Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Uncle Joe]

To put in my two pennyworth, for an inexperienced welder, then the only way to go is MIG/MAG. Just get the best welder you can afford, from a reputable manufacturer, and at least 150-180 Amps.

Forget TIG, Stick, Gas, for a beginner, they are more difficult to learn.

[Old-Nail]

[ukdave2002]

Hi oldnail

you may find a big chunk of the cost is dismantling / rebuild, which you may be able to do yourself and then get a mobile welder round? I had this once on a mini that needed welding where the rear subframe bolts to the car on the front mounts; its a subframe off job and it was a hydrolastic mini, the actual welding only took about 20 mins, but required a weekend of spanner work!

Dave

[Penman]

Hi
Firstly I am not a welder myself, but I must admit to enjoying watching a good one at work.
If you had gas could you also do what I used to watch coachbuilders doing?
Using big lumps of solder with a flame to fill dips and dents on wagons they were building/repairing, there is probably a proper name for this but I don't know it.

[Rick]

[ukdave2002]

[Uncle Joe]

I always thought that it was called Body Soldering in the UK.

Far better than using filler....

[Old-Nail]

lead loading has to be better than body filler as the latter is porous and will eventually allow moisture behind it thus spoiling the repair.

UKdave I know what you're saying re: the dismantling costs, unfortunately in this case it's the welding that is being charged for the dismantling i'm doing!

[ianm]

[buzzy bee]

Hi

Propane is best for cutting heating, and is cheap too. My mate used 8 bottles of oxy the other thursday along with propane, on one job! hehe It was quite warm! Now they have got a 12 pack on the go!

Cheers

Dave

[Kaybee]

[Uncle Joe]

Kaybee, I'm going to risk offending you here, but thats not my intention. so apologies in advance if you feel so.

Most of what you say is correct, but you have made several errors. Aluminium is not welded with oxy-acetylene, its brazed.

With a MIG welder, I can get down to just under 0.5mm now with neat welds. But it does require a good technique. Most of the poor quality MIG welds are ''high'' which is just a sign of poor workmanship / lack of knowledge.

For a beginner, I still say that MIG is the easiest process to learn. As far as Lead Loading goes, then oxy/acet is not needed, there is more than enough heat with butane.

[Kaybee]

No problem Uncle Joe, it takes more than that to offend me , and you're right,he did use a flux on alloy and you don't need much heat for lead wiping, but you can use a gas set for the process. What I was trying to convey was the versatility of the gas sets, particularly in being to able to cut cleanly as well as weld and braze. I agree to some extent that mig welding is a no brainer, but it also looks like it in the hands of a beginner. Now that might not be an issue for someone fizzing bits and pieces of heavy section steel together , but for delicate panel repairs on your pride and joy, I'd imagine most folks would be trying for the best and cleanest job possible, ideally a near invisible transition from the old sections to new . With practice (and you need that, whichever system you choose) it is possible to fuse weld well fitted butt joints with gas to a finish just not achievable with Mig. Mig always looks like a quick, rough repair. The only thing it does do well on panel steel is spot and plug welding , and it's handy for joining dissimilar thicknesses, but still looks second rate, in my opinion. When you're dealing with vintage and classic cars, quality repairs are the goal, and while all the welding systems have their different strong points, I still think learning to gas weld is the best place for a beginner to start, and be able to achieve a decent result for their efforts.

Regards, Col.
_________________
If it's old...it's good !

[marknotgeorge]

For the £500 or so the patches will cost you to get done, you can get yourself either a pretty decent MIG welder, and the rental of a cylinder of ArgoShield (or the equivalent) gas for a couple of years, or a top quality MIG welder, and pay extra for the gas. Forget gasless MIG welding, it's too fierce for thin metal - if wind's a problem, rig up a windbreak (or lay off the beans ).

Welding's not difficult, but it does take practice to get the right technique. Whatever you do, don't buy some kit, come home and start attacking the 2cv. Get hold of some scrap steel from a friendly local fabricators or stockholders, and practice on that.

You might be lucky and find a college course near you. If you can't, or even if you can, visit mig-welding.co.uk for more tutorials, help and support than you can shake a stick at. And it's not just MIG, either.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

Better still, cutt out the 2cvpannels or areas that need welding and practise on them, if there is any good stuff left, then you are welding like for like, and have the welder set up to move onto the 2cv.

Cheers

Dave