woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Been making some progress prepping the new inner rocker piece and outer front rocker piece (it's still spot welded together), and to make it fit right, I need to straighten the rocker where someone jacked the car up. I'm tired of beating the **** out of my hand. Has anyone got a tip for this? I was beating on the old strut top which was on a piece of 2x4 that I put inside the rocker to spread the force of the hammer blows (those that weren't concentrated on my hand), and even used the vice grip method that I saw Aaron cake using, but it isn't working - or doesn't seem to be....

Mazda RX-7 EFINI TYPE

Are you just trying to bend down the lip? Why not weld a thick piece of angle iron or square tube to it, on an upwards angle, then push down on it. I think that would work, at least in my head, lol. That, or get a bigger leverage bar on the vice grips.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

The lip is pushed upward and the entire rocker bent in on itself. I threaded the vice grip bolt through a hole in a piece of angle I had laying around and was beating on the angle - it rang and would jump and bust my knuckles up good.

I was thinking on it as I ran some errands this afternoon and I think I'll take a long section of angle iron I have, drill a hole in it and thread the vice grip bolt through it and try standing / jumping / beating on it. It should come down with my weight on it or by hitting it with a sledge. I may end up welding it to the rocker / pinch weld lip tho if it slips off.

If projects like this are made up of blood, sweat, and tears then it got plenty of that outta me yesterday! Not to mention some colorful language!

Mazda RX-7 EFINI TYPE

Haha true. If your knuckles ain't bloody, you're doin something wrong.

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

This is completely redneck but here's my thought.

Take a 4x4 that's about 8 feet long. Drill a 1/2 hole all the way through at about the 4 foot mark. Install an eye bolt. Drill a hole in the pinch where you have a vice grips. Place the 4x4 under the wheels and lower the car. Place a turn buckle in the pinch weld hold and attach the other end in the eye bolt in the 4x4. You will be using the weight of the car to hold down the 4x4 while turning the turn buckle. As long as the pinch weld hole holds up, it might just straighten.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

THAT might work KC, thanks for the tip! And yes, redneck IS my style so this is right up my alley!

As I was out running around today I found myself close to our local PnP, so I decided to stop in and check out a 90 Miata I knew was in there. I was looking for the cup holder because I had heard that the Miata cup holders were the same size as the ash trays in the RX-7s. Well, that Miata was picked over pretty good and the cup holder was gone, but not to be discouraged I wandered up and down the aisles to see if by chance there was another one there, or even maybe an RX-7 (I know their website isn't the best at updates). Luck was on my side today as there was indeed another fresh Miata there, and under a pile of junk in the passenger side was the cup holder! SWEET! And, it fits perfectly where the ash tray in my 79 console goes. A little polish and some paint and this baby is gonna look fantastic! Check this out:

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I really honestly do. I practiced for half a day on a couple scrap pieces and thought I had the hang of it, and I'd only get better. Afterall, I was going to install the inner rocker which will be completely hidden when I'm done so what harm could there be? I suck at welding.

I'm almost ashamed to share these pics, but I have to own it. I have no one but myself to blame. I wanted to make nice evenly spaced stitch welds that cleanly melt the metal making a nice welded spot. That's what I had envisioned in my mind and what I was going for. Well, I had a lot of splatter and some not so neatly stitched welds that I tried to complete and in the process ended up burning through in many places. I'd grind it down and start over. I tried to fill in the holes I created by using a cooler weld with a longer lead, building up a weld letting gravity work for me and adding to a big glob of molten metal then grind it down. Weld, grind, weld, grind, weld, grind. Man I really do appreciate skilled craftsmen that know how to do this. They're pretty amazing. I'm not even gonna try to blame my tools, this is ALL me. I suck at welding.

Well, here's the results after three tries. I guess seam sealer will help fill in those holes. I think I got it to the point that it's soundly welded together though not in a continuous welded seam. It has to be better than leaving the rusty stuff in there, right? Anyway, I suck at welding:











Did I mention that I suck at welding?...

rotordogg

iTrader: (4)

I'm no expert either but I don't think it looks all that bad. Did you use flux or gas shielded? And what sized wire? I ended up buying the HF 170amp with gas and .23 wire. I haven't had time to use it but curious as to your settings and advice on what you would do differently next time. Besides hiring a pro.

cfamilyfix

iTrader: (15)

There is def no shieilding there. Not horrible for your first welds. I shared my first welding project on here as well and it was god awful lol. Get the hang of good penetration with the wire core and the mig will make you look like a hero. Metal has to be prepped well and make sure the ext cord if any is a thick enough gauge to support consistent current flow. Those two tips helped me a lot. Good luck.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks rotordogg! I have the 90 amp flux core model and I used the .030" wire that came with it. I ended up on almost a zero feed speed and with the voltage on the "min" setting, holding the end about 2 inches from the metal. Any closer and it just burned holes in the metal like crazy. Towards the end I started getting that consistent ZGHZGHZGHZGHZGH sound with no popping or intermittent breaks. But also, it started to act up a bit and the wire wouldn't feed quite right (reviews suggest a copper bushing on the feed spool). There were moments when it wouldn't feed at all, but I think that's because the feed speed is touchy and needed to be reset periodically, and maybe that copper bushing is needed. I looked back at the reviews and saw that ppl were suggesting that the wire that came with the unit wasn't the best, so I'll pick some different stuff up and see how that does and use what I have to practice more with. Practice makes perfect as they say.

Thanks cfamilyfix! I went back out in the garage after having consumed a beverage or two ( ) and thought I didn't do all THAT bad, for a first try and you're right there is no shielding at all. I did start to get the hang of filling the burned in holes. If this was a finished exterior panel I'd have to think about cutting it out and starting over, but since this is an interior part that won't see the light of day and never see snowy salty roads again, I think it'll be ok. Seam sealer will finish the rest. I was a bit frustrated earlier, but the car is better off than it was. Like any new skill you gotta crawl before you can walk. I may invest in a better welder after I get my money's worth out of this, especially if I ever take on a project for the missus. She wants an old fastback Mustang like you wouldn't believe.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Flux cored wire is less than ideal for sheet metal (although that's what I used for many years) so don't expect perfect looking welds from it. Flux cored tends to blow the metal away from the welding area easier than MIG (since the flux core is literally exploding out of the wire) so filling in a slight gap like you have there (at least from what it looks like in the pics) is very difficult.

Mess around more with the feed speed, you might be surprised what it does if you turn it up a bit faster. Too slow and there isn't enough filler being fed into the weld and it'll blow holes.

What angle are you attacking this at, by that I mean, how do you have the gun pointed, it should be basically straight into the area you're welding. If you angle it you'll be burning holes easily.

You shouldn't have to keep the gun way back from the metal, usually closer is better.

Keep at it, you'll get the hang of it

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the info 82Transam. I was holding it at about a 45 degree angle, mostly because I read what I think is a great webpage that explains Mig welding ( everything on the internet is true, right? Bonjour! ). It answered a lot of questions I had since I was new to this sort of thing. Here's a link to the website: Mig Welding Basics - Autobodystore. Not sure if it's illegal to post up another website here, but I'll find out I guess!

I'll try iyour advice on some scrap metal I have and see if it turns out any better. I have plenty of stuff to weld on. This is something I really am anxious to get right because I'd love to be good at this sort of thing. Not sure why... but, I'm motivated to become proficient!

ATC529R

I have the HF 170 and .23 wire.....

still in the box. I have never welded before and have lots of panels to do! Can you post a link to the gas setup?

good to see what my welds might look like as a beginner

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

I said the same exact thing when I first started. Trust me you are WAY better than what that machine can produce.

I've used that Chicago electric flux core machine for almost 6 months and countless spools (along with my roomates electric bill hehe), and I never got "good". Untill I got my Lincoln.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I've never tried any of the cheapo welders but I'm tempted to agree. I started 10 years ago with the Lincoln that i'm still using and it's been great. I would imagine the cheap ones have inconsistent power and wire feed issues but that's just a guess... Any fluctuation will make a mess of things for sure.

I didn't get time to read through that link, but a 45* angle on the gun for a butt weld is way too much in my opinion. With the gaps you have on some of the panel fitment you will need a slight angle (straight on and it'll just blow the edge off of either or both pieces) but 45* is too much. It will result in a sloppy looking weld, but try this - move slightly back from the edge on one piece (like a mm or so) and put a small tack weld there, basically to build up the edge a bit, do the same on the adjacent piece, once that cools for a second or two attempt to bridge the two together. I've bridged large (1/8" or more) gaps with this method in a pinch.

It certainly doesn't make for that beautiful "stack of dimes" looking weld we're all shooting for, but it's plenty strong. You can always smooth it down with a flap wheel anyway.

You have problably already tried this, but do some welding on something thicker like 1/8" steel just to get the hang of gun control/angle etc. If you're not seeing any improvement then I'd say something is wrong with your machine.

Here's a good resource that I got a lot of good info from 2 years ago when I started TIG - http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Lol, just re-read your post and caught the Bonjour reference. That commercial is a classic.

Ok I've cluttered this enough, back to the build thread...

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks 82 transam, I'll check that video out. I think that with this welder, it's best to use the overlap joint on this thin metal. You can see that the one vertical weld I did turned out ok; not pretty but solid. I thought I had trimmed that part to a perfect butt joint, but it overlapped by just an RCH, and that is the one joint that turned out the best. Gives credit to your statement that overlapping by a 1/16th of an inch or so will work, and is what I plan to do on the floor pan.

I also have some scraps set aside to cut up and practice on, but it's been too freakin' COLD in my garage for anything but chilling beer. Tomorrow's sposed to be a bit warmer tho. I want to try more butt joints, filling in drilled out spot welds, and the overlap.

Next update will be when I get that floorpan in.

Yeah, the thought of that commercial cracks me up every time! That guy looks like someone I work with which makes it even more funny...

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I was going to update when I got the floorpan section in, but I had to share. Been sick lately and not very productive, but I did manage to get some time to practice since this post. I had been using the spool of HF wire that came with the welder and was getting some semi-decent practice with it. Had to change it out and started a new spool of Lincoln wire I got from Lowes. WOW. What a difference that made! I mean, holy COW what a difference! It was smoother, had better penetration without as many blow-throughs, was easier to build up to repair the odd blow-through, and resulted in better seam. No marbles like the HF wire. Now, of course a good Mig welder would probably produce an overall better weld like we see in the videos we've watched, but a huge improvement using the good wire with the HF welder. Then I remembered that the reviews of the welder mentioned that the wire that came with the unit was basically crap and only good for practicing.

But get this: I had cut a six inch wide section out of the transmission tunnel from the donor section and it was about 2 feet long. I was in the middle of welding this back up when I changed out spools to the Lincoln wire. Amazing the difference. I ground down the weld seam when I was done and you could definitely tell where the crappy HF wire was used and the good Lincoln wire was used. The seam was near invisible where I used the good wire, and pock marked where the HF wire was used. So I basically (without being conscious of it at the time) proved what the reviews of the HF wire said. Good for practice, not for real stuff. And IMO, not really good for practice either. Take heed those that have been following this thread that also have the HF welder and are thinking of using the HF wire. Practice with it, but do yourself a favor and get a spool of good stuff when you weld on your project.

I also left a good 1/4 inch gap on one end and was able to fill that in by building the bridge using the technique you described. Funny, but a buddy of mine was a shipfitter at the local shipyard here and it reminded me that he once told me he'd seen some guys fill in 3/4 inch gaps in some new construction!

I see lots of references in the reply posts to the "flap wheel", but I'm using a 4-1/2" grinder to smooth out the welds. Is there any advantage to the flap wheel?

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Good to know that yet another Harbor Freight product sucks lol. Glad you're making progress though!

The grinding wheel you're using is excellent for removing large amounts of material quickly, like a glob of a weld, or removing a corner off some metal to make a bracket or whatever but they leave lots of gouges and scratches etc. The Flap wheel removes material quickly as well, but leaves the surface much smoother.

I typically use a combination of both, use the grinding wheel to remove the bulk, but finish it off with the flap wheel to leave a clean/smooth surface. Obviously for what you're doing it doesn't matter much since it's a floor, but if you're doing quarter panels or something, the flap wheel is a must.

One thing though, flap wheels wear out fairly quickly and are expensive - hence why I use the grinding wheel first to get the bulk off.

fearfulear69

Hows the car running bud?
i gots same one just haveing little problems but these guys are great always seem too help figure things out in the end

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Not running at all at the moment - it's stuck on the jackstands!

Was talking with mom and dad about the progress so far so I thought I'd update it 'cause a picture is worth a thousand words. Been prepping and fitting the new floor pan section. Fit, fiddle, remove, trim, hammer. Fit, fiddle, remove, trim, hammer, rinse, repeat. Again and again and again. It's definitely a PROCESS. I've gotten it to almost fit, but need to get it to come down a bit to meet the flanges on the frame. It meets in one corner and on the edge, but that kinda keeps it from sitting down far enough to correctly contact the frame. More fiddling required. You can see that I was able to weld up a patch taken from the donor car that I welded to the bottom of the frame last weekend. Primed it with high zinc paint, welded, ground flat and painted it black. I'll paint the whole bottom with truck bed liner when I'm all done to make it look purrty.







Anyway, you get the idea of where I'm at with the floor. Had to take the door off because I was tired of working around it, and I had a feeling I'd find some rust behind the hinges, and I did. I also found some HOLES in the area near the top where the side inner structure/top/windshield area all come together. I decided to try and cut out a piece from the donor section to see how hard it would be to cut mine out and see if I could just take the one top section off and see what's behind there. There's a couple layers of metal that all come together there and its a small space. It was difficult to cut out cleanly and it would be damn near impossible to weld in neatly and definitely impossible to spray some paint back in there and rust proof it. So, I'm leaning towards using some rust proof fiberglass product that POR-15 makes in that area. Wish I could cut it out and weld in new, but that's not gonna happen unfortunately.













Anyway, that's what I've gotten accomplished so far. Back to work!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Worked like a charm! Thanks for the tip!



KansasCityREPU, I'm sure your idea would have worked too, but I'm months away from having the front end back on to try it.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

You're making great progress! Both of mine had some rust in that cowl area like yours. I sandblasted what I could and por 15'd it. To do a metal repair properly would require removing the windshield and getting really deep into that whole area (many different pieces come together there, wouldn't be fun to recreate)

Keep it up, you are really getting there.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Well, it's been awhile since I had anything to share. I've been busy the last couple of weeks and was on a business trip for a week so I had spurts of activity on either side of that week. I finally got the drivers wheel well floor section completed. It took about 4 or 5 lbs. of weld wire but it's done!

I learned that the 0.030" wire wasn't as forgiving as the 0.035" wire for some reason. With the thicker wire I was able to lay down a much better bead than with the thinner wire, and had less blowthroughs, but that could just be my inexperience. So, between maybe better wire or more fiddling with the welder, I was able to rock out and get this part of the job done. I 've primed everything inside the car and inside the rocker, but I need to finish off the underside with the grinder to dress up some welds and prime it, hit it with seam sealer, and then put the undercoating on. I prolly over-nuked the job somewhat, but I'm glad this part is done! Phew!!

Here's what it looked like before:







During the process:















And here's where I'm at tonight! No more rust!

Rotaryhaven

iTrader: (17)

I am impressed......