Hello

[Daviewonder]

Hello All

Glad to be here

Just joined as last year I purchased a Mini 1275GT in rather tatty condition and the time has come to get started with the welding.

I've done a small amount of welding about 10 years ago so I'm not very experienced. I have been loking at welders on eBay and have narrowed it down to a couple.

Wish me luck

 

[Country Joe]

Welcome to the Forum!
And good luck!
I go to Sussex sometimes - Horsham to be exact, don't know it too well though!
What welders have you narrowed it down to?
Pictures of the project are always good, too.
All the Best,
CJ

 

[Daviewonder]

Hi Joe, thanks.

I don't know Horsham too well, only been there a couple of times


Here's the two I was interested in-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190733286409?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370643073849?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Any advice would be great.



Here's the worst of the rot on the Mini (as far as I know)-

R/H boot floor

L/H boot floor

Drivers footwell

L/H companion bin

R/H companion bin

 

[Country Joe]

Well, I'd be inclined to go for the Clarke, as the other is a bit of an unknown quantity.
I'd do a Forum search using "LTS" or "local tool sales" in the search box, (top-right corner of screen) as I have vague memories of them not being the easiest to deal with. Having said that, I've just looked at a few threads myself, and to be fair, they have mixed reviews. Take a gander anyway, and see what you think.
This was probably one of the threads I was thinking of, but it does have arguments from both sides.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8473&page=2

But there are quite a few other threads, too.

The clarke is quite well thought of on here, quite a few folk have them, (not me, personally though!) and the spares seem readily available, making it a stress-free choice.
For the small difference in price, I'd probably get one from Steve, in the shop above, as I've done before (a Tig welder, though) - just on the strength of him knowing all about them, and being a decent, easy to deal with type of bloke - sort of a peace of mind thing! They both go from 20 - 150 amps, but I thnk the e-bay one comes set up for disposable cylinders, which are very expensive, and only last about 6-10 minutes of welding time. The WeldEquip one would be set up for re-fillable cylinders, though. Truth be known, you could use either one with either gas source, by means of an adaptor, anyway.

As for the mini - it seems you've got your work cut out! (Excuse the pun!) Not so bad, though, as welding does get quite addictive!
Just my thoughts, I'm sure others will add to this, too!
All the Best,
CJ

 

[cumbriasteve]

Agree totally with CJ's views and advice, I always value what after sales service or contact I could get on a purchase, my personal opinion only but Ebay does not fall into that bracket if I am spending a decent amount.

 

[octo0072000]

mini

you will find that after you have had a good prod and a poke about there will be a lot more rust than you think what's the front inner wings like near the eyeball vents and front A posts

have fun just remember if you think it will take you 6 months double it and add a third sort of puts things in prospective

remember on here we like pictures or progress the more the better