Shell Prep Q's

Daniel Buehler Wrote:
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> Okay, You have to explain that... On its side?
> Like no rotissary, just on it's side?
>
> First rally car, a '94 Subarat is in progress...


These are rally cars - no need to be nice to them



Just push it over (oh and take the doors off so they don't collapse)

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-Jason

yep.. just like that. Expect i put some unmounted tires under the rocker panels, and some others to "catch it". Took 2 of us to roll and someone else to place the tires.

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Chris

Its ghetto, your neighbors will look at you funny... but it works. Just make sure you brace it properly so you dont get squished. I assume thats what the red strap is for?

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

Dazed_Driver Wrote:
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> Its ghetto, your neighbors will look at you
> funny... but it works. Just make sure you brace it
> properly so you dont get squished. I assume thats
> what the red strap is for?
>
> Feisty Peacock?


You got it. That was run over to the fence so it wouldn't fall.

Oh and I used a big bag of commercial insulation to soften the landing (benefit of father working in construction).

I jacked it up as high as I could go with some wood blocks, then knocked out the passenger front, held onto the shell and pushed it over. It was soo perfectly balanced I did it by myself

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-Jason



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 03:35PM by mack73.

I'm thinking this is the way to go. I don't have anything to strap the shell to in the front yard, I'm thinking I could just roll the shell on its side on the front lawn and string it to a car in the driveway...

So Jason, by any chance do you have just the rear wheels on there so you could move the shell around like a wheelbarow?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2009 10:47PM by Daniel Buehler.

So as of today I've been welding for 4 weeks and I'm looking for tips. My first welds were embarassing so I'm not going to post pictures of those... yet. Here where I'm at, how am I doing?

So I had some rust I wanted to deal with and I thought this would be the best way to learn to weld - dive right in...

In some of those, it looks like you need to turn the heat up a bit... play around with the settings. You don't want to be burning through, but when your welds sit really 'proud' like that (concave out), it implies poor penetration, too much wire,... a pool that isn't hot enough to really melt the base metal, but is being fed lots of wire.

Next time you're doing seam welds, try adjusting the wire speed and output after each weld (or every two welds). Perhaps make an adjustment to the welder, then do two welds... one slow, one fast... change up the technique a bit... see what little changes result in the most improvement. Sometimes changing the angle on the tip is all it takes to burn a little deeper.

Overall they're looking pretty good though. And bodywork on thin sheets like fenders can be difficult... the newer the car, the thinner the sheet metal, the harder it is to weld. One of the keys is having good base material... if you're trying to weld to thin rusty crap, you'll just keep burning through, and will be throwing weld at it. Sometimes it means cutting out more than we want to, or holding a second piece in behind to act as a backing strip.

The other thing with body work... just how good do you want it to look? Are you going to tear that fender off when you hook your first ditch?

Thanks. I'll try playing with the settings today. I'm pretty sure I know what you mean about the 'proud' puddles. I can see somtimes when the wire is feeding it seem to just flow right into the base metal forming nice shallow pools. Other times it just pools on top. I've been nervous to touch the settings but I can see the value in adjusting them to see the outcome.

So I'm stiching inside the front wheel wells and I just can't get things right. I keep getting these 'volcanos' forming in the puddle almost immediately as it cools. If I hit that area again with a puddle it just snap-crackle pops into these shitty ass welds!

By 'volcano' I mean these hollow cones that grow out of the puddle. I have had a FEW before, but I'm getting these things like two out of three welds!

I assumed that the ones I got in the past were from sealer left over in the seams. I've done everything the same to prep this area - although, the seams are slighly different and the sheet metal fits together better.

Also, the approach angle of these welds is different, for the first time I'm not welding down on a flat surface or a vertical area...

BAH!!!

I'm holding off on welding for now, other things to do and I'm getting frustrated...

As always, any help is greatly appreciated!

Those "volcanoes" can also happen if you haven't cleaned off all the undercoat or sealer from the backside of the panel.

That makes a whole lot of sense!!!

So I can assume that they are a result of contaminents (?) and I'll bring my propane cylenders in from the garage. I was trying to burn the junk out of the seams this morning but the garage is too cold and I have no propane pressure and so no real heat.

I did not even think about the other side of the metal. I just clean off large deposits of sealer/rubber so they don't catch on fire.

Thanks!

don't be nervous about fiddling around with the settings. Sometimes all it takes is a little tweak one way or the other in wire speed or heat and what was really frustrating just works. I am not pro at welding but one the things I have tried to pick up is getting a good initial setup and then being able to adjust in the right direction as needed.

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-KTurner
Stomp down on the exhilarator and hold on to the wheel.

Okay, so what does one do to prevent rust in an area that is sort-of sealed?

For example, I've got a small area in my rockers that needs to be re-skined. If I cut the rusted metal out and weld a new sheel in place, what prevents rust from forming on the bare sheet inside the rocker (or at least the area where any coating has been burned off from welding)?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2009 02:49PM by Daniel Buehler.

I'm no expert, but I'd say you have to wax oil it or cut holes in from the inside and spray bomb the crap out if.. but since you have no real way to clean it let alone get a good even coverage, some sort of anti rust oil product is your only real option.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish