete if easily bored)
One other advantage is speed. Mig/wirefeed is the fasted form of welding
around. You will be able to weld a floor or trunk into the car in less than 30
minutes, once all the fitting is done. One other difference, Mig requires you
are in a draft free environment so that the sheilding gas does not blow away;
firefeed can be done in any conditions so long as the wind doesn't blow you
away. I have seen/done wirefeed welding in 55mph+ winds. This may be an issue
depending on where you work and what the weather is like.
All the old welding rules still apply, clean the parts, make them fit right,
etc. For best results the ambient temp of the metal should be at least 60 deg
F. Wirefeed welding will splatter more than Mig, although either splatter can
be cleaned off with a wire brush.
As far as trunks are concerned, I've done one on an MGB-GT. I think it may be
different because I wasn't worried about the shackles. The shackles mounted
outboard of the trunk floor so they didn't get moved during the process. All I
did was cut the floor out of a donor car and weld it into my car (after removal
of the old floor) If someone can confirm the similarities/differences between
the two models, in this area, I'd be glad to send a more complete description.
Again for MGBs, floor patches are available, they are essentially the outer few
inches of the floor pan, since this is the area that tends to rust. If they
make them for little MGs then that ought to make your job easier.
As far as welders go, I found a Hobart welder on ebay. The Hobart distributor
in NJ was selling off some stock, and I bought it at half price. It was new in
box, and they paid shipping to anywhere in the continental US. Keep in mind
that whatever you pay for the welder it will cost ~$100 for the gas attachment
if it isn't included, and ~$100 for a tank and your first fill up of gas.
After that the gas is cheap.
My understanding of Arc welding, is that it is intended for thicker metal, and
would probably burn right through sheet metal.
--
James Nazarian Jr
71 MGB roadster
71 MGBGT - with V8 parts
01 Impreza 2.5RS
A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have
evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.
On Thu, Mar 01, 2001 at 11:29:11AM -0500, Chris Kotting profoundly declared:
> I forgot to mention, with a MIG welder and the right wire, you can
> probably seal that can of worms back up, but you'll probably cook some
> worms in the process...
>
> Chris King wrote:
> >
> > As the weather gets warmer I've had some time to poke about the '79. It's
>looking more and more like the floor panels and the rear of the trunk will
>need to be replaced. It's a Big job, I know. But I really don't want to put
>new seats in just to have them fall through the floor...
> >
> > Most of the rot on the floors is out toward the sills, perhaps the first
>two inches in, except for the passenger's side which has a large hole in the
>footwell. The footwells look like the had been fiberglassed some time in the
>past.
> >
> > I've got two sort of general questions.
> >
> > 1. Those of you who've done this, what type of welding setup would you
>reccommend? I've done some looking aound, and there are places that sell small
>ARC welders for around $100 and MIG welders for $250-$300. What's the
>advantage/disadvantage compared to an oxy-acetylene or Mapp torch?
> >
> > 2. If you've done a trunk floor, did you have any problems keeping the rear
>spring shackles aligned?
> >
> > Opening a #10 can of worms,
> >
> > -=Chris
> >
> > Chris King - cbking@alum.rpi.edu
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