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aye - was thinking about additional welds on the back to tbh I'm happy with it as is. I'll be getting meself a few tins or red oxide and zinc primer on Wednesday when I get paid.
Oh and phoned machine mart - they reckon the regulator was on too tight but offered to exchange the canisters if still not working
Their argon/co2 mix bottles are known for having deeper-set pins in the top which leads to having to almost force the regulator to open more than it should to get a good flow of gas. I've had problems with it before myself. The guys behind the counter will deny any knowledge of it though.
Also even the high-capacity bottles only tend to last for around 1 meter of continuous welding, do a few stop-start welds, and add in the gas wasted before and after the arc has struck, time-wise thats about an hour per bottle.
Plenty of seam-sealer once the rust-proofing coats have dried on the back to keep the dirt and moisture out too;) .
Looking very good mate, the welds on the wings look excellent, especially for a first attempt! they'll be more than strong enough to tack the wings together, once theyr'e skimmed with filler it'll be looking sweet, what's next then? did you say new rear arches? are you going to go wide arch or stay standard? i reckon the SID wide arch kit would suit this but it's obviously upto you, your going to be making your own bodykit out of foam and fibreglass arnt you? absolutley loving this car mate, it's just so different, what you gonna do with the back end of the car then? your gonna have to do something weird hey. Look forward to seeing your next update.
Nice work as always Ade.
You should be proud.
cheers for the comment guys! I'll be replacing the rear arches and at least the passenger side sill. Mikey - I've found stop/start welds are the best - If I try and do a long weld I just blow holes - with stop/start welds I can also check where I'm welding so I dont wander! lol
I'll be making my own body kit (front/rear bumper, grill (blended into bumper)) and side skirts as well as a smoothed rear boot with a VW custom boot latch (with a vaux badge)...
Wednesday 23/01/2008
Had a day off today (although got to work this weekend which is a bummer) so thought I'd tackle the underside part of the wings - the bit that sits under the lights.
The existing Nova wings had a section that bent round and clipped into the grill to complete the small edge before the bumper. I'm wanting to do something similar but obviously need to fabricate a new section to follow the contour of the Punto lights.
I started off working out how the bumper would be bolted at the front and then how the bumper (with grill built in) would connect to the wing.
I'll basically run a skirt of metal along the underside of the lights following the contour of the light. This will have holes drilled in it so clips can be clipped onto it allowing the wings and bumper/grill to be screwer in place. It'll be fiddley but will be nice and tight.
Once that was sorted in my mind I started by making a card template -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0001.jpg
This will need to be welded to the existing extension at the bottom corner of the wing as well as the underside for additional strength.
The new section will have a contoured lip running along the top edge to add detail (which will be along the bottom of the lights) and this will follow around and tuck back in for a flush finish.
Once the template was made I took it apart and then cut out the necessary parts, leaving enough metal to form flaps making joining the parts easier -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0008.jpg
At the moment the end that joins on to the bottom of the new extension (bottom corner of the lights) sits on top so I had to trim this back. I then joggled the edge of the new extension so the new part would sit flush on top. This was then welded in place. Once this was tacked in place I tacked the underside checking the clearences along the front of the lights in case the new part fouled on the bottom of the lights (which it didnt).
I then welded it up - which proved pretty difficult. I blew a couple fo holes in places which had to be repaired.
However by the end of the day I managed to complete one side -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0010.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0013.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bottom0015.jpg
I'm really pleased with the outcome. I need to clean up the welds on the underside however this wont take long. The area where it joined the new extension needs a bit more work however most of this area will be under a skim of filler.
You can see how the new part follows the line of the lights and theres a nice line that can be drawn from the bonnet down - this will be followed into the design of the front bumper and should follow the ange of the grill.
The whole area will be getting a skim of filler to remove any imperfections.
I'll probably do the other one tomrrow night.
your attention to detail is crazy ade
Mint
Brilliant work yet again mate, may i suggest that you invest in a light reactive welding mask though, they make everything alot easier as you can see through the mask just like a lightly tinted window before you start welding, then as soon as it lights up it changes darker so as not to blind you.
Sounds like you could do with a little less power or a bit more wire speed if you're still blowing through, thin stuff like this can be a real pain to find the right set-up for.
Once again though, excellent bit of tin-bashing there! and a good idea to aim to get the joints slightly lower than the finished level.
An auto helmet would probably be a good idea, I know I could have done with one on more than enough occasions when weldng nova's! I have used one before, when they first started showing up (were around ?250!), an absolute god-send when welding upside-down!