I've never welded before so I've been putting it off. I took a one day welding workshop.... here goes nothing.
Just take your time Rag .. Don't be in a hurry . Try ' stitch welding first ' .. just a small tack .. Stop .. Do it again .. Don't try to make a ' loooong run ' with the welder .. Thin metal goes away quickly .. so don't heat it up to the point where it will become molten. Welding is an interesting process .. You have to look where your are GOING .. and watch where you ARE simultaneously .. Not as difficult as you may think . Slow and Steady !! You'll do fine. Cometized (Chip)
"Remember...just because the metal in not red does not mean it is not hot. Good luck and have fun." .... lol ..... been there, burnt that! Be safe. Make sure your helmet will protect your eyes. I bought a helmet that has an adjustable eye shield and really like it. Also, have fans going. I was welding in my garage, and you want to evacuate the fumes. If welding near galvanized metal, don't breathe that at all. That can hurt your lungs. As I was grinding on the side panel next to the kick board, that looked galvanized to me. Didn't take any chances ... shoot a spot weld, walk out of the garage for a minute, then came back and shot the next ....
Before you cut/weld anything...Fit the patches to the floor to be certain they will cover the damaged areas completely. Then you can mark off the area to be cut/removed from the car. Remember you want to have a bout a .040 gap between your patch panel and the parent metal on the car...No sharp corners in the areas you have to weld patches. Really try to round em off...(Eliminates stress risers) Make certain your metal has no rust where you are welding...You cant weld rust...It just blows away and takes the weld with it...Measure three times cut/weld once. Sheet metal warps easily...Place a tack...Move to a different area...Place a tack...Move around the panel, don't concentrate your welding in one area...Good luck!!!
Slow going... I bought a 3" aircat cutoff tool to take the old pans out but I don't think the compressor is strong enough to properly power it. It's a 5200 Makita, which I thought was pretty good... 6.5 CFM.
Jig saw and reciprocating saw seem to work well... Any risk of anything moving if I cut all of floor pan out in one shot or is doing it in sections better?
Get your self a good spot weld cutter...Your gonna need it. Do one side at a time and you wont have any problems.. These cars are more rigid than people give em credit for.
