Well...sadly my Zed is now SORNED and sitting on my dads drive (wouldn't last long on mine).

 

I have a 2.0 Galant estate which is different, very roomy and comfortable (except for the amazingly high accelerator pedal...my Achilles tendon is an inch longer now!), but it ain't no Zed.

 

Next year the welding begins on the big nightmare hole discovered underneath.

 

http://300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=154249

 

So wondered if anyone can suggest a MIG welder. I've had a little Oxy-Acetylene welding experience, but that's about it.

 

My dad is buying it, he intends to weld all kinds of thing. Looking at around £250, with the ability to weld larger gauge things, like steel for gates etc. One where the bottle fits on the back tray would be ideal. Looking at Clarke welders, just cause thats mainly what people recommend or use, but doesnt have to be a Clarke, like I say, I know very little about welders...

 

My Zed will live again!! (next year).

 

Cheers!

I personally went for the Clark as it's tried and tested. Have a look on here bud http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php?

I'm no welder either but my clarke mig welder is 20 years old and still going strong.

I bought a Clarke mig welder too, it's currently gasless but can be ugraded eaisly to gas. Can't say what it's like cos I've never used it. lol

http://www.speedyservices.com/product/20188/mig-welder-300a/productoverview

 

Doesn't look like it comes with any gas though. Sureshield is good for steel.

i dont know how confident you guys are going to be but it may be worth using a spot welder just to tack things inplace when your doing the inner sill etc, take alot of the hap hazard outta things, and give syou a solid base which you can then get the mig into.

That link takes you to a 300 amp lincoln with a seperate wire feed unit, it's a car he is trying to repair not build an aircrft carrier!:lol:

 

 

http://www.speedyservices.com/product/20188/mig-welder-300a/productoverview

 

Doesn't look like it comes with any gas though. Sureshield is good for steel.

There are other options, but having a powerful unit generally means better results, than hitting the higher end of your machine, which can often cause it to overheat.

 

http://www.speedyservices.com/quicksearch?keyword=mig+welder&productType=1

 

It's only to hire, so it's not to purchase the thing outright.

 

The closest Speedy Hire I know of is on the Felling Bypass, but places like Lord Hire might be worth looking at as well.

I think Machinemart are the main distributor for clarke and at the price range you are looking at the link below may better suit.

 

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/search/filter/diy-mig-welders/type/any/module/shopcategory/page/1

 

You don't want to go for anything to powerfull as once you start going over 180amp your house hold 13amp fuses may not cope, you may get away with plugging it into the cooker ring main but even that is only (I think) 16amp. Once you get up around 250 amp the will need a 30 or fourty amp fuse, the 300 amp in the link is actualy 3 phase 415v!

Oh snap, never thought about the power requirements lol!

and save some money for a good auto darkening helmet, could save your eyes ;)

and save some money for a good auto darkening helmet, could save your eyes ;)

 

These are much cheaper than before. Around £50 gets one... brilliant piece of kit.

I have this clarke welder. .....http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/151te-turbo-mig-welder

 

Does all car stuff and thicker steel too

I would recommend a Clarke 135TE for all of your body work, it has a good low amp setting of 30amp that with a bit of practise will do most of your floor,arches and sills etc'

I have cut all of my tin worm out and replaced with new using one.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=15465

For anything thicker than 3mm it would be worth going for the 150TE and will still drop to 30 amps for the thin the stuff. (I wish I had gone for this instead of the 135TE to be honest)

there's people here who can weld!!! brilliant. I gave up a decade back. really disliked getting burnt since you asked.

Berrica seems informed but to get around the power prob you simply need a transformer. and they cos loads.

-Hire shops maybe will your friend until you are at home with what is on offer concerning controls and power.

if you but one and use it , most of its life you will be changing to new wire/nibs/tips/leads/water/bottles/etc: Hire equipment should be well maintained is all I'm suggesting.

and yes.. what else do you need? to remove the car battery (did you know?) well there's the nodder and gautlets, plus transformer and sander. please buy a sander. NOT a grinder.

and listen to bacon frying. I mean REALLY listen to it. you want to get used to that noise.

Thanks everyone! Really useful information! :)

 

Yeah, annoyingly we used to have a factory and a three phase supply to work from, and a brand new welder (still have one mask) and a lot of tools, even a basic lathe which I made a custom aluminium knob on, then anodised it. Sadly that's all in the past...

 

So yeah stuck with single phase, but didn't consider the home fuse box and being limited by it unless using a cooker socket, even then there'll only be a 13 amp fuse in the welder plug... Looks like I'll have to stick around the 180amp mark then.

 

I don't think hiring is an option, I'll suggest it. If Redwine300 did all that with the Clarke 135TE then maybe than one, or the 150 TE is the way to go.

 

I'll update everyone as it progresses, but once again - need to get winter out the way... :(

Edited November 17, 201114 yr by MasterCookieman

o yeah stuck with single phase, but didn't consider the home fuse box and being limited by it unless using a cooker socket, even then there'll only be a 13 amp fuse in the welder plug... Looks like I'll have to stick around the 180amp mark then.

 

I don't think hiring is an option, I'll suggest it. If Redwine300 did all that with the Clarke 135TE then maybe than one, or the 150 TE is the way to go.

 

The 151 that I linked too is the updated 150 at the same price. All three clarke weders have a 13a plug on them and just plug in. You simply dont need anything more powerful.

In fact you only need the 1 and 2 power settings for car bodywork.

Its not a cheap exercise getting set up but the equipment will last for years or will sell on 2nd hand .

Welder... say £299 for a 151.

Reactive mask. £49.

Regulator and mid sized Argoshield bottle.. ???

Reels of wire are cheap at Machine Mart.as are their leather gauntlets.

I would say something about 150 amp is more than enough for anything you will come up against and your household fuses will cope easily, it will also be able to drop to a nice low amperage for when you hit some really thin metal.

As for gas I would recomend Argosheild Light not CO2 although if you are welding outside gasless wire might be the way to go but the weld finnish will not be as good.

http://www.boconline.co.uk/products/products_by_type/industrial_gases/shielding_gases/argoshield/2_litre_argoshield_light_filled_cylinder.asp

 

Don't forget good gaunlets and a helmet that covers all of you face to protect you from the UV, all of this stuff apart from the gas can be bought cheaply from ebay or from someone like me at vastly higher prices! lol

^^^^^^^ Listen to Berrica for some proffesional advice :)

 

For some amature advice then for what you are going to be doing then a 130 or 150 Clarke will be more than man enough for the job as will your household supply be. I bought a second hand clarke 130 unit from ebay, it welded my sills, chassis legs, rear chassis legs, back quarters and a couple of floor sections without too much trouble. It also assisted Crashcourse with his repairs :). Cost me something like £70.

 

The hardest part of the job will not be the welding but the cutting back, cleaning and preping then making up the new panels.

 

Call me sad but I enjoyed the challenge and all the fabrication work.

As Ossian said.

I also used a second hand Clarke 135TE.

No problems at all.