- Thread starter redwine300
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redwine300
Silly Rabbit
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- 308
I'm with you Will1983, Japanese all the way. Will you be posting your progress with the MX5? If so, please let me know, I would be interested in seeing what you find beneath.
Managed to grab a couple of hours or so on the bottom of the rear arch today.
Keeping in mind my experience with regards to keeping the torch lead as straight as possible,
I hoped I would be able to carry on where I left off, I am glad to say that the ease of maintaining a good weld due to the virtually straight lead, allowing a smooth flow of the wire, really did prove invaluable.
With this in mind, my next hurdle was to try and get a flatter weld without affecting penetration,
Reading a little more from the tutorials,
I felt my torch angle was a little to far away from perpendicular,
I tried a more steeper approach today, and on the face of it, it has made a significant difference.
I'll try it again tomorrow.
Managed to grab a couple of hours or so on the bottom of the rear arch today.
Keeping in mind my experience with regards to keeping the torch lead as straight as possible,
I hoped I would be able to carry on where I left off, I am glad to say that the ease of maintaining a good weld due to the virtually straight lead, allowing a smooth flow of the wire, really did prove invaluable.With this in mind, my next hurdle was to try and get a flatter weld without affecting penetration,
Reading a little more from the tutorials,
I felt my torch angle was a little to far away from perpendicular, I tried a more steeper approach today, and on the face of it, it has made a significant difference. I'll try it again tomorrow.
barrygibson
Member
- Messages
- 99
your auto welding technique's right up there with
the best of them now IMO mate.
the best of them now IMO mate.
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
Cheers barrygibson,
Not sure if i have managed to maintain the same standard today mind,
Things just did not go as well for some reason, I think it was just down to the awkwardness of positions i had to adopt.
Once i had finished the repair panel, i decided to combine plug welds as well as welding through the petal cuts, hopefully will add a little more strength.
After tacking in place, i went on to fill between them, i soon realise in one area i had not removed all of the rust effected areas and as soon as i tried to weld i just kept burning through, after a little dotting of the area with weld, i manged to fill in the hole.
I decided to leave the leading edge long in the hope i can cut the excess off and then turn the edge up at the death.
Not sure if i have managed to maintain the same standard today mind,
Things just did not go as well for some reason, I think it was just down to the awkwardness of positions i had to adopt.
Once i had finished the repair panel, i decided to combine plug welds as well as welding through the petal cuts,
hopefully will add a little more strength.After tacking in place, i went on to fill between them, i soon realise in one area i had not removed all of the rust effected areas and as soon as i tried to weld i just kept burning through, after a little dotting of the area with weld, i manged to fill in the hole.
I decided to leave the leading edge long in the hope i can cut the excess off and then turn the edge up at the death.
Will1983
Member
- Messages
- 55
looks good to me mate.. just out of interest how do you shape your repair panels?
also have you considered seam welding the chassis for a little more rigidity?
as for the 5 im still in the process of collecting tools and putting shelves up in the garage to keep all my bits on. ive already decked out the garage with a work bench, wired it up with sockets and lights, rebuilt the garage door and painted it top to bottom.
hoping to get the car in there either this weekend or the next and start stripping down the rear end. hopefully santa will bring me a tap and die set so i can make a start on the wishbone and their polybushes. i'll be doing a build thread on here and on MX5Nutz forum.
also have you considered seam welding the chassis for a little more rigidity?
as for the 5 im still in the process of collecting tools and putting shelves up in the garage to keep all my bits on. ive already decked out the garage with a work bench, wired it up with sockets and lights, rebuilt the garage door and painted it top to bottom.
hoping to get the car in there either this weekend or the next and start stripping down the rear end. hopefully santa will bring me a tap and die set so i can make a start on the wishbone and their polybushes. i'll be doing a build thread on here and on MX5Nutz forum.
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
Thanks Will1983,
With reference to how I make the repair panels, once I have determined the basic size and shape with the aid of aluminium foil, i start with bending the basic curves by hand, sometimes over the knee or a suitable block of wood to begin with, trying not to kink it.
Once i have that, i then mark out the more tighter curves and estimate where to cut to allow for shrink or stretch depending on the shape.
That done, i gradually bend these areas bit by bit with a pair of grips offering it up several times in the process.
The next stage is to panel beat it gently just to sharpen up the fine details and to flatten out the straight areas. Once that is done I acid etch prime etc'
Hope that helps,
As for welding the seams, I haven't given that much thought, and to be honest, i think that might entail a bit to much work considering the age of the car. but you never know.
With reference to how I make the repair panels, once I have determined the basic size and shape with the aid of aluminium foil, i start with bending the basic curves by hand, sometimes over the knee or a suitable block of wood to begin with, trying not to kink it.
Once i have that, i then mark out the more tighter curves and estimate where to cut to allow for shrink or stretch depending on the shape.
That done, i gradually bend these areas bit by bit with a pair of grips offering it up several times in the process.
The next stage is to panel beat it gently just to sharpen up the fine details and to flatten out the straight areas. Once that is done I acid etch prime etc'
Hope that helps,
As for welding the seams, I haven't given that much thought, and to be honest, i think that might entail a bit to much work considering the age of the car. but you never know.
rtcosic
Member
- Messages
- 2,826
- Location
- Warwickshire
Read Marko's thread about his experience of polybushes on the MX5Nutz forum.
Helped him replace them with OEM bushes last month.
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
I know where you're coming from Sphinx,
When I first blew through. (what I first thought was a little rusty bit.) It turned out to be worse than I feared. (sounds familiar) So I decided to try and practise small hole filling. I mean, How difficult can it be? and as Arnie once said, "BAD IDEA"
Your summary of how it went from there was spot on.
maybe a small patch would have been better.
When I first blew through.
(what I first thought was a little rusty bit.) It turned out to be worse than I feared. (sounds familiar) So I decided to try and practise small hole filling. I mean, How difficult can it be? and as Arnie once said, "BAD IDEA" Your summary of how it went from there was spot on.
maybe a small patch would have been better.
Will1983
Member
- Messages
- 55
ive read every thread regarding polybushes, the trick is buying the right ones. OEM bushes are good but so expensive compared to decent polybushes. the ones im going to fit are from 949 Racing in the states, they are the same make as recommended by Flying Miata (the American MX5 tuning people) they come in two bush halves and a steel insert. to fit them properly you need to drill and tap the wishbone and fit a grease nipple to be able to grease each bush annually.
rtcosic
Member
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- 2,826
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- Warwickshire
Arghhh!
Bushes should not be free to rotate in the wishbone, they should be 'fixed' and flex in a controlled manner. If they are free to rotate they are also free to slide laterally under braking/acceleration mucking up the suspension geometry, plus the small lip at the ends of the bush will soon get trashed in the process. Alternately you will need to fit 'thrust bearing' washers in place of a lip on the bush, then the problem is that the ends of the bush mounting on the wishbone is very thin and will wear the 'thrust bearing' at an alarming rate.
/pedant mode on/ To fit grease nipples you will need to weld or braze a small collar to each wishbone housing and a sharp MoT tester should fail the car as non-OEM welding of any type to suspension/steering components is not permitted. /pedant mode off/
There is (was?) a chap on either Nutz or OC who worked at a dealership and had the dealer-principal’s permission to sell full sets of EOM Competition bushes at ‘trade’, making them only about 10% more than the polybushes.
But this is all covered in the Nutz thread and I have hijacked Redwine’s most excellent thread too much already.
Apologies.
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
And back to the Nissan,
Thanks for popping in guy's and thanks for not hijacking my post too much.
I was determined to continue despite the snow falling outside.
I was praying the white stuff would stop when i remembered Chickenjohns idea about trying to work in the garage.
I cleared everything out of the way and with the car almost touching the wall, I could just about get to the arch.
Not enough room to weld, but enough to finish off the upturned lip and grind back the earlier welding. Even managed to get the acid etch primer to dry, with the help of a hot air gun.
Thanks for popping in guy's and thanks for not hijacking my post too much.
I was determined to continue despite the snow falling outside.
I was praying the white stuff would stop when i remembered Chickenjohns idea about trying to work in the garage.
I cleared everything out of the way and with the car almost touching the wall, I could just about get to the arch.
Not enough room to weld,
but enough to finish off the upturned lip and grind back the earlier welding. Even managed to get the acid etch primer to dry, with the help of a hot air gun.
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
Thanks mrepson
Had a closer look at some of my earlier welds and noticed some pin holes, Particularly where I had tried to fill a hole. I decided to put all my previous lessons together, IE torch lead being a smooth large curve, angle of torch being closer to vertical and also positioning myself so I could have the torch in line with the weld.
I know it seemed a lot of trouble to go to just for a couple of runs, but I just wanted to see if it made the difference, and looking at the weld it appeared to. may be a bit high though.
That done, I thought I would acid etch prime and then try my hand at getting some white primer on. Having read up a bit from the tutorials I decided to have a go. First, due to the cold, i pre warmed the panel before spraying a light dusting with a hot air gun. worked a treat, so while I had a little light left, I went for four more coats warming the panel between each coat.
Had a closer look at some of my earlier welds and noticed some pin holes, Particularly where I had tried to fill a hole.
I decided to put all my previous lessons together, IE torch lead being a smooth large curve, angle of torch being closer to vertical and also positioning myself so I could have the torch in line with the weld.I know it seemed a lot of trouble to go to just for a couple of runs, but I just wanted to see if it made the difference, and looking at the weld it appeared to.
may be a bit high though.That done, I thought I would acid etch prime and then try my hand at getting some white primer on. Having read up a bit from the tutorials I decided to have a go. First, due to the cold, i pre warmed the panel before spraying a light dusting with a hot air gun. worked a treat,
so while I had a little light left, I went for four more coats warming the panel between each coat.
Redwine! Working in all that snow! What an exceptional chap!
You must be after the Restoration Commando of the Year Medal.
Either that or the Something of the Month Award...
A really good first-rate job mate, and lets hope the weather changes soon and makes it more pleasant for you. I can remember clearing snow to work under customers cars when I was in the motor trade, but never on my own one...
You must be after the Restoration Commando of the Year Medal.
Either that or the Something of the Month Award...
A really good first-rate job mate, and lets hope the weather changes soon and makes it more pleasant for you. I can remember clearing snow to work under customers cars when I was in the motor trade, but never on my own one...
gavuk
artful-bodger
- Messages
- 2,951
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- Wilts
what are you using for grinding down the welds? are you using a flap disc ,,,or disc and pad on your grinder?,nothing wrong with what you have done it looks a little proud to me , will only require slightly more filling and sanding to cover.......its just you seem interested (committed) to getting the job as good as you can ....my preference is to have the least amount of filler ,so less hand sanding before spraying ... I don't do restorations and only do mot repairs when i have to ....i hate welding cars
I don't do restorations and only do mot repairs when i have to ....i hate welding cars
redwine300
Silly Rabbit
- Messages
- 308
Cheers Keith19 and Katbloke, Glad you enjoy my efforts, I'll try not have to much time off over Christmas, wild horses and all that.
As for grinding back the weld gavuk, I use a flap disk combined with a dremmel to flat off the welds. I know exactly where you are coming from with regards to the latest welds being proud. I was torn with the fact that once the rap around bumper was re fitted it would not be visible. that said, i was still disappointed with myself for not making a smoother job of it, and may revisit the area again. After all, if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing well.
I'll try not have to much time off over Christmas, wild horses and all that.As for grinding back the weld gavuk, I use a flap disk combined with a dremmel to flat off the welds. I know exactly where you are coming from with regards to the latest welds being proud.
I was torn with the fact that once the rap around bumper was re fitted it would not be visible. that said, i was still disappointed with myself for not making a smoother job of it, and may revisit the area again. After all, if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing well. 