In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Here in New England you just need to wait 10 minutes for the weather to change. I am heading south when I retire.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Here in New England you just need to wait 10 minutes for the weather to change. I am heading south when I retire.
12/18, first time working on MonZora since 11/26. Pretty sure this is the last bead required on coolant tubes:
and here's what they look like from end to end:
and from radiator end looking rearward:
Not sure what I'll work on next. Definitely need to put these back in place and work out a couple of support brackets.
Today I got out to the garage to do a little bit of garage maintenance. With a Home Depot gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I got new weatherstrip for top and sides of door, as well as whatever the thing is called that seals the bottom of the door to the concrete.
Old and busted:
New hotness:
I wanted to replace the steel rollers with nylon, but they're not in stock locally. So I cut up a soda can:
and shimmed the roller shafts to take out some slop:
i also found and fixed a couple loose bolts on the door track and a stripped bolt where the side cable bracket attaches to the door. With all that done, the door is much quieter in operation and the garage is significantly less drafty. I might even go spend an hour cleaning up before I call it a night.
It really is the little things.
Continuing with the little things theme, here's my first attempt at welding 1994 steel fuel lines. Because why buy what I've already got? I'm using a Ridgid tubing cutter to get nice square cuts, and deburring the inside with a center drill in the drill press.
With two square and clean ends to join, I looped some .025" MIG wire around the doorknob and clamped the other end in my cordless drill, and twisted myself some thin filler rod:
then welded it together using filler in one section and no filler in another:
then I cut it open to see the inside. Kinda like a hooker, but different:
the fusion part looks good, but the filled part is a little rough and definitely reduces cross-section. This line measures 5/16" OD, so I think I might buy a short length of 3/8" and weld sleeved joints instead of butt joints. It doubles the amount of prep and welding but eliminates the area reduction. And I like experimenting with stuff like this.
CORRECTION: the lines are 3/8" OD. I might have an in-house sleeve material, will need some time on the lathe to see if can be made to work.
I'd be interested in seeing the results of a pressure test between the different methods
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I'll have to think about setting up a test. FWIW, C4 operating pressure is about 44 psi.
Tiny stuff.
Maybe try another fusion joint but with a tiny bit more heat. Or one with filler and a bit of a chamfer. And less heat.
FWIW, I wouldn't use a welded brake line in service. I might sleeve the outside and braze it, though.
Ok, second attempt, 100% fusion except where I had to fill a pinhole that wouldn't flow shut without a dab of filler.
outside:
and inside:
It's interesting to note the slight necking down around the welded circumference. I think I'll run up to FLAPS and grab a short section of 3/8" steel line and experiment with that a bit.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :if you are setup to back purge, back purging will help. The other thing I would do is back down on the amperage a bit.. it should just be getting fusion on the inside of the panel,, not bursting through.
even the tiny bit of flow of argon thru the back helps with that.
Otherwise, like always I would personally recommend against welding brake lines. But feel free to expirament. I weld thin wall E36 M3 all the time, but its obviously for q much different purpose.
Your welding has come a long ways, keep u the good work.
In reply to GaryC83 and TVR Scott:
these are fuel lines, so will only see about 50 psi. I also would not DIY weld brake tubes, because brake pressures are in the 1000 psi range.
i have a second regulator so I'll give back-purging a try. Thanks for the suggestion!
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Didn't even catch the line size or purpose.. Apologies. I'm doing about 12 things at the shop currently waiting on a weld to cool.
Fuel lines, I have welded stainless lines before. Its not "recommended" but I've done it quite often for various reasons. Custom lines with welded on adapters, etc. Also done it for custom hardlines for trans lines running to the bulkhead fittings and the like. Before jogging to the cooler.
Definitely give back purging a try. Its amazing the difference. Make sure you allow it to flow out. Poke a hole or two in the end of your opposite end, and set your CFH to 10-12, typically. On super small stuff you can drop it down further as well, usually.
In reply to GaryC83 :
Thanks for the kind words and helpful advice. I really enjoy welding and I really want to improve my skills, so I appreciate the hints from you and others.
I missed that you were playing with fuel line too!
I'm personally super excited with how well your Tig welding is coming along. Keep at it!
Working on this chassis and I had another thought for you, if you are going to play with sleeving things, for E36 M3s and grins.
Consider trying silicon bronze with your tig to 'sweat' the sleeve onto the tubing. Honestly it's a great process for stuff like that, as its a lot lower temp and you won't actually wind up getting any fusion through the backside done properly..and a properly done joint should be more than capable of holding 50psi.
In reply to GaryC83 :
I will buy some silicon bronze rod and practice a bit with it.
Welding fuel lines...hmmm. I wonder about the cost difference between that or joining segments with short pieces of hose and clamps. You can use a bubble flare brake line tool to get a small lip on a cut fuel line for a good hose clamp connection. Just a slight press of the tool, not a complete bubble flare.
In reply to maschinenbau :
But that's not what an engineer would do. Complex solutions to simple problems are why we love AC.
+10 silicon Bronze rod - TIG brazing - I use this on light weight materials.
For TIG welding, a smaller electrode combined with a back purge will produce cleaner results. I believe.
With the smaller electrode you can make nice little surgical welds, instead of boogers.
bentwrench said:+10 silicon Bronze rod - TIG brazing - I use this on light weight materials.
For TIG welding, a smaller electrode combined with a back purge will produce cleaner results. I believe.
With the smaller electrode you can make nice little surgical welds, instead of boogers.
It also works great for joining thicker machined panels (like our bulkhead / Canon plug panel) to our 16g firewalls.
This is a retrofit of a car we built prior, but I filled the old location, and relocated a new panel to make clearance for the LT4 going in. Silicon bronzed the CNC'D panel to the firewall. Quick cleanup with some 80 grit and a swipe of glazing putty and she was done. Works awesome for stuff like that as well.
It's a great process, in the right application.
Not the best pictures, but I'm a fabricator not a documentary photographer. 
In reply to GaryC83 :
Damn that's cool! This is exactly the kind of stuff I want my brain to be full of.
Easy button engaged:
And with "weld fuel lines" removed from the list, I'm going to get started on this tonight:
no, not organizing the basement; rather, cleaning C4 wiring harness. this is step 1 of integrating the C4 and Corvair electrical systems, which is by far my biggest source of anxiety, at least as far as MonZora is concerned. I'm including "flash C4 LT1/4L60 ECU so it thinks it's an LT4 / 6MT Camaro". This will be my first foray into tuning and flashing.
So now the fun part begins 
Definitely a good winter project if you can bring it inside to work on it. I spent countless hours with it all laid out on the pool table for weeks as I squinted at the Miata and Spitfire wiring harness diagrams to paste one harness together and remove the 75% of the harness that I did not need. Good luck, hope you are not color blind 
A guy I follow on insta posted this Corvair/917K mashup...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1LfqAoH6S/?utm_medium=copy_link
All I could think of was this thread.
Particularly like the cutaway rear valance.
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