Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to pay attention...

I drew my first bead with the new MIG. 18 ga sheet, Lincoln .025 wire on a Miller 140 set to "Autoset". First few attempts something seemed not quite right. Then, I noticed the gas gauge was going to 0 when I pulled the trigger. I cranked the tank up to 30 CFH, and got the bead that I circled in red. I could not be more thrilled... it looks exactly the same on the back side. Obviously, I'll need a bit more practice, especially in finishing a bead, but WOOHOO!

Click to view attachment

Todd, weld looks good.... Just remember, to get really good welds you need the following:

1. good lighting, you need to see what you're welding
2. good ground, get as close to the weld area and remove all paint until you get to bare metal
3. take your time, the metal on these cars are very thin and it's easy to burn through

-- Rob

Thanks for the advice. I bought a sheet of 18 ga to practice on so that I'd get used to the thin metal. I have a Harbor Freight auto dark hood that worked pretty good. I'll throw some more light on the work next time to see if I can see any better, but this still beats crap out of stick welding with a flip down hood.

My brother in law welds for a living on the railroad. When he was coaching me on welding and I mentioned that I couldn't see the bead, he suggested I wear my reading glasses for welding. Duh. What a difference the reading glasses made.

I could see the bead okay, but seeing where I was going was a bit iffy. Next time for practice, I am going to cut two pieces and try to follow the seam.

From looking at my initial attempt, I feel like I need to move a little faster, and I burned through at the end of the bead.

Be sure to get way down low and bring the bead toward you so that you can see what going on... sometimes the MIG gun or something else blocks your view when welding on the car, but practice/practice/practice beforehand will give you a better feel for hand speed, angle of the gun, motion of the gun (straight, half-moons, etc.), distance of the gun from the metal, etc. Soap pencils parallel to the weld area can also help when you're welding in an area with low-light.

Have fun!

Geoff

Anybody can run MIG in the flat particularly downhand like your doing. Verticle & overhead seperates the men form the boys (I'm a teenager ). Down hand flat/verticle is OK for sheet metal, but thicker materials need up hand for penetration. Overhead sheet metal....what ever you gotta do to keep from lighting yourself on fire.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/thin-metal.htm

Got a call from Dan Hall's today. Crank is broke. Fuch. So much for the 2258.

Now I need to make a decision between a 2056 and a 2270. I have two more 2.0 cranks. Time to crunch a bunch of numbers.

("Now I need to make a decision between a 2056 and a 2270")


Bigger is better.......then theres always bigger......and bigger........and bigger.......

At this point, bigger involves a $600 crank...

Todd,
That sucks... what options are you looking at?

Kyle

I have an interim plan. I'm thinking I'll build a closer-to-stock engine to run until I can afford the rest of the parts for a 2270 or 2316. Then I'll have a spare engine in case the big motor grenades...

Yeah.. good idea. Gets you on the road sooner and lets you shake out the other stuff. I drove down to Portland last year and picked up a complete 2.0l with sideshift trans for $500 with the intention of doing something like you are doing but just can't decide what to do. What does Jake say about those 78mm Foreign MFG'd forged cranks?

Kyle

I can't imagine that he could badmouth them too much, cuz he sells them...

Flared rockers came in the mail today from the AA Group Buy. First impression is pretty damn nice... here is one just set in place:

Click to view attachment

Yeah, but he doesn't put them in his kits. I wonder if it has to do with rod choices etc.

Cool Rockers. Are those steel or fiberglass?

Kyle

They are glass, just like the factory GTs. George says that they are from a mold pulled from a factory M471 car.

Car has been in a storage unit for over 5 years now. I just found a new place that finally looks like I can get back to working on my 914 soon. I'm pretty excited about that.

During the last 5 years, I have managed to acquire a pair of Len Hoffman heads and a pair of raised spindle 911 struts.

Hoping to get Lonely Neuron Brewing up and running again soon as well.

Cool Todd! I hope things start moving along for you.

Are you in the same area?

Pretty much. Moving from Woodstock to Kerns.

Couldnt have happened to a nicer guy