What welder to get for restoration...

[Guest superchris15]

I have been looking and dreaming for long enough and have decided to finally pick up an early z and start the restoration/hybridization. I've found a couple that are in pretty good shape but almost inevitably there is going to be some body work. Also, I have decided that I want to go with the sr20det. I was wondering what kind of welder would be the best for this job (both price and performance). I don't weld but my brother does and I plan on learning. Apparantly he is pretty good but he doesn't know much about actually buying a welder (he has always just used the ones at school or in other shops). I really don't want to pay someone to do work that we can do and this way I get to keep it in my garage for those late nights when i just want to look at it and picture what it will look like.

Thanks for any input. Also, let me know if this post would be better suited to another part of the forum.

 

Thank you,

Christopher

[Wagz]

Christopher -

 

Do a search in the Body & Paint or Chassis forums on 'Welder' and you should find this topic covered several times. I bought a good MIG welder (Millermatic 135) and taught myself.

 

Here are a couple of hits on a quick search:

http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23110&highlight=welder

http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22035&highlight=welder

http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7096&highlight=welder

[wheelman]

I'm currently exploring the same welder options but looking at oxy-acetylene as well. Does anyone have any suggestions one way or the other regarding using a torch vs a MIG welder?

 

I'm leaning more towards the torch setup just because I have a small amount of experience with it and none with MIG. I also think an oxy-acetylene setup is more versatile than a MIG or arc setup. Any opinions on this?

 

Anyone with experience welding thin sheet with a torch, your opinion, insights, experiences would be greatly appreciated. I know welding with a torch would be slower but it seems to me it is more controllable, is this true or not?

 

Ken W.

[vashonz]

My experience with either one has been pretty limited, i used the mig at work, tacking together .120 wall tubing for the dies we were building, at first it was not pretty, but quickly got better, and i didnt have to worry about the heat warping the metal too much. I saw someone use it to try to weld some thin wall tubing together, and he had trouble with burning holes in it, he was an experienced welder, but did'n like that machine.

 

I got an oxy-acetlyene torch for xmas, experimented a little yesterday, cutting and welding some scrap sheet metal together, the material was thicker than the zcars are made of, but I still warped the material quite a bit, also the welds I made were not nearly as strong as the beginning ones with the mig. I did not have trouble burning holes in stuff, except when I really tried. Eventually I expect to be able to do much nicer welds, gotta get a friend over who knows what he's doing to show me the basics.

[denny411]

Brazing is definetely NOT the way to do body/sheetmetal work. It will cause way too much warping in the body panels that will require much more labor and filler to straighten out.

The absolute best way is TIG, but most,including myself opt for mig. you still have to take your time when welding thin sheetmetal but it`s much easier to avoid warping.

 

Also.. if you plan to install a cage or roll bar, none of the sanctioning bodies accepts brazing. I reccomend using the torch to take stuff apart, and the mig to put stuff together.

[Guest datsun280zmike]

im doing the resto thing now...i picked up a lincoln weld pak 3200 HD and boy do i love it! 10 speed setting and 4 types of heat that can go through 5/16 thick steel and as little as 24 gauge i think...great investment ..oh yea its a mig picked it up for about 380

[Pop N Wood]

The bad news is you really need both. If you are going to buy just one, then depending on your use this guys says buy the torch first

 

http://metalshapers.org/tips/fournier/index.htm

 

A torch is also extremely useful for heating stuck bolts or cutting off shock mounts. The "hot wrench".

 

The MIG is the better choice for welding car sheet metal. Torches generate excess heat which warps body panels. I was also told that using a torch on some unibody cars is unsafe because the heat stresses can cause metal fatique leading to catastrophic failures. Since you are looking at rust repair, a good MIG will probably be your #1 choice.

 

For a cage, maybe you can't braze the joints but you can weld them. I have been told a MIG can't be used on chrome moly tubing, but cromoly can be torch welded. In fact, many feel a torch is better than a TIG because it better relieves the heat stresses making less brittle joints. And of course a torch will work with mild steel.

 

And should you ever try shaping aluminum, then a torch is the way to go

 

http://metalshapers.org/tips/white/aluminum-welding/index.htm

 

Either way, follow the advice in some of the other welding threads and buy a quality welder. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but if you buy a cheap one without the needed adjustabilty (or sheilding gas), then you could get so discouraged fighting the machine that it will be just so much wasted money.

[jkube]

I've rstored 6 zcars in my life ( We're talking complete floor, frame rails and rockers and exterior body panels)

I've always used oxy-acetelane because I can use it to cut, loosen, and weld.

I have never had any problems with weld breakage and all my cars were taken to lapping days.

 

However it is more time consuming to prevent warpage. I will weld only 1/2" welds and cool with a wet rag. Criss-crossing along the length reduces warpage too. and if the panel gets really bad I beat it flat with a hammer and dolly before continuing. I make sure that I eventually fill the entire length with weld so that the body filler doesnt crack.

 

The other thing I like is when grinding the welds its a lot easier to get a good finiish. I think because it's softer then a Mig weld.