Learning to weld

This weekend I decided to get off my rear and start using that little 110 welder I have had sitting for years. In the last couple weeks I bought some 1 in square tube and a tank of Starr gas for my MIG. his weekend wasn’t too bad, mid 50’s not too much wind. So I decided to get started.

My first attempt at tacking was bad ( it helps to turn on the gas). I blew spatter everywhere on my metal. I tried to just make a frame for one of the shelves. Working on the ground SUCKS! Here are some pics of my first frame.



Not enough gas, too hot, too fast wire speed. You name it I did it. The first shelf turned out not square and not very well welded. My second attempt wasn’t as bad. I turned down the wire speed, watched where I was welding and made sure to measure twice cut or weld once. The welds still stunk but at least it was square.


By this time it was getting dark and the temperature had dropped, so I packed up and promised I would get out on Sunday after church.
Sunday arrived and I looked at my first attempt and decided before I did anything I was going to grind it apart and reweld it. I also set up a table to work at a more comfortable height.

I also had to cut my sheet metal. I tried to use pneumatic shears but they had been sitting so long that they didn’t work too well. I will probably need to take them in to get repaired. I ended cutting it with a cutoff disc. I also really need a bigger compressor.
I drilled some holes in the sheet metal and tried to spot weld them to the frames. I blew some hole in the metal and really did not get a good spot weld. I don’t know if the tube wall is too thick or what but I really am not satisfied with my welding. Overall everything is square and won’t come apart but it really isn’t pretty. Here’s the finished product. I priced out wheels at Harbor Freight but the were 4.99 a piece for the cheap ones. They had a moving dolly on sale for 14.99 with 4 wheels just the right size.

As you can see I welded a bracket on the side to hang the cables and my helmet from. I will probably paint it eventually. First thing I am going to do (when another nice weekend that I don’t have tooo long a “honey do” List) is to practice welding on some scrap metal.

Michael got some new toys

Its been a while since I had time to write anything. I have been able to spend a little of my saved up “mustang toy” money over the last couple weeks.

Here’s a current picture of my mustang. Buried beneath a cartop carrier, old receipts …. stuffed full of misc. cart parts like a center console, all the wiring and a ceiling fan. Well enough of that. Its time to take my space back.

I had a Mustangs Plus Gift certificate that I received in 2008. I wasn’t sure they would take it but guess what. They took it and within 5 days I had a new gas tank! Mustangs Plus Rocks!

I also found on craigslist a new radiator core support and an apron panel for $100.00. When I found the ad it was a couple weeks old so I didn’t think they would still be available but when I called he was in Vegas and said he could meet the following Friday.

New Battery apron

New radiator core support.

The following week I noticed this same guy had a 8.8 inch rear end from a 2000 GT mustang for sale. I called him immediately. I explained to him I couldn’t make it out to look at it till the next week. He said he had a couple calls about it already but no one made an offer. He said since we had done business before if I wanted it it was mine. Of course I told him yes and made arrangements to meet last week. Oh, did I forget to mention he only wanted $75.00. Awesome.

My new rear end next to my T-5.

My 1991 5.0l EFI.

Today was almost as much fun. I finally am going to make my MIG welder what it’s supposed to be. I finally purchased a bottle of 75/25 Argon/CO2 mix. I should have some time tomorrow to play with it. I am going to start by welding a weld cart together . Should be fun. I will post some pictures.

I also bought a quart of primer it’s a brand I hadn’t heard of before. Sikken, I asked for PPG but they didn’t carry any PPG products. This is the only paint supply store I have found, so I went ahead a bought a quart. I figure if I don’t like it I can try and find a PPG supplier in town somewhere. I plan on starting with the engine compartment to get proficient before I tackle body panels and frame rails.

A little history

While I was in the Navy I was stationed in Groton, CT. I had wanted a 65 fastback since I was 16. I bought my car in New York. My wife and I drove 3 hours with a 4 month old daughter crying in the back seat. She hated to be in her car seat! We drove down, looked over the car and I just had to have it.

So I drove a 30 year old car 200 miles back. I drove my mustang as a daily driver for 10 years. The PO had done a "restoration" on it with a "new" paint job. Years down the line the rust from the East Coast salt finally started to show through. We now live on the West Coast. I was initially going to repair just the rust showing through, but every time I uncovered a little rust more areas showed through.

Over the last 5 years I have slowly torn down the car. It is currently a rolling shell. I took a bunch of pictures as I took it apart, but the hard drive the pictures were saved to crashed and I couldn't recover it. So I only have current pictures

 

The Adventure Begins

I am starting this blog to document the restoration of my 65 Fastback Mustang. I want to record its history and what I’ve done so far. I have read several mustang blogs on this site and it has inspired me to start on my own!