Week - April 13 - 18, 2009

I finally found a welder that fits my budget and that will do what I need. I purchased a Hobart 125 from Northern Tool. Right now, I'll use flux core, but I'll eventually get the kit to convert to a MIG - probably when get to the outer sheet metal on the body.

In the meanwhile, I continued the arduous task of clearing the cab from all paint, seam sealer, and loose rust.

I also prepped the '73 dash by removing all paint. I'll paint it with some epoxy primer and the semi flat black paint. I'm still not sure of the outer body color, but the dash WILL be black!

Here is a catalog pic of the welder:

Good job on bending the floor pan metal without a brake. Tough trick.

Thanks. I would have used my former bro-in-law's brake, but it was Saturday (they don't work Saturday) and 15 miles away. The first bend is easy - it's that second bend that's hard!

Mark

April 25th, 2009.

I received the welder on Friday, the 24th of April. I test welded a few scraps of metal, enough to know I am going to have to practice before I tackle the floor pans!

So, I decided to build a welding cart (what else!?).

Here is what I spent today doing:

Here's the final version:

Fully loaded and ready to go, she looks like this:

I still have to work out some issues with my welding. The last welds were crappy! Practice, practice, practice! I can't wait to get those floor pans in....

Mark

Not sure what the issues you are finding are, but I can tell you that when it comes to doing the floorpans, you won't be welding a continuous bead. Body metal is pretty thin, and the constant heat buildup will start to cause blowouts. Practice getting a good puddle in short (~1 second) bursts. Go slow, and keep it cool. There are some very talented metalworkers here that can give way better info than I but I will be happy to share what I can...

Yeah, you're exactly right. When welding the 1" tube to the 18ga. sheet metal on my cart, I could easily burn through if I wasn't careful. Another issue is the use of .030" Flux core. I know it's hated by many, but is a necessary evil in my case until I can procure the MIG kit in order to use .023" wire and gas.

Besides, after I'm done, no one will see the floor pans anyway.

Thanks for the tip on the short bursting. I should have some time next week to try it out when I begin installing the pans. If anyone else would like to share their own tips, I would (absolutely!) love to hear them as well!

By others shared experiences we learn and grow!

Mark

Progress, May 2nd, 2009

After spending a weekend welding a cart for my new HH125, I decided it was time to get back to work on the cab.

With two of my sons, Levi and Matthew, I began to make the final preparations for installation of the left floor pan.

I made the front divots:

Next, I trimmed the front flange to mate with the A pillar.

The rear pan had to be trimmed, then bent to accommodate the rear contours of the remaining floor of the cab.

Here is the panel, ready for fitting and 'final' trimming.

There were some other areas of rust that had to be dealt with. First, the rear seat belt support cover sheet metal had rust, so we cut it out.

The A pillar next to the floor had to be cut out, also.

After this, we began fitting the panel.

The rear fitment.

We're finally ready to tack this baby down!