[Cougar-67]

I'm very close to having my full quarter ready to fit into place for welding on the passenger side. This will include the door jamb, the full wheel well, and the rear piece that welds to the taillight unit. I didn't want to lose any of the integrity of the main trunk-to-top, so am going to lap weld that 1/2" below the top ridge from the door jamb to the quarter end. I have a Lincoln wireless feed welder that's done admirably for me, but fear all the splatter will cause major headaches grinding down flush with the contour of the panel. Should I rent a rod welder that'll throw down a nice and consistent bead? Eric.

 

[1969XR7Vert]

By "Lincoln wireless feed welder" do you mean a wire feed welder using flux cored wire? No, a stick welder is not going to buy you anything. You might consider getting a tank setup for the welder to use Argon/Co2 mix and solid wire. Regardless of what you do, DO NOT try to lay down a continuous bead. Stitch weld very small (less than 1") beads - space them well apart, move on and then come back later and fill in between. Start out by doing small tack welds and either blow cool with an air nozzle or use a soaked rag to cool them. You really need to do all of the above to minimize warpage. Also, I suggest that you get a flange tool to make a stepped joint rather than a lap joint.

Regards,

Bob

 

[Bad69cat]

Agree w/ Bob on that one. You will get much better weld w/gas. Be sure to flip your leads around if your welder requires it for gas operation.

 

[1970fastcat]

Agree with Bob, but I have only been doing tacks on all of mine. You have to work slow, which is hard for someone that is impatient like me. I have not seen the least bit of warping on mine, so I must be doing something right. I would have a look at converting your welding to MIG with 75/25 Argon like Bob said. No matter how pretty you get the weld, you will have to grind. Just make sure you treat the grinding the same as you do the welding. Go slow and keep moving, it will heat and warp the metal just like welding will.

 

[wreckedcat15]

Im going through the same thing on my 70' goodluck!!!!!

 

[rodbender]

As stated earlier the best way is a MIG with gas. Do not weld continuously on your butt welds. Make a sucession of tack welds along the butt weld( Stronger than a lap weld). Start a tack at the end then half the distance between, then half that distance, etc. Until they are an inch apart.Then keep going with a tack in front of all those moving down the panel. This will give you minimal distortion. I have some pics on here if you care to look. Best of luck.

 

[droptopcat70]

When welding start in the middle and work your way out.Cause if you start on 1 side and weld all the way across you will have problems.

thanks
pat