1970 s2 0453R Reassembly

[BDA]

It looks like you're making some good progress! 

That wiring harness looks like a beast! I hope it'll be easier than it looks!

[dakazman]

  It’s not that bad , one wire at a time will be checked, measured, and documented as I go along. Then I can add all that information it to the schematic .
Wires will be added into the harness for ac, washer, relays, and fuse box holder. I will use all lotus wiring identification.  I still need to get the print laminated on poster board. 🤷🏼‍♂️

  I try to keep it easy for , “the next guy to work on it. “ 😀
 
Dakazman

[dakazman]

   Added another tool today since some deals I made are stagnant.  I had to return a alternator and still waiting on a  hermes intake manifold.
  My good news is the addition of some much needed agron gas. 😂
Dakazman

[jbcollier]

You going to weld stainless?

[dakazman]

   Hi JB , The plan is just for mild steel and aluminum. I purchased a sheet of 3003,  .080 to practice on.  Stainless needs a mixture of helium. I can buy a smaller bottle mixture for that, but with this lockdown stuff the company I deal with had none to rent. Airgas is a good supplier.
  Why I was there I picked up some 3/32 sticks for welding thin steel. I gave away a stick welder years ago that was really old and sucked up a lot of power. This new welder works pretty well on 120.
The biggest problem I had so far is adjusting the auto darkening face shield.
Dakazman

[jbcollier]

I'm just MIGing and I use a gas mix for steel and argon for SS.

[dakazman]

JB ,    I’ll take all the tips you can give.  I’m going through the operators manual and just running  thru all the steps that I used to learn oxy/ayc. , with butt , lap and t welds. Just lately with un-shielded flux core wire feed.  Lots of time to play around and get proficient at it.
  Dakazman

[TurboFource]

We used straight Argon to TIG weld all metals in the Air Force (even the titanium on the SR-71 )

[jbcollier]

Myself I'd go for tips from TurboForce...

[EuropaTC]

We used straight Argon to TIG weld all metals in the Air Force (even the titanium on the SR-71 )

Yep, exactly that, great advice.

Although there are plenty of gas mixes available which give you tweaks on how it welds, plain simple argon does pretty much everything. If you're a DIY guy then rather than keep CO2 or whatever for steel, mixes for stainless and Argon for Al & other alloys you can get away very happily with one bottle of argon.

The downside is that you spend a few pennies more welding carbon steel, maybe a penny or two more on stainless but you have one bottle that does the lot. Although to be honest if I'm using carbon steel it's usually thick enough to arc weld and when I've done car bodywork I prefer flux cored MIG - no need to worry about gas shielding.

Brian

[Pfreen]

BTW Dave, I recently got a mig (first one) and found there is a big difference in the weld quality and ease of welding with different flux core wire manufacturers.  I am now using Blue Demon .030" dia wire it is by far the best I have tried. 

[dakazman]

  Good to know Pfreen,
  I found it easier to weld items when I ground it to a makeshift table of brake discs (2ea ) that I put the welder grd clamps on  and steady the part being welded with other  c’ clamps.
   My usage of my welder is limited due to I need to get spend time advancing progress on the entire car. The immediate use would be my plan c,  a/c bracket. Looking at plan D, adding a third pulley, basically just a bearing that would bend the belt slightly so the belt would fit behind firewall and not have to cut frame notch.
  Another job is to weld on my pedal assembly mounting plate, or just bolt or use hylocs  on it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Dakazman

[Pfreen]

I am learning quickly since I am fixing the Tiger's rust, frame and bad previous body work.  Sheet metal butt welding is challenging.

[dakazman]

  Especially when rust is near... 🥴🥱   Well you’re ahead of me on that with mig . It will be a first in just a few days , I can’t wait!
Dave

[EuropaTC]

I am learning quickly since I am fixing the Tiger's rust, frame and bad previous body work.  Sheet metal butt welding is challenging.

off topic - whenever I've welded up car bodywork in the past I've normally used a joggler tool to put a very small flange on the repair panel so it lies flush and then you're doing a backed weld. The tool I have puts somewhere between 3/8" & 1/2" lap but you can trim this to whatever you feel after making it. Most tools also have a 5mm punch on them so you can punch a hole to make "spot" welds if you can't use the backed weld option.

If you've not used one before it's worth looking at. For example I used the flange option replacing wheel arches on the last car I did (MR2 Mk1)  and the spot weld option for doing the sills.  The spot weld gives a very neat finish, looks OEM and more importantly is very easy to do with MIG !

Brian