In a message dated 06/2/1999 5:07:01PM, hubbard@idir.net writes:
Hi Philip,
What do you want from a car? The Spitfire has awful handling due to the swing
axle rear suspension design so is never going to be a fast road car. The MGB
is never going to be as quick & nimble as a Spridget even with a vee 8 under
the bonnet (except in a straight line) but does have a bit more load carrying
capacity. The Lotus Elan is a fantastic little car that can be tuned to go
incredibly fast round corners, in a straight line or whatever. BUT it is much
more of a sophisticated design than then the Spridget, harder (??) to source
parts for and ultimately in a price range that would get you (at least in the
UK) a lot of something else. The bugeye has a lot of parts commanality with
the other Spridgets and has lots of potential for tuning if that's what you
want. I can't see the advantage of a 61-63 Spridget.
Parts catalogues do contain some errors but sometimes tell you more about how
things are put together than the workshop manual - I have several - to cover
all the cars and several suppliers.
Arc welding (stick welding) uses a high voltage current to apply metal (the
stick) to two other pieces of metal. In the UK, welding technology and prices
have made this sort of welding rare. Personally I found it the most difficult
of all the welding to achieve.
MIG welding is wonderful (once the technnique is mastered). An inert gas
comes out of handle (piped, etc) and flows other the metal pieces being welded
while a thin wire is automatically fed out of the handle that arcs to melt.
If I was going to buy a welder this would be the one.
TIG welding I know little about but I think is like a MIG only the weld is
applied to the metal but in itself does not provide the arc (there is an
arcing device in the handle). This is supposedly the best welding kit.
Gas welding is very difficult to master (but if I can do it!!) and has several
drawbacks. You use a welding torch which produces an intense flame by burning
oxygen and acetylene gases in a set ratio. The flame size and intensity can
be varied by a number of means. The weld is achieved by the use of a stick
(filler rod) - you need two hands for this! The drawback is that because the
items being welded are heated up by the torch you can get a lot of metal
distortion (unlike the 3 arc welding variants). The advantages are that you
can also braize (brass soldering) and use the torch (or a special torch) for
cutting metal.
Prices vary enormously in the UK for equipment but as is usually the case you
get what you pay for. All 3 are suitable for automotive uses and you can get
excellent books on the subject.
Daniel1312
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