if ya dont want to buy a mig possibly you might consider renting one from a
tool rental place? but what ever you choose to do, do not attempt a map gas
or oxy acetylene job as you will warp the sheet metal silly and you wil be
very displeased with the horrible fitting distorted end results.
and be carefull to not cut a thing untill you posess the new panels and see
exactly where they do and do not cover in the car! you will hate yourself
for thinking that the nice catalog picture shows an exact duplicate of the
new panel and you can judge from that picture exactly where to start cutting
out the damaged panels.
and be prepared to practice your selection of expletives while welding
upside down under the car......why you ask? ohhhhhh......you'lllllll
seeeeee!
one other thing! surface preperation! remove all grease, paint,
rustproofing and rust scale from areas where you will be welding. a good
clean surface will yeild a good solid weld, and redice chances of fire and
the annoying hot spatter showering down from above wich makes upside down
welding such a joy.
and finally, after the repairs are done, you need to reseal the seams with
automotive brushable seam sealer to protect the seams from filling with dirt
and water and starting all over what you just fixed. then paint to suit!
chuck
in a humid world of over lapping body panels a welders work is never
done............
----- Original Message -----
From Chris King <cbking at mail.alum.rpi.edu>
To: Spridget mail list <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 4:03 PM
Subject: welding advice (kinda long)
> 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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