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knuckleharley

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Everything posted by knuckleharley

  1. That's all true,but I don't worry about that because I have my welder for welding sheet metal,and just tacking anthing much over 1/8th of a inch together and taking it to a pro for finish welding. Mostly because anything bigger than that for me will be a safety issue because it will be chassis work. The first couple of years I had my welder I operated it off a drop cord plugged into a 15 Amp circuit in the master bath. No outside outlets,and no power in my shop. Anytime I wanted to weld or use my 3 hp Sears air compressor I had to unplug the radio and the fan to keep the circuit breaker from tripping. I also learned a VERY important lesson about trying to weld off a 15 amp circuit using a 100 foot drop cord. Namely,DON'T! Burned up the brain in my welder,and HTP gave me a replacement one under warranty despite me admitting it was my fault for running it off a long drop cord. Now I'm living large with two 22k BTU air-conditioners out there,a couple of 30 am 240 circuits for my plasma cutter,lights all over the place,a car lift,and getting ready to install a 275k btu propane furnace on the roof of the 10x20 "office" I built inside it. Air conditioning is essential if your shop is a tin quonset hut and you live in the south. Hell,it was kicking in and out while I was working out there this afternoon. Wiring up a couple of 30 amp cricuits wouldn't be a big deal now,but I honestly don't see me needing them. If I am lucky enough to get back to work this winter I'm pretty sure the 20 Amp circuits will produce all the amps I need.
  2. Eastwood has some very good instructional videos on You Tube,also. Just search using "eastwood" as the key word. Their prices are sometimes a little high,but Eastwood is one of the few places you can buy things unseen and be assured you are going to get a quality tool. They just don't sell junk.
  3. My HTP is 140 Amp 110 Volt and rated to weld up to 1/4 inch steel in a single pass. I will have to take their word for that since I won't ever be welding anything that thick. The auto darkening helmets have really dropped in price in the last few years,and you can get a good one pretty cheap from places like Tractor Supply if one doesn't come with your welder. A word of caution about welding,here. If you have a shop cat or a shop dog,make sure you put them somewhere they can't look at the flash while you are welding. It's easy to forget them,especially of it is a shop cat that is basically semi-mobile furniture anyhow.
  4. Good point. You should always try your best to buy or rent bottles from a welding company that delivers. If you haul acetylene bottles,make sure you haul them standing on their ends instead of laying flat. If you have to lay them flat,allow them to stand on their ends for a couple of days before using them. It's true that TIG is a superior system for professional welders,but you can train a monkey to produce good welds with a MIG in about a week,and since TIG's require two hands like gas welding with rods,it's something that needs to be done fairly often to keep your skill level up.
  5. You usually get what you pay for. In this case,it will be a piece of crap from China that uses aluminum instead of copper windings,and a duty cycle about the length of a blink. Also,expect to be limited to one size wire and no reversable polarity. I used my tax refund several years ago to buy a 140 Amp 110 volt (so I can plug it in anywhere) AC-DC HTP welder (1-800-USA-WELD) directly from HTP in Chicago. It uses all copper windings,has plug in and plug out circuit boards,and I can use all three wire sized and have the option of using flux core wire if I am welding outside in the wind. The welder and the company (NOBODY beats their customer service) impressed me so much I called them when I was ready to buy a plasma cutter. I didn't even look anywhere else. For me,it will always be either a HTP or a Miller. BTW,save your money for big purchases like this,and call around in mid-December to see what kind of discounts you can get. Everybody is trying to clear out their warehouses to avoid paying taxes on inventories,and there are some real bargains to be had. Don't hesitate to ask them if they have any display/show units for sale on discount,or if they have any factory rebuilt ones in inventory. You can save a bundle doing this. Sometimes up to half. BTW,my HTP MIG and Plasma cutter impressed a couple of my friends good enough they bought identical units to use themselves. Here is the most modern version of the one I bought several years ago. http://www.usaweld.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=60140 AND.....,it's all made in America.
  6. Bill,do you have 15 inch rims on your car,or 16 inch rims? Obviously you have to buy the right size to fit your rims. Most beauty/trim rings are smooth,but some have multiple grooves in them.
  7. Wanna buy a 49 Chrysler coupe? Chryslers have bigger parts. Or how about a 63 Fury convertibel? I have a whole damn yard full of bigger jobs that are just calling you by name.
  8. Just wait until I get started on my 42 Dodge coupe this winter and post a few photos. You will immediately start to feel better about what you did. BTW,this isn't a ego contest. It is a hobby for most of us that we all enjoy. Our Estonian friend just happens to be a pro,and a very skilled pro at that. It's a rare amateur that can do complex work like this as well as a pro. So what? There are always people who have more skills in one or more particular areas that others. With me it's wiring and electrics more than anything else. You just can't dumb it down far enoug for me to understand it. Everybody that knows me in real life understands this,and they just gave up trying years ago. Even when I do manage to fix something involving wires,I don't really understand what I did. I have a Ron Francis wiring harness to put in my 48 Plymouth,and I look at it as a big adventure because there won't be any upholstery to catch fire in the car after I first install it. Big freaking deal. I haven't done any body work in 30 years,and have never used a English wheel. Now I have one. And a plasma cutter,bead rollers,commercial brake,mig welder,etc,etc,etc. I can thank my 42 Dodge and 33 Plymouth coupe for those purchases. Once I get started,the steel mill that produces the steel I buy may have to put on another shift to make up for all the scrap I end up throwing away,and even then I seriously doubt my finished project in the raw will be anywhere close to the work our Estonian friend produces. Doesn't bother me a bit. I will be having fun,learning,and in the end I hope to have a couple of cars to drive that look pretty good. I also don't mind admitting if I had the money I'd fly to Estonia just to watch him work. The fact that he is so good takes nothing away from me,and it takes nothing away from you. I also don't mind admitting that I will be looking up your build thead for ideas once I get started on my stuff. As well as any other build threads I can manage to find. We all have different approaches when it comes to solving problems,and I have no doubt I will learn useful things from your thread. My 2 cents worth,and worth every penny you paid for it.
  9. Don't even think about trying to sandblast a car or truck inside a typical home garage. Either do it outside or don't do it.
  10. They work,but if they are the gravity-feed pots they are slow,slow,slow. They will work you to death and use a lot more sand than a pressure pot Get a pressure pot along with 3/4 ID hose and a commercial "gun" that will take 5/16 inch nozzles. Then anytime you need to blast go to a tool rental place and rent one of those air compressors on a traile than you pull behind your truck unless you have a 5 HP home two stage compressor with a 60 gallon or larger tank. Anything less won't flow enough air. Think "Air volume",not "air pressure". I have a WW-2 surplus compressor with a 4 cylinder 2-stage DeVilblis compressor powered by a 25 hp Wisconsin gas engine. It's not modern high-tech,but it will operate 2 jack hammers at the same time. I set it for 100 psi,and blast using 3/4 ID lines and a 5/16th tip. It will take off old paint and rust almost like washing soap off a car with a water hose. Yeah,that's an exaggeration,but not as big of one as you might think. Get a big tarp to sit your truck on before blasting so you can recycle the sand,baking soda,or whatever medium you use. This is VERY important,so take it to heart. Get a hood to wear and wear a respirator under it. The blast residue in the air you will be breating is not stuff you want in your lungs. Don't even think about blasting without it. Even better is renting a fresh air compressor,hose,and mask if you can find one. If you want to get serious about blasting look around for used fresh air compressors at dentists offices and other medical offices. If you just do it once in a while for short periods of time you will probably be ok with just the hood and the respirator face mask under it.
  11. If you can still find it,I have a complete 55 291. The special order engine with the factory 4brl. I just gave the transmission away last week,but will sell the engine. I also have a NOS power brake booster and mastercylinder that was a 55-only option on DeSoto and Chrysler cars if any of you restoring a 55 want to put power brakes on it.
  12. I've been lusting after a 55 or 56 Chrysler or DeSoto 2dr ht ever since I was a teen. Beautiful cars.
  13. Based on my own sad experiences,the first think I would look for would be a title,and then making sure the serial numbers on the title matched the ones on the car. Once you have established the car you are buying is the car you are getting,you are on solid ground and can worry about things like replacing the brake lines,brake hoses,master cylinder,wheel cylinders,and dropping and having the gas tank cleaned out inside and treated. Which would also be a good time to replace the gas line and all the rubber lines and any plastic gas filters you might see. The ethanol gas we use today acts like acid on old rubber gas lines and plastic filters,and your car could catch of fire while you are driving down the road if you don't do this.
  14. BTW,have any idea who manufactured that intake? I don't think I have ever seen one like it.
  15. Really? What's it called? I went to the web site and they say they ship it with the tester,but they never name it.
  16. It's a step in the right direction,but the most important light is the brake light. Do they work?
  17. Don,where do you buy more testing fluid and how much does it cost?
  18. That's a pretty solid parts car. Is that tinted glass I'm looking at?
  19. I bet he will have the front fenders and grille I need for the 63 Fury convertible I'm trying to sell. Hate like hell to spend any more money on it,but having the fenders and grille would make it easier to get rid of. Thanks for the tip. I just might call him tomorrow and see what he has.
  20. I have a machine shop rebuilt SBC engine that came with my 32 Ford coupe that I decided to tear down before installing or starting it because the seller seemed a little flaky,and all my friends were jumping on me for being too cheap to buy a gasket kit. When I pulled the heads the seller had poured sand in the cylinders. When I pulled the crank and miked the jouranls,the rod bearings were the wrong size. The seller obviously poured the sand in the cylinders (his girlfriend was making him sell it because he owed her money and was living in her house),but the machine shop in Maryland that turned the crank and assembled the short block obviously screwed that up. Still,this poster had his engine rebuilt,installed,and he drove it 3k miles before he parked it because he said he needed something better suited for daily commuting. He even had it parked inside all this time. If it's not stuck or cracked from freezing,I just can't see anything else that could be wrong with it.
  21. It also works GREAT on open bleeding wounds to make sure they don't get infected. You might consider getting on your knees and having some soft wood clenched between your teeth BEFORE you do any pouring or dipping,though. A quick trip to the toilet might not be out of order,either. Don't ask me how I know this.
  22. $450 sounds like a deal to me. The welder would charge you more than that to fix your frame,IF your frame is even fixable. Plus,it gives you options. Get the flat 6 engine running,and if it runs good you have the option of using or selling it,or using or selling the 360 setup. Or even using it and holding on to the 360/727 in case you decide you need more HP later. If you can do a 1250 mile round trip including loading a car in a weekend you are definitely younger than me. If you are up for that you might even consider driving to NC to buy my 49 Windsor coupe and then sell or part yours out after pulling the parts from it you would want for spares.
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