1954 Plymouth Suburban Project

[Don Coatney]

What is A45?

[Mike36]

16 minutes ago, Don Coatney said:

What is A45?

I’m guessing he means a .45 pistol. Good thing to have with you in the land of fruits and nuts.?

[pflaming]

"A rose by any other name is still a rose!" 

 

I got this off the "net"! 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by pflaming

[Plymouthy Adams]

you get that gun legally…………????   ?‍✈️

[Plymouthy Adams]

and the cops will get  you off their "drag-net"....have one of these on me...…..☕

[pflaming]

Some decades ago on a business trip to Georgia, the person I was traveling with always had a small towel on the console.  when I asked, why the towel? He raised it to reveal a .45 revolver. He stated, "I go nowhere without this!"   Very sobering for me. 

 

Mini update: I'm learning how to put in new floor pans. I won't regress, but I should have made a to scale layout on graph paper, then made panels per that print. Better results and  I'm certain, easier to do,  any way, be kind to me, yet this is where I am tonight.

[casper50]

getting there.

[Dave72dt]

I like using thin cardboard, that's the thickness of cereal boxes, making them full size, then  laying them out over the sheetmetal, then cutting a bit oversize to allow material for trimming to fit.  I can put layout lines on the carboard for bends and put the bends in.  Cereal boxes, pizza boxes are fair game for smaller pieces.  I also use same type of cardboard  for profile gauges for the amount of bend needed.  Curved pieces get a cardboard template that gets transferred to steel that gets fine tuned before cutting the old piece out. 

[pflaming]

Wow! Wish I had read this earlier, yet still valuable since I'm not done yet. TKS 

[Los_Control]

10 hours ago, pflaming said:

Mini update: I'm learning how to put in new floor pans. I won't regress, but I should have made a to scale layout on graph paper, then made panels per that print. Better results and  I'm certain, easier to do,  any way, be kind to me, yet this is where I am tonight.

Keep going, I am loving it and learning at same time.

I also have never replaced floors before either, first I need to learn to weld 

Then I need to learn to fabricate a new toe board, looking forward to it.

 

The mean time I have a coil bracket that have been cutting and whacking on and welding, then cut again .... poor thing but getting practice.

 

[pflaming]

TKS Los, in the process I found a local sheet metal shop which made the two center pieces. I may still remove the pieces made from scrap metal, and have that shop form me some nice new accurate pieces. 

 

I'm using that electrical box to protect my master cylinder. That will be changed out. I'm not certain how I will replace the plywood shifter mini console, maybe 3/8" aluminum plate, bolted together into a "box" with a side pocket for my .45! LOL 

 

 

[Dave72dt]

Does your mini-console need to be removable?  Will it be subject to moisture from below?  If not, maybe give that plywood some coats of a good urethane, seal up the ends, radius the sharp edges, glue some thin foam to it and cover in vinyl. A lot of the custom consoles in high end show cars are wood based, foamed and then wrapped. They're removable though if that makes a difference.

[pflaming]

Dave, yes air and moisture will come through the opening. I made this opening too large, future ones will only be about 10" long and 4" wide. Either way, I will make a flexible boot to keep all moving objects below the floor.  I will certainly consider your suggestion. TKS. 

[pflaming]

Well I tried! That patch won't fly, will cut it out and start over. Good place to practice. That thin metal is like welding toilet paper.  May need a better welder which has wire and gas.

[DonaldSmith]

What an awful welding job!  Looks like something I would do.  Maybe the experts will chime in, with helpful suggestions.  

Good luck - we're all counting on you.

[Los_Control]

First thing I wonder about, how thin is the metal?

I remember someone saying to use a Philips screwdriver, if you can easily poke a hole through the metal, is to rusty and thin, needs to be cut out.

Just maybe you need a bigger patch to get to solid metal?

 

Every welder is different, been turning mine down to 17 for wire feed and 65 for heat. That has been getting thin stuff done for me, but also is pretty close to what the chart on the machine says to use.

 

I also assume you are trying to just tack weld it and not run a bead 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

that look like a number of things going wrong but first thing to check is proper shielding gas on hand and proper flow of gas.....read  your basic setup and "rule of thumb" feed and heat control per "x" metal and thickness...

 

I have found a couple of the lesser known brands of somewhat poor duty cycles to have loose connections internally on a number of the cables...check the health status of  your machine, ensure you not running a power drop on extension cables and that the tip is also not corroded or burnt from accidental grounding during weld process...pinch rollers must also be operational

[Old Ray]

11 hours ago, pflaming said:

May need a better welder which has wire and gas.

 

19 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

but first thing to check is proper shielding gas on hand and proper flow of gas.....

 

...... I must be missing something here ?

[kencombs]

Be sure you have cut back to solid metal.  That looks a lot like you are trying to weld a rust-thinned area.  Also, as another poster mentioned, tack weld very short spots, skipping around and allow to cool a bit.  But, you're correct, gas and .023 wire would be easier than flux core.

[Plymouthy Adams]

12 minutes ago, Old Ray said:

 

 

...... I must be missing something here ?

actually we all are missing a few things...the post is very limited in what caused the scenario pictured, there is so little tech data present, type of welder, welding media, (gas or flux) thickness of material, heat ranges, feed rate,  high wind conditions....poor ground....the list is almost endless without input of substantial data...

 

so yeah..we all missing something here if the truth be known and as stated many times by me...you want a tailored answer...give specifics surround the cause and effect

[Plymouthy Adams]

27 minutes ago, kencombs said:

Be sure you have cut back to solid metal.  That looks a lot like you are trying to weld a rust-thinned area.  Also, as another poster mentioned, tack weld very short spots, skipping around and allow to cool a bit.  But, you're correct, gas and .023 wire would be easier than flux core.

even with a flux core...it should not be that sporadic unless the panel is so filthy or again heat erratic due to 'x' welder conditions.  The flux is there for one thing....when it is burned, it creates the very shielding gas chemically....

 

I am wondering if the metal is galvanized being used is galvanized..if so...that's a big factor.  Poster need to detail his conditions to assist further.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Plymouthy Adams

[pflaming]

I was / am aware of each and every posted comment.  I have done a lot of welding both stic and wire feed. I guess, I foolishly showed the picture to show how I was trying to get a good spot weld and could not. I was trying different temps, different wire speeds, etc. and early concluded I needed cleaner, better metal and a better welder.

 

remember, I am still a novice at this, so when I plundge into a new unknown, I will need time to discover even 101 "whatever".  Encouragement, helpful information, honest non personal criticism welcomed, the remainder not so much. Most  octogenarians are in couches, homes, wheel chairs, 7' X 3' boxes, I'm out in my shop learning how to do new things. Cheers! 

 

This is what hat I used. I can upgrade this welder to a gas tank, and can increase the electrical to 220 amps. Please advise. 

Edited October 25, 2018 by pflaming

[DJ194950]

Paul use at least 18 Ga. cold rolled steel for your repairs.

Your welder will not work at all with anything as thin as what you are trying to use.

Even with  a better welder using gas and plain wire can be tricky to weld new 18 Ga. to old metals. All metals to be welded Must be Cleaned to bare metal. Best is No rust top or bottom side, helps a lot  to eliminate pin holes in the welds.

 

Good luck, you will get it with perseverance!

 

DJ

[Dave72dt]

All I see is a little "x" so guessing the image has been deleted.  I think every time you make a weld it has to get hot enough to first melt the end of the wire to open it for the flux to flow.  Maybe a suggestion to run a bit of wire out, enough to just clip the sealed end off so flux is exposed. then start the tack keeping most of the heat on the fresh metal.  You only make spots, no beads, letting it cool well between spots, and moving around on the seam, not placing the next spot right next to the previous one, trimming the wire each time and cleaning the flux from the spots.  I run my tacks hot, to get instant penetration so on-off the trigger.  Too cold takes too long to get the thicker metal hot and the thin stuff wants to melt away by the time the thicker  is ready to accept the filler wire.

 

Galvanized is a no-no, it gives off poisonous gasses.  You can also use a flat piece of copper pressed up against the metal as a heat sink to reduce burn through.  Some practice on scrap pieces to get the welder settings perfected will reduce scrapping you formed and fitted pieces.  Practice with them off the table surface since that also acts as a heat sink  and will make your settings wrong for welding unsupported metal patches.

[JerseyHarold]

Would hitting the area you want to weld with a heat gun have any positive effect?