I have access to MIG welding... no gas sheild or anything like that. We used it to weld my Ypipe up, was fine, a little "drity" (little ***** fly and stick to surface)

However would that work? I just ordered my Spohn SFC like 30 seconds ago. I want to run my car at the track, and I refuse to do it w/o SFC first so I want to get them put in correctly. It's not rocket science right? Just tack weld in place, then every 6 inches put in a nice weld INSIDE? pulling the carpet is simple enough? It's the underneath of the car, I don't need pretty, should the easy mig work?

I'll pay to have a shop do it, though I think i would rather trust myself more then a shop seeing these SFC for the first time and not knowing whats going on. 900$ in debt already, whats another 200$ to have a shop put them in.

 

The shop I took my SFCs to used a MIG welder.

They were powdercoated (as you can see), so he had to sand down the spots where he welded them together. Didn't even have to pull up the carpet. Make sure the suspension is loaded when you weld them in. I thought they turned out great.

-AJ

 

Cool, well, I probably wouldn't have pulled the carpet, just put water on it so it didn't torch if I had to.

So the MIG will do eh? Sounds good. Those look nice, I ordered bare. So did yours get welded on the inside or outside? Every 6 inches?

Oh yea, how much that cost you? The welding isn't the problem, its finding a way to get the car up high enough to get under there with the welding equip, WITH LOAD. Hmmm...maybe drive the front wheels onto ramps, then jack the rear up and put wood under those tires, should get the car up enough for room.

 

Let me just give a word of advice on using ramps - not to get off subject....

I had mine up on ramps so to speak for a clutch job at home. Basically I got mine up using stacked 2x8's to make a ramp so I could roll the front up onto cinder blocks - very sturdy, no problems there. I did the same thing you mentioned with the rear end then, jacked it up and put it on jack stands.

So, in lowering the rear end after I was all done I didn't think it could roll off the blocks up front - well, I hate saying it, it did - rolled forward off of blocks about 8" high!!! Kind of squished the underside of the fenders just behind the wheels - I think it's gonna be fixable with out too much work.

Just wanted to say - be sure it can't roll off whatever blocks you put underneath the front end - use chocks or something if you roll it up on a flat structure llike 2x8's or cinder blocks for a ramp. If you use the steel ones you can buy you won't have to worry about rolling 'cause they usually have a depression of ridges to keep the wheel in place. But usually they don't raise things up very high either.....trade offs......

Have fun and good luck with the connectors and at the strip!
K

 

Just to let everyone know, never use cinderblocks or anything like them to support your car if you value your body and maybe even your life. Cinderblocks have a tendency to crack and crumble when you least expect it.

 

I paid $200. If you can't do it right and have to rig up some hare-brained scheme to get your car in the air, DON'T. Pay someone who knows what they're doing and has the right equipment. $200 isn't worth your life. Good luck!

-AJ

 

Yeah, wow, NEVER use cinder blocks!!! Yikes! Have a parent/friend/girlfriend buy you a pair of jackstands to keep yourself alive. It's an investment in your future... literally.

I don't know if a FCAW MIG would be okay for SFC's. FCAW runs at a higher amperage than GMAW (gas) welding; you might wind up cutting through the floorboards.

Although, I can't see a Y-pipe being thicker gauge then the floorboards and frame rails. I guess if you did a TON of spot welds, you'll be okay. Go for the gas, man... it makes your welds so much better!! Plus, the welds are so much more precise- it's well worth it! (I have the Lincoln Electric Weld-Pak 100, converted it to GMAW after 2 years- very impressed with the welds! With the GMAW, I finally understood what welders meant when they talked about "if wire speed and amperage are correct, you'll hear the weld sizzle." And I was finally able to do body work!)

 

not to harp but you definately should not use cinder blocks!!!! I have used them in the past (younger and stupid) and i have reached under the car to remove them only to have them cruble in my hands. Jack stands can be had for under 30 bucks from harbor freight or sears.

 

No way to MIG weld and make it look pretty without Argon. Pentration just doesn't seem the same either- Alot of popping and jumping of the arc.

 

Jack stands? I need load on the car to put SFCs in...unless I'm missing something.

Agood2.8, I'm not that interested in how it looks, just if the MIG would install them correctly and with enough strength.

 

heres what i do: i got some, or atleast what look like, railroad ties from a gardening place. i cut them up into about 20" lengths. i always put a thing (dont know how to describe it) under the tire so i never have to worry about the car rolling off

BTW Adam Jones, I hate you, I wish my car was that clean underneath

 

Personally, I think anything over $100 to install SFC's is a ripoff. It's not rocket science. I paid $75 to have mine professionally installed.

 

you can load your suspension with jackstands, put them as far outboared on the front conrol arms and under the rear axel. Its actually the chassis you want loaded. So long as its supported at the same location as the suspension attaches the loads will be the same. If your in doubt get ramps for the front and stands under the axel housing.

On the issue of MIG welding. if you don't have sheilding gas, get fluxcored wire, similar in appearance to stick welding, it is better in dirty areas than MIG with gas. Using gas requires very clean metal for a good weld. Your choices for steel are Flux cored (easy, and cheap) CO2 gas ( crappy spattery welds) argon/co2 mix (works great, actually makes the arc steadier and cleaner, The preferred gas for steel)

 

If ya got $1500, buy yourself one of the new Miller 115V TIG setups...now THAT would be the way to go. Nice and clean...otherwise, MIG with the shield gas.


Ed

 

Dude you got jipped.

 

If you are talking about one of those flux core wire welders that run on 110 volts, forget it. You need a good MIG welder (metal inert gas). The shielding gas and heavier duty setup is a must. Better penetration, weld appearance and strength. The wire welders have some applications, but this is not one of them.

Yes you should have the car on a drive-on rack or place the jack stands as close to each wheel as possible (this is the way I did it and it worked out well).

Before you begin welding, make sure to open and close your doors and roll your windows up and down a few times to make sure the car is loaded as it will be when it is down on all four wheels. Just to make sure the body isn't tweaked on the stands.

Best of luck with your install- let us know how it turns out.
S-D

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Adam Jones
[B]The shop I took my SFCs to used a MIG welder.

They were powdercoated (as you can see), so he had to sand down the spots where he welded them together. Didn't even have to pull up the carpet. Make sure the suspension is loaded when you weld them in. I thought they turned out great.

-AJ



WHAT KIND of SFC are those? I like them...they look clean!

 

if you use flux core wire, which you need to use almost exclusively for open outdoor welding because the gas shield blows away...... the weld will be of a good quality, but will require chipping of slag and cleaning, similar to a stick weld.....but the penetration will be fine as long as the voltage and feed are set correctly.

the most common cause of spattering and jumping is bad ground, or poor contact due to a dirtly surface....also having the wire feed set to high for the voltage your using.

also can be caused by backing the electrode too far from the work piece.

I will get you the number of a good flux core wire that we use here.

When welding mild steel you should be using a 75/25 argon/co2 mix gas if your using solid wire

welding with solid wire will most certainly suck without gas...you need some type of flux.

also, make sure the polarity of the welder is set correctly for fluxcore wire, or gas

 

oh ya, and you dont need the pull the carpet....the part of the car your welding on for a subframe connector is actually not that close to the carpet, it wont even get hot

 

Really? Even when you do the welds every 6 inches on the floor pans? On the driver side all the electrical wires run along the rocker panel....

 

Just had to say (Not sure if anybody said this), but hell to save a life or two.
I use two sets of ramps! Not as high or convenient as some of those 1000 dollar scissor lifts, but it works.

I just point the ramps to the outside, front & rear.


BTW: I useD a 110v flux core on my SFC.
I bought this little unit at Walmart, and I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. Not only is it a good learning tool, it only cost 200 hundred bucks. Believe me it can weld some thick steel, however that is one of it's draw backs is trying to weld thinner metal like 20ga with flux core. You do have the ability to add a mig conversion for 80 bucks or something.
I use that little sucker on everything
Oh yea, thank G0D for auto dimming helmets, what would a newbie (myself) do without one!!!!!!!


Ron

 

your not welding on the floor pan, your welding on the rocker sill pinch weld, which is several inches away from anything that can burn, and it sticks down another 1/2 inch or so besides

...the wires that run along the door sil, and inside along the floor pan are alot further away from that weld than people realize....if you dont believe me, pull your carpe for the extra aggravation, and weld it....then put your hand down there inside the car, it wont even be warm

 

when your ready for something a little better, get a small miller unit like that, like the millermatic 115 they work great for such a small machine