Thanks Everyone,

[colinyr77]

hi, redwine your work looks grate good job. you said you are using 20g and a Clarke what gas are you using and what settings on the welder i have the same welder and have a discovery with lots to be done i have been practicing on some 3mm plate and now have some 20g and was just wondering what settings you was using thanks mate keep up the good work Colin

 

[redwine300]

Hi Colinyr77, Thanks, My MIG, as you say is a Clarke 135te. When i am butt welding 20g i am using the lowest power setting. (1 min ) with a wire speed of 6.5.(0.6 wire by the way) As for the gas, I am using BOC Argoshield light and depending on the wind, I am set at between 12lpm and 14lpm. I try and shield myself as best as I can from the light wind with my fishing umbrella. I have found that the slightest breeze makes a big difference. I would add that the closer the match between the 2 pieces when butting together the better. The weld is less likely to burn through as it acts as if it is one piece of metal. Making sure the mating pieces of metal are spotlessly clean is another thing I have found that makes a big difference. Let me know how you get on with some trial pieces and I will be happy to share what knowledge I have learnt so far. Good luck with the Discovery by the way and remember, just as you think you wish you hadn't started don't give up it will come.

 

[redwine300]

More cutting and shaping than welding today, Managed to get a bit of inner wheelarch welded in though. This will let me weld in the outer sill return on to good metal, which in turn will allow me to fit and weld front outer sill. One thing that concerns me is the sound deadening on the inside of the outer rear wheelarch, I am worried that when I close up with the last patch that it may catch fire. What would you guy's advise?

 

[colinyr77]

hi redwine300, your cutting and shaping is out standing you say you've only bin doing it for 6 months there is some well tidy work there mate, well i started work on the land rover done some welding on the back wheal arch i just couldn't shape the new metal so i just put a patch over and it's not to bad the local garage said it will pass a m.o.t so that give me some confidences so this weekend i done some on the floor by the back door by the end of Saturday i wished i never started the thing effaced i wished i never got a f*@*?*g welder. then i sat and looked at your work again and got down to the message you replied to me and at the bottom you said ( Good luck with the Discovery by the way and remember, just as you think you wish you hadn't started don't give up it will come) so with that i went out on the Sunday after the snow had gone and tried again was there for 2 hours and got more dun than i did on the hole of Saturday and it was well nice. i will get some pics up soon. but thanks for that cos thats what gave me a extra push. i use this car every day for work so can only do a bit at a time. keep up the good work it looks spot on

 

[Iain Westland]

colinyr77

sometimes you can cheat. put some cuts in where bends and dips need to be. weld the rear edges then start tapping the metal into shape, form as you go.

 

[superls]

great work on the restoration, some really good work woing into it. love to see it back to its former glory back on the road.

off topic, is the red escort in the back of the pics anything special? they look like gti wheels, reason i ask is not many 3 doors about and most of them are gti's or rs's looks like it has side skirts too and them 'spats' on the bumper.

 

[redwine300]

Colinyr, Big thanks for your compliments. Good to hear you have bit the bullet and started on the land rover. I look forward to seeing some photos and offering any help I can. I know what you mean about shaping metal, It has taken many late nights of temper tantrums to get where I am so far and still have more to learn. I have found that if I tack a piece in, although it is frustrating it can always be removed. That said, it is easier for me as I have a second vehicle for my day to day running where as you are working on you main source of transport which must make things difficult. It was good to hear you made some progress over the weekend. Imagine if you can improve that much in two days just what will you be able to achieve in 2 months? Again thanks for the post and don't forget the photos

 

[redwine300]

Superls, You are spot on, It is a Escort GTi. I have had her from new and have never looked back. As for the restoration, Thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated. Like Colinyr77 sometimes a good comment helps keep the motivation going.
Roll on the summer!!

 

[redwine300]

Well managed to get a bit more done today, Tried the tip from autocare reference the cutting before bending etc' worked a treat. Helped me shape a bigger section of the wheelarch. By the way colinyr77, have you managed to take any photos yet? I would be interested in seeing how you are getting on. I have posted some pictures of my progress today

 

[metalspanner]

Redwine what a cracking job, you are really doing the car the justice it deserves and you will enjoy it all the more for it.
I notice someone said they wished they had never got a &%$£@*&% welder, to them look at it like this it is a learning curve, you will go forwards for a while, but then hit a bump and it feels like you are back to thinking, how do I switch it on.
BUT what you have actually done, is strengthen your basics and tried something more challenging and it has not gone well, all it has cost you is a bit of time metal wire and gas, but you have learned so much more.
Time spent in practicle attempts is NEVER wasted, even if it is to learn from the mistakes, thats what being self taught is all about.
I have a Disco and it has gone in the bottom corners of the rear door frame, fortunately the rear floor pan is new by a previous keeper, and a couple of patches on the rear cross member and one on the chassis.
The rear door frame scares the hell out of me, but time and patience and plenty of coffee will see the job done.

 

[redwine300]

By the way metalspanner,Many thanks for the compliments. As you say, when it is finally complete it will have all been worth while. Are you running a post on your work in progress at the moment? I would be interested in seeing it if you are. As for this weekend I didn't manage get much done I'm afraid, Half term and valentines day got in the way Did manage to make up some inner wheel-arch sections though. Bring on the weekend!!!

 

[metalspanner]

Redwine, I will be running a post with photos as soon as the worst of the weather is out of the way, mot due in june, so will let the weather have its way at the moment.
Hopefully it should dry out the motor in May, and I will get on with the welding then, at the moment I have a major project on the go and have to drive across wet muddy fields so it looks like a mudball at the present time.
In the meantime I wash it once a week, and still cant get all the mud off it, but I do know a man with a ramp and steam cleaner who will be getting a nice drink soon, and then its all systems go, welding, wax oil and a major service.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[redwine300]

Roll on the summer, I hope to have the Nissan on the road by then. Managed to fabricate and weld into position outer wheel arch repair today. No matter what I did I still ended up with slight panel distortion. Would someone take a look and describe just how I should have approached it so as to avoid distortion in the future please. I must be missing something.

 

[Chickenjohn]

It doesn't look that bad from the photos. Can you not just grind down the welds and skim with filler???

An approach to lessen distortion would be to put a swage (or joddle) in the repair section, punch holes in the rear 1/4 panel and join with plug welds and a small overlap. Then fill the outside before painting, seam seal, paint and wax protect the inside, though, the overlap being inside the car and being in a dry part of the car, it should not rust from this point.

Nice work, by the way!

 

[redwine300]

Problem there is my photographic skills leave a lot to be desired and with the colour being white it just comes out to bright. I have looked at it, as you say with regards to filling and sanding back. Fortunately the distortion has gone in wards, so if I build up with filler as you say and use a large flat sanding block I should get away with it. Spent all day fettling and shaping outer rear sill section ready to weld in to position, this is why I really need some advice so as not to mess it up. Must me about 1 meter in length of weld. Should I space my tacks at 30mm intervals and start from the middle and work my way to either end equally? Any other tips would be welcome.

 

[Chickenjohn]

How did you weld the section in after tacking it?? Was it from one end to another?? To minimise distortion you should weld between the tacks, alternating to different areas of the repair, allowing time to cool, so the heat does not build up in any one spot.

 

[redwine300]

I welded with a alternating pattern as you say but I think my impatience gets the better of me. I probably welded the latest piece complete in less than ten minutes, Perhaps a little to quick?? Another thing I would like to ask, am I making my joints to close, therefore not allowing any room for the weld to shrink back causing interference? I have watched various programs on TV and thought there gaps were just poor workmanship but perhaps it's just the opposite? Gaps are there by design?

 

[Chickenjohn]

You're going to have to skim with filler before painting, lucky the distortion was inwards! As I said above, to minimise distortion on a visible section like that, I would joddle the repair section, punch holes every 1"- 1/2" in the rear 1/4 and plug weld the two together with a 1cm overlap. If the two pieces were held together tightly at the overlap, by, for example self tapping screws or self drilling screws, then there should be less distortion and less to fill.

I have done this kind of repair on the bottom of doorskins.

Not sure about the gap and distortion. Flatish panels tend to distort when welded, it is having structure that holds things in shape. have a look at the wheel arch repair on this site http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/wheelarch.htm, malcolm used an overlap.

 

[Chickenjohn]

I don't very often do an overlap, but sometimes it is better if distortion is going to be a problem, and you can use weld through primer on both pieces so the inside of the overlap is painted as well to minimise the chance of rust developing there.

 

[redwine300]

Cheers Chickenjohn, Thanks for the link, I think I understand what's been done there. Also a couple of useful tips there with reference to self tappers etc' Again, thank's
Only 5 days to go before I can get back to her.