Tig Welding Your Car

[DaGr81]

Few questions

Before that is it tig or mig ? Not sure, but I know little bit about this like letting it cool off and to tack a bar in place to reduce flex etc

1. We see this all the time on race cars to improve rigidity so has anyone done it? Any tips or tricks? Because I hear the chassis wi flex.

2. If we were to go to a professional to get it done what would the cost be? Say for just the front strut towers ?

3. There's a tig I've seen mentioned on an earlier post for about $560 would this be suitable.

4. If it is feasable and practical I may buy it and do my car just for fun to see what it's like, obviously you don't need much experience to spot weld inch on inch off. Would there be by probs other than flexing?

Depending on things I may be willing to help out fellow sau members but that depends on time taken to complete etc.

Let me know ta!

Edited January 6, 2009 by DaGr81

[SS#eater]

hi bud.....

have you ever welded before..?? tig and mig a toatally different....if you buy a tig buy a gas regulator consumeables such as tugnsten tips nozzles and diffusers.....oh and a bottle of inert gas...argon...migs need gas aswell...or you can you a flux cored wire (gasless) just so you know you can get flux cored wire thats requirs gas too.....

inch on inch off is stiching not spot welding...

what are you hopeing to acheive?

what sort of driving do you do is it even worth the time money effort???

[DaGr81]

I see, I guess I'll be stitching then ^_^ improve rigidity for track use and I have used a welder in high school some 6 years ago, but if it helps I know I will do a quick course on it, basically just put stitches all over like strut towers etc I'll post up a few photos when I get home but yeah the whole idea is for improved rigidity and less chassis flex and flatter cornering etc willing to spend 560 on a welder to do this

[DaGr81]

Especially if workshops charge more, that's why I asked if it's worth it because I don't know what a shop would charge.

[SS#eater]

ah i see...maybe it would be money better spent on good suspension , better sway bars spring shocks......etc

myabe i dont know.... good luck with it anyways mate..i got a mig welder new off ebay for 290 delivered it works a treat....running gassless....i think it was from Geoffs Tools online store (ebay)

[DaGr81]

The above mentioned parts are in the shed awaiting installment! eBay hmm sounds ok, anyone else can explain a little more please do so

[Craved]

for that i would use a MIG - less heat required to weld, and less chance of burn through - nevermind easier to learn on if its been 6 years.

Gas welding is going to be nicer than running gasless.

[YLD-CHLD]

TIG will give u a nicer weld-presentation wise,& depending on the operator probably more penetration.

Mig is quick & easy but doesnt look as good as TIG.

& yes dont use gasless on your car it looks shitty no matter how good u r at welding.

[SS#eater]

TIG will give u a nicer weld-presentation wise,& depending on the operator probably more penetration.

Mig is quick & easy but doesnt look as good as TIG.

& yes dont use gasless on your car it looks shitty no matter how good u r at welding.

shielded welding (gas) will alwyas give a nicer weld...and you can get a nice looking weld using gassless......dont know why everyone thinks gasless is so horrible

[The BOP]

Hey mate tig is the go, and it will take alot more work than just the strut towers. I fyou really wont to gain something out of this you will want to weld almost every seam on the car in which case you will need to pull the windscreen out weld all the way down the join there the shotgun panels stich the underside of your car and so on, it's a big job if you want to do it propaly if your in melbourne outer east give me a pm and I'll come out and show you were you want to weld anyhow good luck....

[DaGr81]

Too bad I'm in sydney well I've got this rolling shell sitting in the back yard you see so I wanna slowly do all that prepare it for track fun... You think doing just the strut towers + the whole interior and boot will have any effect? Don't wanna start pulling windows out if I don't have to...

[Packy]

hmm just come across this thread and its exactly what i'm doing right now with my R31 skyline shell. TIG welding ALL (yes all) the seams and joins of the body. Though i'm only welding in the cabin area, as front and rear has strut braces going on. TIG is better than mig as it moulds the joins together rather than adding to them.

The only downside to welding most seams in your car, is you go through a lot of gas, and gas refills are around the $90-110 mark.

And yes, it is really easy to blow huge holes in the body if ya not careful.....practice on something first !!

I'll have to take pictures and post up my R31 body.

[DaGr81]

That would be awesome man!!!

[KLR33]

Few questions

Before that is it tig or mig ? Not sure, but I know little bit about this like letting it cool off and to tack a bar in place to reduce flex etc

1. We see this all the time on race cars to improve rigidity so has anyone done it? Any tips or tricks? Because I hear the chassis wi flex.

2. If we were to go to a professional to get it done what would the cost be? Say for just the front strut towers ?

3. There's a tig I've seen mentioned on an earlier post for about $560 would this be suitable.

4. If it is feasable and practical I may buy it and do my car just for fun to see what it's like, obviously you don't need much experience to spot weld inch on inch off. Would there be by probs other than flexing?

Depending on things I may be willing to help out fellow sau members but that depends on time taken to complete etc.

Let me know ta!

ok i could write a whole page of dos and donts but short answers r

1 done 8 full cars and bits on i dont know how many cars .best trick is prep clean the surfaces back to bare metal then clean some more

seam sealer between the pannels is your worst enemy

you will only get flex if u heat the area to much

2 just the towers u say, if u do all the stripping n some prep around 350 if they have to strip ,prep,weld,seal,paint,around 1300

3 i would not use a tig i would use a mig some reasons are speed mig is much faster, n trying to tig upside down under the car is not easy

and it is easier to get the mig into tight places

tig is good for small jobs un less u have a fark off watercooled tig

4 heaps of othe problems if the prep is bad, fires ,chocking on smoke clouds , burns from boiling seam sealer splashing back at u

good prep will make a big difference

heres a few pics

[DaGr81]

More cost effective to diy, how come yours are spaced apart more than what I've seen on some map cars? Any noticeable difference in feel of the car? Rigidity? Flex?

[KLR33]

More cost effective to diy, how come yours are spaced apart more than what I've seen on some map cars? Any noticeable difference in feel of the car? Rigidity? Flex?

i usually go in between spot welds as it is already welded on that spot as the name sugests.

it does make a difference but u wont notice much if the rest of your set up is lacking

if u do go to the effort then another thing u can do is around the door jams with a spot welder

new spot welds in between the factory ones

[DaGr81]

Mmm now to hunt down a mig ^_^ thanks alot for the great input guys once the funds are back up I'll start posting up pics, but first I need to add a boost cooler to my daily

[Medium Dave]

From what I understand it is a good idea to stitch weld as above so that if a weld cracks it is only a small crack, as opposed to cracking along the entire length of a panel

[Craved]

Mmm now to hunt down a mig ^_^ thanks alot for the great input guys once the funds are back up I'll start posting up pics, but first I need to add a boost cooler to my daily

i just bought a new 3 phase mig and want to sell off my gas/gasless SIP Mig if your keen.

similar to this item - http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SIP-Mig-Welder_W0QQ...106122001r15622

i payed $575 retail for it

[DaGr81]

How much? I gotta do a couple of fix ups on my daily first like fix the knocking and get the water meth installed and get the shifty cig lighter so I'll be looking at migs after that