She needs Welding (again)..... what a surprise!

[Alfie Tyler]

Hi Guys,

Just got the old girl back from the MOT station and amongst some trivial stuff (brake pedal cover - that's a fail?? are you sh!!$£g me??) Were four 'corrosion' issues, mainly sills and the like.

I had a similar fail last year and the welding cost me around £300

I have been thinking that i would quite like to buy an arc welder and do the job myself, as i would quite like to get the experience and be able to do this kind of thing every year, when the lack of any kind of anti corrosion treatment (thanks FORD) leads to another fail on my faithful rusting transit!!

What thickness plate should i be using to patch / replace sills ?

Any advice or recommendations from the experienced tranny fixers would be very gratefully received

P.S. - I have never tried welding before but i am very good with my hands and learn very quickly.

Alfie.

[Breakdown Biker]

Go for it mate
Here's some pics of my vans rotten 4rse end....
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=45386&p=404597&hilit=rotten#p404597

Take a look at this wee link, loadsa info there if you fancy trying welding.
http://scottishvanners.50.forumer.com/v ... f=45&t=302

[MinorMatt]

A misising brake pedal rubber is a fail unless there is some other sort of anti slip stuff there.]#

You would do far better with a MIG welder than an ARC

[pembssti]

A misising brake pedal rubber is a fail unless there is some other sort of anti slip stuff there.]#

You would do far better with a MIG welder than an ARC

i second that. mig is far easier to get the hang of and get tidy results as a beginner.

id go for 3mm steel (2mm if cutting with snips), and get it from a steel stockholder not a car repair place etc. £20 - £30 will buy you an 8x4 sheet. plenty to be getting on with.

oh and there is nothing wrong with making the patch up in little sections and building it like a jigsaw, but you might want to make sure you have a grinder handy if your just starting out to tidy up after youve made a mess. haha good luck and have fun....

just have a play with a few scrap bits first

[MinorMatt]

3mm

1.5 for structural, 1 for panelwork!

[GBBiker]

3mm steel

£20 - £30 will buy you an 8x4 sheet.

Show me where you can get an 8' x 4' sheet of 3mm thick steel for that price and I'll get me a second mortgage to stockpile the stuff

[birdy]

I thought 3mm would be pretty hefty stuff but was bowing to greater knowledge ,cleared up now me thinks.

[simplyshaker]

If it was 3mm steel, I'd have the arc welder out in a shot, instead of buggering about trying to gas weld

Good look, if if you have some spare cash, get a MIG (trust me)

[pembssti]

3mm

1.5 for structural, 1 for panelwork!

what i meant was 3mm for heavy structural, like your outriggers, near spring hagers etc, if its just floor id go for 1 or 1.5,

my old mans a steel stockholder and i last sheet of 3mm i had was from memory £28 but sorry thats a price straight from the rolling mill.

things go up draticaly n public sales, my last order from jewsons (timber) i was quoted around £105 on the phone delivered, popped in, old mate from school was working on the counter, by the time the van was loaded i left paying just £40ish.

its not what you know..................

[maxlee]

i'm going to sound like a pikey here but i used the skin of a old car bonnet i had laying about for patchs on the body work

if you get a migwelder there are loads of good how to guides on the internet

halfords sell a 2.5L tin of underseal (by waxal) and that covers a hole transit underside for £12.00 i think might even be £10

[peepingTOM]

ive got a top of a tumble drier its 1mm mild steel ,brill for doing patching up underneath .and cost nothing .i should have took both the sides of the drier but couldnt be arsed, and my migs the best money ive spent for a long time

[Alfie Tyler]

Just thought i'd update you all

Got myself an Arc welder, had a practice for a while, things seemed alright lovely welds on the scrap that i had lying around ...... then got under the old lady and JESUS!!! how counter productive is an Arc welder on thin steel? thought it was just my technique so i persevered thinking i would get better, but it was like sticking your finger in a bowl of custard! holes everywhere.......

So in a tirade of frustration and angry words i said balls to the Arc, there's got to be a better solution than this.

So.... i went and bought a Gasless mig, going to grind / cut all the herpes off (again) tomorrow and get cracking.

With all the money i've spent so far i could have paid to have this welding done (twice!) But there's nothing like the satisfaction of getting the old girl going again with your own hands!


Thanks to everyone who posted advice - very much appreciated.

Alfie

[Alfie Tyler]

Update -

Cracked on with the new MIG and got more welding done in a couple of hours than i did in a weekend with the ARC.

Don't get me wrong, the ARC definitely has it's place in my workshop, it seems much more adept at the thicker stuff, as it was much easier to get good penetration and a solid weld with anything chunky. The thinner panel work will need the MIG breaking out though, if for nothing else than avoiding holes!!

Finished up replacing full inner offside sill, patching the insides of the footwells and a few other bits (including a length of the n/side sill that i PAID to be done last year!!) Quick coat of primer later.....

Then came the day of the retest............... Oooooooh She Passed!!!!!

Now lets break out a celebratory can of underseal!

I now intend to cut off the filler/rust cake arches and rear doors bottoms and weld on the prefab panels from beevers

Thanks to all for your advice, and a bit from me.... anyone who is keeping their tranny going year on year, the best bit of cash you can spend would be on a Mig welder, (and some practice)



Alfie

[dodgy01]

glad you got on well

use lots of wax oil i swear by it

[triplecustard]

Old Fords are made of the same stuff as alka-seltzers, put them near water & they fizz & disolve.