®evo03 Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) What if you cut the nut, washer, drill it out from the side you cut. If it was me i would be ordering poly bushes, think two are £45. What mike sayed before, you can burn or socket press em out Regarding you vice, i can be repaired, welded a cast vice before, arc welder and cast rods, watch a youtube video, it involves heading with a blow torch, welding, heading and cooling slowly, thought what have i got to loose, still works! Just dont go mental on it anymore! Regarding the manta chassis leg, i am working on a project at the minute, it was a mates half finished, he emigrated yrs ago, but had saved a second hand chassis leg, i had bought two new chassis legs out of germany on standby, but i stripped 2nd hand chassis leg down to bare metal, dipped it in a tank, cleaned it, and fitted it to car, chassis leg problem solved, not a penny spent! As for my mate he was doing it on a minimum budget, as like me, half ways through it only bought two jacking points so far, will start my own project page once i am finished welding, to show all modded bits and repairs. Before paint etc, car will be brought down to bare metal, under, inside and then bodywork Edited May 20, 2018 by ®evo03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) Thanks for your help and advice lads, as always it is greatly appreciated. I have put the crossmember brace with its stuck bolt on the back burner for now on the basis that I need a vice to do anything meaningful... I have ordered a new one that should be here before next weekend. In the meantime I will keep applying the penetrating fluid in the hope that something might seep through. I have decided that the next few evenings will be spent practicing welding as mine is shocking and making up plates to fill holes lol Cheers for now all, take care. ps sorry evo, wow that sounds great - looking forward to seeing your project! Edited May 20, 2018 by IanMc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 After my pneumatic nibbler kept jamming, for reasons as yet unknown, I decided to try one that operates from an electric drill. I am pleased to report that it seems to work pretty well. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Encouraged by the nibbler, I decided to cut the repair panel for the inner wing to floor side panel - or whatever you call it. As I said earlier, my welding is shocking and I will be practicing that. But I can say that that panel is solid at the top, plus I got to do my first 'puddle' welds - also very solid... Tomorrow evening I will secure the bottom of the patch and then start to fill in the gaps to make a continuous weld. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Sorry I forgot to mention, I am hoping that I can get the NS floor patch panel made up during the week - just need a free evening now 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monaco Blue Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 2 hours ago, IanMc said: I got to do my first 'puddle' welds Doesn't look bad at all given what you say re your welding skills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 32 minutes ago, Monaco Blue said: Doesn't look bad at all given what you say re your welding skills! Thank you kind Sir, you are going on my Christmas card list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Dont shoot me ! But are you running gas, or is it low? Try a few straight strips as practice, stitch, then fill the gaps, dont be afraid to penetrate, the way i look at it, the more it penetrates, the less the weld sits on top, the less you need to clean up with a grinder, boy i hate grinders! Ive grown to hate em! Try really cleaning both edges with a drill wire wheel, you may be surprised in how the welder reacts better! Whats you welding gear, maybe a pic of your setting on your welder, someone could advise if it could be bettered? Anyway, its tuff, your giving it your all, and the new metal and patch shape are really the key to a good job, the welding can be cleaned up! Ehh... grinding! Top job! A wee tip, you can use a copper strip behind, to stop welding falling through, also a pre 82 2p, i think! Is copper, to fill round holes. Small magnets hold patches flush, speaker magnets for larger floor areas, vice grips various sizes for edges, g clamps etc, dont use brake or carb cleaner. And thats me spent! I just picked these up over the years, probably the most valuable thing i learned was cleaning it really really well before welding, and again after its spotted. and as they say practice makes perfect, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 30 minutes ago, ®evo03 said: But are you running gas, or is it low Anyway, its tuff, your giving it your all, and the new metal and patch shape are really the key to a good job, the welding can be cleaned up! Ehh... grinding! Top job! A wee tip, you can use a copper strip behind, to stop welding falling through, also a pre 82 2p, i think! Is copper, to fill round holes. Small magnets hold patches flush, speaker magnets for larger floor areas, vice grips various sizes for edges, g clamps etc, dont use brake or carb cleaner. And thats me spent! I just picked these up over the years, probably the most valuable thing i learned was cleaning it really really well before welding, and again after its spotted. and as they say practice makes perfect, As it happens evo, I did forget to turn the gas on for some of the welds above.... so well spotted Sir. Another thing I found is that if I increased the wire feed speed things improved greatly, so that was pleasing. There is some great tips above, sincere thanks for sharing them. I plan on practicing through the week, so hopefully my performance will be better next weekend - as you say practice is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robah Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 supposedly one of the best penetrating oil mixtures is Acetone and Automatic Transmission Fluid in a 50/50 mix, just look on YouTube. I have a bottle recently mixed and experimenting on a few items at the moment but none as bad as your dilemma at the present time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 44 minutes ago, robah said: supposedly one of the best penetrating oil mixtures is Acetone and Automatic Transmission Fluid in a 50/50 mix, just look on YouTube. I have a bottle recently mixed and experimenting on a few items at the moment but none as bad as your dilemma at the present time. Very interesting, I might give that a try - cheers Robah. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Dont worry ian you will get there.welding is an acquired skill like many others and practice is the way forward.higher power settings may well penetrate better but blow through easier and low power has less chance of blowing through bit also less chance of penetrating and actually welding. My first welds years ago were like blobs and you could pull the patches back off with your hands!.keep trying on same thickness metal and experimenting with power and wire speed and technique until you are happy. Regarding replacing some bushes for poly bushes.this is a matter of personal preference.i would recommend definately using them for the front anti roll bar end post support ,those rubber ones have a hard life and dont last long but that’s it. like I say it’s MY preference but I won’t use them anywhere else. Others may disagree and that’s fine .obviously there are various grades of poly but people tend to fit firmer ones which can make the car rather harsh.cavs were designed to be a relatively soft cruiser and not a sports car so whilst fitting them may make the car handle a little better it does spoil them in my opinion.same applies to firmer grade springs and stiffer shocks. many years ago a friend of mine had a great mk1 that drove pretty nice. He mistakenly took it to Kwik fit fit for a tyre and they told him all his shocks were weak and needed replacing. (They were fairly new,standard gm items in perfect order)They replaced two tyres for him and all his shocks for some much firmer ones(99% of aftermarket non gm shocks seem to be firmer even basic spec boge or Sachs !)and told him he would notice a big difference !. He did and so did I.the car was now a horrible,firm,banging machine that had lost all its refinement.but yeah it would go around corners with hardly any roll !. this is my same reason for keeping the original bushes.gm bushes tend to be good quality anyway in my experience.it all depends on what you want the finished car to be like.as it was intended to be and nice and soft with a bit of roll and still pretty good handling or inprove handling and loose some comfort and refinement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 Hi Chris, thanks for your help and encouragement - much appreciated. I am trying to stay standard on as much as possible and I certainly don't want a hard ride in this car, I just don't think it will suit the car anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 A small win tonight, well at least I think that it is After about half an hour paying around with the settings on my welder and some practice, I thought that I would tackle welding in the long panel shown above. There is still some more grinding to be done, but I had to pack in as there are a few children in this area and it was nearing bedtime... Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. I'm actually feeling quite pleased with myself tonight. Thanks to you all for your help, advice and encouragement, you really are keeping me going here. Have a good evening all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Very neat, good job, try a knotted wire wheel on a grinder, its good for polishing up the area when complete! You can make a really neat patch, which is more than half the battle. I cant weld at night unless using very bright fluorescent lights. I usually make two or three patches a night, have em sitting flush, ready to rock the following evening, then clean em the following night, three nights, three patches! If you can practice with a piece of flat copper plate, lie it flat, then two equal length metal strips, straight edges, space them a mm apart, now heat that baby up full gas, you could turn your amps up full and adjust, good way to get amp setting is to use a piece of metal, and run a weld right down the middle, if it is burning through, its too high, if weld is blobbing and sitting on top, its too low and not penetrating. If you can get weld looking like its melted into the metal, and showing slightly on the other side, youve won! The two pieces of metal together is a little trickier, you kind of move the torch in small circular motions, as you progress the length. As it was spaced a mm apart, the edges should be penetrated, blueish in colour away from the weld line, the copper sheet should break away, this way when you master this you can weld both sides, say, inside car, and outside. Master this and keep it to yourself or you will have a queue of manta owners at your gate, with welding needed. Another tip, use weld through zinc primer, i spray the reverse of patch or anywhere its hard to get access again, even spot weld holes. Also a light dusting will protect your new metal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 OK so we are back in the game with a little tools update. The new vice has arrived and just been installed - it goes 360 degrees, wooooo! Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. And here is a photo of the basic sheet metal bender that I mentioned I had bought a few weeks back. As I say, its simple but easily good enough for the jobs I have to do. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. You can never have enough tools Have a nice evening everyone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 26, 2018 Author Share Posted May 26, 2018 Some reasonable progress today, until I ran out of welding gas - again... I managed to cut the lower section of floor pan to a good shape and got most of the way around when I noticed that the gas had run out again. Pretty happy with the welding considering: Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Sadly that is going to be all for this weekend as we have plans as they say. Of course I can grind down what I have done, but I might as well leave that and do it all together. Have a great weekend all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoobby Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Kano Aero kroil comes in 10oz spray this stuff will penetrate 1 millionth of an inch and dissolves rust not cheap about £20 got a can from work never let me down yet and very impressed best stuff by far...just make sure you read the warnings on the can as it's very nasty stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 5 hours ago, hoobby said: Kano Aero kroil comes in 10oz spray this stuff will penetrate 1 millionth of an inch and dissolves rust not cheap about £20 got a can from work never let me down yet and very impressed best stuff by far...just make sure you read the warnings on the can as it's very nasty stuff. Very interesting, thanks for sharing Graeme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 I decided to give some flux cored gasless MIG wire a try as I am fed up with running out of gas every weekend. I set up some test pieces this evening and I have to say that at the moment I am quite impressed with the results. Tomorrow night is Archery night, but hopefully on Saturday I can get some more plates cut out and see how the new wire performs on the car. Naturally I will let you know how it goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Going well there, i use a rented bottle, which again is a bit of a hassle, but it lasts alot longer, take it you are using disposable? Do these have a tank valve, cause you seem to be low on gas, alot. Maybe a leak? Using away at molasses currently have complete front section of a manta split into 4 bits, must take photos when clean for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 Hi evo, thanks for your input as always. Yes I have been using disposables, they are OK up to a point, but as soon as you need to do anything sizeable they are just uneconomic. I have certainly thought about renting or even buying a bigger bottle, but then I think that once the Cavalier is finished I probably wont do any large jobs that require wel ding for years. On that basis I ditched the idea of a bigger bottle and thought I would try the flux cored wire. It does seem to give a much more intense/fierce arc, which is liable to burn through if you linger too long on sheet Steel. To counter this I have turned up the wire speed a little and this has solved that little problem, whilst maintaining good penetration. I do have a tank/bottle valve and I know that seals well (as I bought it new from BOC), so I am confident that I dont have a leak at that joint. Wow, your going for the Molasses treatment in a big way, I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of that. What are you using for a 'dipping tank'? Cheers for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 A bottle is rented, the fill is what you pay for, job done return tank and get your rental back, simple! Then move back to your disposibles. You can use soapy spray in a household spray bottle, washing up liquid and water, if you get bubbles at any joints you have a leak! Using a 12inch x 7ft water pipe, with section cut out, for seperated front grill, and inner section and 2x 45g oil drums cut to 1/3 for headlight sections, & and a greenhouse to accelerate, the process! Aiming for a good a new panel when complete! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 So, this afternoon I began to patch the NSF floor again - until my MIG welder decided it didnt want to work any more... It seems as if the wire feed motor has packed up. Being a machine originally used by Noah when he built the arc, no spares are available. Yet another step backwards. Oh well, onwards and upwards - soon hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Ah been there done that ! . Always when you are repairing something on the car you end up repairing something that you were using to do the repair ! use a hammer.the head comes off use a drill .it needs sharpening use inspection lamp.bulb blows. same that happens when I try to tidy up the garden. Use lawn mower,blade breaks use hedge trimmer. Cut through cable ! ! ! If your wire feed has stopped it may be motor ,or connection to motor ,or connection to trigger switch or if you are liucky it may just be the wire that has kinked at the feed roller and started to bend back on itself.mine does this all the time . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, cam.in.head said: Ah been there done that ! . Always when you are repairing something on the car you end up repairing something that you were using to do the repair ! use a hammer.the head comes off use a drill .it needs sharpening use inspection lamp.bulb blows. same that happens when I try to tidy up the garden. Use lawn mower,blade breaks use hedge trimmer. Cut through cable ! ! ! If your wire feed has stopped it may be motor ,or connection to motor ,or connection to trigger switch or if you are liucky it may just be the wire that has kinked at the feed roller and started to bend back on itself.mine does this all the time . Hi Chris, Sadly I can confirm that the wire feed motor is dead... Anyway, good old Facebook Marketplace to the rescue - I found this little fella nearby: Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. It has only been used twice, great price and the seller said he would meet me half way - top man!! So this morning I was back in the game and I am pleased to report that I now have a solid NS floor and inner wing area - very pleased. All the plates are welded in, welds ground down and seam sealer applied (just the primer and/or underseal to apply once the sealer has dried): Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. I realise that my work is rubbish compared to what many others on here turn out, but I did it myself, it is all rock solid and I feel quite proud to be honest. Chers all, have a nice evening Edited June 3, 2018 by IanMc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapierdave Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 If its strong Ian & it does the job then once the wing & carpets are back in then nobody is going to see it anyway. At least your welding skills are better than mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.