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Kats Project

Well I asked hubby if we could go buy a welder Thursday (aka payday). He said "We'll see..." which means if I play nice wife, then it's a yes. :thu

I also figured out that I might just go ahead and cut up the trunk lid for patch panels. I'm replacing it anyway with a spoiler one (like tarafied has) and no point in all that sheet metal going to waste.
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
Well I asked hubby if we could go buy a welder Thursday (aka payday). He said "We'll see..." which means if I play nice wife, then it's a yes. :thu

I also figured out that I might just go ahead and cut up the trunk lid for patch panels. I'm replacing it anyway with a spoiler one (like tarafied has) and no point in all that sheet metal going to waste.
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Save your coins and get a good welder. This is not a tool to buy on price. Ask me how I know. The HF welders are fine for building racks or fixing a wheelbarrow but are not real good at most of the body work I have attempted. Ask Abe about the difference between his and a Lincoln, for example.

I personally think you would do better by selling the deck lid as an original item and using the cash to buy metal stock.
 
Plus, anytime you were to use some of that decklid as a patch, you will have to stop & take the extra time to grind down all of the edges, where you will weld, to bare metal so that you get a good contact & weld.

I would not recommend you use existing metal for the repairs. Just my 2cents.
 
Well my only options for sheet metal patches is use what I have, or buy it at Home Depot / Lowes at outrageous prices (if they even carry the right gauge), or go to a junk yard and buy bent up, painted, rusted parts. I just figured using what I have saves a little $ although might be more time consuming grinding off paint to bare metal. :shrug
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
I was planning on something like this for a welder... http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 0P?prdNo=1


I don't who would want to buy an original 66 lid with battery corrosion from an uncovered battery in the trunk and a bent up area where the lock is suppose to go (looks like someone took a pry bar and ripped out the lock). :shrug
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Probably better than a HF but it still doesn't have a range of power adjustment that is really key. Ideally you want to have a knob just like the wire feed speed to control the power so you can fine tune it to the task at hand. Not having it makes it tougher to get it dialed in for best results.

There are plenty of guys who would rather repair that old lid than try to fit a re-pop piece.
 
I picked up a Weld Pac 130 flux wire feed welder from HD for a far price.
It works very well for home projects and body work.
As for the metal, Look thru the yellow pages for a steel shop in your area. (I found one for alum work too)
They can cut to size steel plate and for a small fee even do some bending to helpout your fab work.

On the plus side, Doing some hammer pounding to bend your metal into shape is very theraputic. :part
 
"Mach1Rider" said:
I picked up a Weld Pac 130 flux wire feed welder from HD for a far price.
It works very well for home projects and body work.
As for the metal, Look thru the yellow pages for a steel shop in your area. (I found one for alum work too)
They can cut to size steel plate and for a small fee even do some bending to helpout your fab work.

On the plus side, Doing some hammer pounding to bend your metal into shape is very theraputic. :part
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Oh yes, I know... taking the BFH and beating the hell out of the old cowl vent which is laying in my driveway, is very therapeutic. :thu

Googling places in my town I found this. Maybe this place might have sheet metal? :confu
http://mackboltandsteel.com/steel.nxg
 
"Horseplay" said:
Ideally you want to have a knob just like the wire feed speed to control the power so you can fine tune it to the task at hand.
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the welder I posted, Lincoln Electric Handy MIG Wire Feed Welder, says has "Four voltage settings and continuous wire feed speed adjustment allow you to weld mild steel from 24 gauge to 1/8" thick."

Sears has it on sale for $299... yet places like HD it goes for almost $500. :wth
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
the welder I posted, Lincoln Electric Handy MIG Wire Feed Welder, says has "Four voltage settings and continuous wire feed speed adjustment allow you to weld mild steel from 24 gauge to 1/8" thick."

Sears has it on sale for $299... yet places like HD it goes for almost $500. :wth
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Yeah. It basically has four power tap points like the "higher end" HF units. What I typically find is that the ideal amount of power needed is something like a 2 and a half so the only power choice is too little or too much. Better units have a full range knob just like the wire speed.

Not saying they can't be used (it's what I currently have) but it does make it harder and, in my opinion, some jobs not doable. Wonder how much someone would charge you to come over and do the welding for you? You could use the cash to cover the first $300 anyway. Just a thought.
 
"Horseplay" said:
Wonder how much someone would charge you to come over and do the welding for you?
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Free. I have a few folks who can weld and would do it no charge (got to love car clubs!). It's more a matter of waiting until they have free time to come over and do it.
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
Free. I have a few folks who can weld and would do it no charge (got to love car clubs!). It's more a matter of waiting until they have free time to come over and do it.
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I bet $300 worth of beer and some good vittles would help them to find some time. Honestly, for the jobs ahead of you that is the path I would recommend. I've stalled my own project partially because some of the work I have ahead of me is beyond my current comfort level as a welder.
 
One corner down! :thu

IMG_4607.jpg


before picture for comparison
IMG_4600.jpg
 
Kat if you want to save a few bucks on some metal, check your local listings for metal scrap yards that also sell the "scrap". Scrap can be taken the wrong way. It doesn't necessarily mean old rusted out junk. They normally sell by the pound, with a few cents mark up to make a profit. Believe it or not, you can find like new metal of all shapes, sizes and thickness. It's a LOT cheaper than even dealing with a metal supplier (who price it by the piece). As you've figured out, if you buy it from Lowe's, HD, etc.. it costs an arm and a leg! To give you an idea, the sheet metal you saw in my recent pics was purchased from a local metal fab shop. The closest metal supplier actually directed me to them because he didn't have what I needed in stock and would have to order it. Keeping in mind that (IIRC), a 1ft x 4ft section of 20ga sheet at the HD was around $23, I paid $43 for a 4ft x 10ft sheet of 18ga! Quit the mark up!! Had I driven all the way to the scrap yard I could have saved even more! BTW, I didn't need a whole 10ft sheet (they cut it in half for me), but there was a communication error and I said screw it I'll take the whole thing. You can never have enough 18 or 20ga sheet around! :thu

Keep up the good work!!
 
Personally, I prefer to recycle OEM sheet metal that is not rusted over today's metals. For one, it will be the right gauge (thickness), and secondly, it is of better quality (lack of porosity) than what is available today. If OEM steel is not available, repro stuff (sheet metal) is second choice, primarily because it will be formed close to what you need. Third choice is straight sheet metal, either from a scrap yard or from a vendor who sells new.

I like straight sheet metal, because I am good at forming compound shapes and that doesn't bother me. I'm not quite as good as a certain Kansan master, however, but close! I agree that whacking the hell out of sheet metal to form the curve is very therapeutic.
 
I found a sheet metal place in town, 20ga metal.. $1.85 per sqft. I'll check some metal fab places in town (i saw a few of those listed) and see if they sell scrap. :thu

I check craigslist all the time, but as you can see.. a whole 2 listings in my town. lol

The reason I was thinking of reusing the trunk lid for patch panels was because it already has a slight curve in it which I thought would make things a tad easier on me than trying to form the curve from flat piece of metal. It made sense to me anyway! lol
 
Well since I can't do any welding or anything cowl related yet, figured I'd go ahead and start on cleaning up the dash area & firewall before the new cowl gets put in.

Last night & Todays progress...

Took care of the corner area
IMG_4612.jpg


Cleaned the back of the dash & the firewall.... followed by metal ready and then POR. (following directions on the bottles)
IMG_4610.jpg

IMG_4616.jpg

IMG_4619.jpg

(forgot to get a before but here's from another angle)
IMG_4603.jpg


I also decided to pull out whatever the hell that thing is that holds the brake pedal off and cleaned those up as well.
IMG_4611.jpg

IMG_4614.jpg

IMG_4615.jpg



Now the fun part.. trying to untangle that mess of a wire harness :roul so I can get to that side. I also need to get the ignition, wipers, headlight knobs out. Tomorrow. I had enough rustang drama for today. :part
 
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Don't be getting TOO gung-ho with the back side dash paint. Welding in the new cowl will cook that off at each cherry weld spot. Also where ever you do that fire wall edge repair.

Just my 2 cents.

But making awesome progress! :thu
 
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