When you get to the final patch your work will be so much nicer you will want to start over again! This is great.
When you get to the final patch your work will be so much nicer you will want to start over again! This is great.
TurnerX19 said:When you get to the final patch your work will be so much nicer you will want to start over again! This is great.
I had the results of my first custom job crushed. It's best to get rid of the evidence. LOL
Back to the fender clearance topic, I'm anxious to find out what the stance is going to be with the new wheels but if there's not enough clearance then I've decided to cut the arches off the fenders and relocate them further up however-many inches required on the fenders. Other options would alter the appearance too much, I think. There's a guy who did a similar build with a Miata and a '62 Comet and that's what he did as well: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showpost.php?p=6445308&postcount=59 . This would also have the advantage of allowing me to move the arch forward on the front fender an inch or so if it's required.
Might look something like this: (not a photoshop rendering, I found that on Instagram, owner is @dkohdk)
Or I could cut my own custom radiuses and make custom flares or whatever
TurnerX19 said:When you get to the final patch your work will be so much nicer you will want to start over again! This is great.
is that a polite way of saying that my welds are starting to not look like berkeley?
In reply to mannydantyla :
I was really thinking more of the metal shaping than the welding. You can grind the high spots off the welds.
I think the blue car is about an inch too low, but love how it looks overall, the rake and the colors. Oh! he's in Oz, colours....
Hmmmmm.......
mannydantyla said:Hmmmmm.......
If you're taking a pole, my vote is for the first one (top left). It looks like something the factory would have produced. some of the others look too cartoonish (think the Movie Cars, smiling) to my eyes.
Got the door sills all fabricated. I actually managed to make something pretty!
They're strong enough to stand on, probably (I'm not going to find out). Should help keep the car from flexing, too.
And I have a little bit of a problem. The old Type 3 chassis is totally junk and has been sitting in the back yard for several weeks now. It's finally stopped snowing and I've started to think about how to get rid of it. I called the scrap yard and asked what the rules are on selling them an old car and they need the title to send to the state. That's a problem for me because I'm using the VIN on the body to tag and title the vehicle (already did, actually). They said, "if it looks like a car, then it needs a title." So I guess I could cut it up into many little bits and haul to the scrap yard piece by piece? That would be a pretty big job, would take all weekend maybe. I don't have time to do that, I really don't even have time to be working on this project at all. But I'm so close, so close to getting the all the body panels and stuff back on, then I can focus on everything else in life again.
I generally try not to comment about low quality work, but in the interest of your safety, you really need to back up and revisit your welds.
I know we throw around the term "deathtrap" here a lot jokingly, but the welding quality on this is literally dangerously sketchy.
You will *literally* be risking the lives of yourself, your passengers and everyone else sharing the road with you!
You're welding way too cold and not actually penetrating the base metal. Your weld beads are laying on top of the steel, and not flowing out into the base like they should be.
Pretty much all of those welds need to be ground down and started over.
I assure you I'm not welding too cold, those are full penetration welds, not tack welds. I just didn't have the time to go along the entire seam. I like to run the welder just a little hotter than the chart on the side recommends, and I adjust for this with less time on the trigger. I'll get a close up shot to show that they're laying flat.
I'm sure you're looking at the welds on the left side of the door sill. Yeah those ones were problematic, I think there was some paint under the weld-through primer. I had to first let the junk burn out, then I could pulse the trigger some more. It resulted in those ugly welds, but, again, I assure you there was penetration into the metal.
I also welded 2x3 steel tube frame rails, 1/8" thick, down the length of the vehicle connecting the front and rear sub-frame rails.
I'm sharing a lot of the sausage-making that I think most builders would rather not share, to avoid getting grief from others on the internet. Maybe I could learn something from those builders.
Generally, every time someone has made a negative comment (here) on something ive done, it falls into one of two categories:
1. I didn't take a picture that showed reality properly
2.i berkeleyed up, or did something that could have been far better some other way.
My welding has fallen into both categories. Same with my engineering decisions. I first got pissed, then i learned from the guys that are trying to teach/spot check me. Nohome called me and dad out on a few welds, suggested some techniques and settings, and things got way better.
Im not a pro welder, nor did i sleep in a holiday inn express last night. So im not qualified to remark on welds. But, seeing what you're doing overall, and learning through trial by fire, is cool. So keep it up, and an open mind. Ive learned new wiring tricks, and i did that for a living.....
mannydantyla said:Hmmmmm.......
Top left looks most factory-ish. But the bottom two are a nice nod to the Miata face. I think I prefer them.
Greg Smith said:mannydantyla said:Hmmmmm.......
Top left looks most factory-ish. But the bottom two are a nice nod to the Miata face. I think I prefer them.
Bottom left wins for me
Scrap: cut it into one man handleable chunks. Put in bed of truck. Call misc scrap metal. Drop off at yard.
Done that a few times now with titleless wrecked parts car shells.
On the grill front...How about an MG grill spliced in upside down?
On the frame I wonder if you could weld a cheap trailer coupler and claim it is a home made trailer you wish to scrap ... people do it with truck beds all the time.
Paint contamination is not even close to your problem... Here's proof.
Fit up as welded. *Note the crappy ground.
That's what contamination in a weld looks like. But it's still a solid weld.
More proof...
That's after beating on it in the vise. Notice the backside is folded back over on itself and the weld still held.
This was also with a 110v flux core welder running on a 50' extension cord. The only explanation for your welds is not enough amps. (Edit: or not enough duration, but I don't think that's the issue here as the tacks would be smaller.) Those charts on the welders are only guidelines, and only apply if you are running it on a perfect electrical circuit.
I'm not a pro-welder either, but I learned how to weld in a vocational school studying auto body repair.... over 20 years ago... and have been cutting cars apart and welding them back together ever since.
Disregard my warning if you want, but those welds are going to come apart like a cheap suit once this thing gets on the road.
I'm not saying any of this to be rude, or tear you down, I'm genuinely concerned about the consequences of the quality of your work.
Your ambition has outreached your skill, and you are not experienced enough to recognize that.
Oh, and those parts aren't just painted, they're also galvanized.
I'm not claiming that all my welds are hot enough, and maybe there are some areas that I should go over, like under the rockers where they meet the bottom pinch seam. I should have turned up the heat for the thicker metal down there. But most of my welds are good, even though there's spaces between them. I'll look over many of my welds and if they're not good enough then I'll fix them. Thanks Crackers
No problem. I'm not trying to dissuade you, I'm just trying to help you produce something that is safe, sound, and enjoyable.
Anything structural or that requires removing glass/interior needs to be done correctly the first time, or you'll never get back to it. Trust me, it's just how projects like this go. If this thing starts cracking at the seams in a couple months/years it will become yard art and just waste away.
As Michael says, "There's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution."
Keep it up, and don't be afraid to blow holes in your work. My philosophy is if you're not occasionally blowing holes you're not welding hot enough.
That sample I welded above blew out twice before I finished.
Found on Facebook. Reminded me of this thread (title). It was on the “innovative, banned and unique racing cars and trucks” page.
In reply to Lof8 :
I've got videos of that car auto crossing and it's as awesom as the still photos
mannydantyla said:Hmmmmm.......
Of these I like the top left and bottom left the best but what about putting radiators in front of each rear wheel integrated into whatever you end up doing for flairs?
Not sure why but the top right picture looks like a Hitler mustache to me. I'm liking the lower left one the most.
I need to get the front welded back on. What do you guys think about this plan: first put the doors on, bolt both fenders to the front "apron" (where the grill will be) and now it's like the front clip from a truck, minus a radiator support. And then use my hoist to suspend it and get it into the perfect alignment with the doors, now bolt it to the cab, and then weld it all up solid.
brad131a4 said:I'm liking the lower left one the most.
Yeah me too, I'll probably go with that one. Pretty easy too!
I can't think of any reason that idea won't work. Make sure you have a core support under it so that way you have the other triangulation point before it's all welded together
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