Question for welders

[jstuart]

When I bought my car I discovered that the usual trunk rust was beyond repair and now I intend to replace the three panels.  I already have the panels and a body shop has quoted me 1k as the cost to install them.

I'm thinking that I could buy a welder and do it myself for that price.  Any thoughts on what type of welder and what to look for would be greatly appreciated!

TIA!

Jay

1969 280SL

[merrill]

Jay,
I know it seems tempting, however welding can be very dangerous.

Even if you get the gear, doing the job correctly is the next hurdle.


I am curious to see what type of responses you receive from your post.

matt

Matt
66 230 sl - "white"
78 300 D - Blue
98 C230

[ja17]

Hello Jay,

A lot of trade schools hold adult night classes for welding which may span a month or two a night or two a week. They are well worth the time invested to learn correctly and safely.

Besides learning how to do it, you can learn and use all the types of equipment and find out what you reall need in equipment and hand tools.

A mig welding coarse would be most useful. Additional learning in sheetmetal fabrication, and oxy aceteline welding and cutting would be a plus.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[91lux]

Hi
I have done a lot of welding on my pagoda. I went to a short training class for learning to weld and also what kind of tools to use.This also convinced me that I could manage this.I also visited some welding shops to see how to and what they use. I also practiced a lot on other cars going to be scrapped before I started on the Pagada.
Any way you will need a proper place with good ventilation. The work takes much longer time than you expect. The tools you need are not limited to just the welding machine but als inert gas bottle, proper cutting tool, painting tools,wisegrips,wire brushes,angle grinder etc.

Concerning the job to replace the panels in the trunk I would use a proffesional welder as this  placer is easy exposed to others and should be nice looking.It is not so easy to do nice if you are not trained. Welding in that area is also dangerous as it is very close to the gas tank and fumes from gas.
So for this job 1k USD from my point is not so bad.

But dont let me drag you down this is thoughts I have made my self after 1 year of welding on my own Pagoda and was many times so frustrated facing rework so I almost gave up. Today I am almost finished and have learned a lot about my pagoda and is little bit proud of myself that I managed all this welding with good result.


Thanks 91lux, Norway

[Khurram Darugar]

jay,
    I went down the same path as you.
If you are doing this to save money...... its not really worth it for just trunk replacement... on the other hand if you want to learn a new skill and like spending time in the garage with your car then this may be for you.

Night course is a must!!  Mig welding is relatively easy to learn.

Buy a good welder.  Some people may disagree but in my experience you do not want to start questioning your beginner skills due to a low qaulity welder.
I have a lincoln Electric welder with a tweco torch.  This is a good setup (and i went through a few).  Do not buy any SIP migmate welders!  The trunk is a good place to start due to good access. Dont try welding upside down if you dont have to.

"welding can be very dangerous", this may sound weird ..... but not in my experience.  If you wear all the right gear (gloves, overalls, mask) and if you understand that red hot metal will be not feel good on your skin if you touch it, then you are in good shape.  
Be careful using the angle grinder, this tool can be dangerous and needs to be handled with care.  

Besides that just have fun with it.
As 91lux put it.....  

"have learned a lot about my pagoda and is little bit proud of myself that I managed all this welding with good result"

is whats its all about.

Kay  




Kay
Euro 280sl LHD Auto.

[al_lieffring]

If your assumption that you can save some money is based on buying one of those 120 volt flux core mini MIG welders, that isn't the way to go.
I bought one from one of those discount catalogs many years ago. It was a total waste of money. First the shipping charges ended up being nearly 1/3 of the cost, and the welder never performed up to my lowest expectations. Even after I installed the gas cylinder and regulator the welder would never do much more than make welds that looked like fuzzy catapilars.  
The welder I have now is the Linclon 175/hd. It has the same compact size but runs on a 220 volt power suply and has much better temperature and wire feed controll.
I guess my point is that it takes good equipment to do good welding.

Al


66 230sl
113-042-10-014715
904/396 blue, Ivory Tex
condition: not-as-rusty-as-before-bucket

[jstuart]

Thank you all for the good advice.  It really isn't about the money...more a matter of the pride of doing it myself.  With that said, the next step is to get into a class and get a welder.  I have found one local for 595.00...the Lincoln 175 that Al speaks of.

I will keep you posted!

Thanks again...this is a great forum!

Jay

1969 280SL

[Cees Klumper]

After the night classes (which I did also a few years ago and I agree that it's a great way to learn) would it not also make sense to rent good quality equipment from time to time rather than buying, if you're only looking at a few selected areas? Normally this would be the more economical way to go.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[enochbell]

Jay,

I second the advice you have already received, but here is another 2 cents:  The Lincoln is a great machine, some production shops actually use it.  It has plenty of juice for good modulation.  That said, welding is really an art.  I spent part of my early career as a welder and finisher in a metal fabricating shop and I can tell you that even after 4 years I was still a pedestrian when it came to laying down a really nice weld.  TIG/MIG/Stick, it all requires a lot of practice.  And the floor panels for our trunks were actually spot welded, if I am not mistaken.  You could probably get by with a nicely executed arc weld, but count on plenty of grinding to get things looking smooth.  And I would not attempt any of this without removing the gas tank (not that big of a deal).

Practice a bunch on the same guage material until you can put down a bead without burning a hole every few inches!

I envy your ambition, good luck!

g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[n/a]

Jay

There is another possibility.  Many Community Colleges offer have an auto body program.  If you enroll, you have access to all the equipment you would need and also have experts to guide you through your project.  Many times they have welding classes geared specifically to auto body work.  Usually these are oxyacetylene and mig welding.  They may even have a spot welder that can be used to create factory style spot welds.  These spot welders are easy to use and do an excellent job.  

If nothing else a chat with the auto body instructor will help yu decide whether or not you want to tackle this and other projects and how much equipment you want to buy.  

Good luck

Iverson