welding

hi is it possible to arc weld body panels on as im a coded arc welder but have no experience with cars thanks:

[Tricky]

possible , but not easy !

if you are good - and I guess you are, and have a good arc welder then your chances will be improved !

the right current and sticks will help not blowing the metal out !

thanks tricky in your opinion then it would pay to master the mig as i have a lot of welding to do

[Tricky]

deffo - mig is the way to go for thin sheet metal !

go for minimum of 150 amps (180 pref) in the cheaper range, or if you have 3 phase (and the money) , get a propper one

ok mig it is can i pick your vw brains im restoring a 1978 hi top does it matter which way around i tackle the work ie body work first or mechanics i want the finished article to be mint

Done a fair bit of arc in the past and would say it's not good for automotive sheet metal. Chassis repairs not a problem with stick cuz it will benefit from the penetration but better to just hit it with a mig. Turbo 150 would be ideal,bigger if you can afford it but avoid gasless. VW body panels are often under 1mm, usually 0.8mm and when old/corroded and ground to bright could be no more than 0.4mm so the reduced power option will come into it's own.

thanks wobbly looks like i will have to get a mig

Way to go. You will also find you'll be seaming less as most panels were originally spotwelded, so drill/fill is the way to go!

[Tricky]

Originally Posted by tinker

ok mig it is can i pick your vw brains im restoring a 1978 hi top does it matter which way around i tackle the work ie body work first or mechanics i want the finished article to be mint

https://volkstorque.co.uk/vt/showthread.php?t=29053

a good read !

this http://www.thebugshop.org/ is amasin stuf


I would say do the welding 1st, mechanics after, as the mechanical stuff will get in the way from time to time !.

saying that, there isn't that much in the way of machanical stuff on an aircooled VW !