Can someone tell me or point me in the direction on how to repair my lower quarters on my Volare. I think I want to just weld some metal there but I need to know a few things first.
1. I know to cut the rust out and cut the new metal to form into the new hole but, how does one get the curvature.

2. Will a hobbiest mig welder be ok for doing this, 110v.

3. I need more car friends that know what they are doing, Steaks, beer and a bon fire, have at it boys.

1. Just work the metal. Gonna take some time

2. Yes, it will work. Ideally, a 220 wire feed with gas would be much better. At the very least, a 220 with flux-core wire. Even though it is only a thin body panel, a good welder will drastically improve the quality of the weld. If not, make do with what you have

Go to this site, sign-up and log-in to this site.

http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/index.php

There are some really detailed entries that explain panel repairs in detail.
Very nice site for any type of metalworking issues.

A 110 machine will weld panels on the car. I would use a 220 machine myself.

DO NOT use flux core wire to weld on panels. Get a 75/25 argon mix tank and solid core .023-.025 wire. Flux core is messy, burns hotter and you may never get all the flux out of your welds.

If you are borrowing a welder use what you have available. If you are buying a welder, spend the cash on at least a 220V, 175-180 class machine. I wouldn't spend $50 of my own money on a 110V machine.

I got this welder for $10 brand new in the box, POed wife at cheating husband. Got alot of tools there. TY for all the info.

220 is way to hot for sheetmetal work like that , you can turn it down but man why blow the contacts out of a 220v high dollar machine to do some spot welds , doesnt make since to me , a 110 machine is perfect for sheet metal work als run 223 wire with 75 25 mix gas with a 030 wire tip , flows better and bind up

I've been using my Miller 130XP to weld patches into my Dart and I'm finding that a MIG is really not the greatest thing since sliced bread for this. No matter how slow I go, keeping the heat down with single spot welds, the patch area always comes out warped and requiring bondo. The actual weld bead is the worst. It always ends up sitting lower than the surrounding metal so that even when I grind flush it's visible as a bead. I've never used a TIG but I've heard it's much better for this stuff.

As for getting the curvature, you just have to beat it to shape unless you have some kind of metal roller. The old Ferraris were all made with just hammers and tree stumps. I have a big wooden mallet I made for this purpose. The head is the same shape as the safety cap for a big industrial gas (nitrogen, argon, ...) tank. A few whacks with that along the center of a piece of metal--even just using the garage floor as a backing--will get it curving.

Heres my 2 cents. I'm not a body guy by trade but have watched others and learned from trial and error. I've used a miller 110, I owa miller 250. Both will work. I use .023 wire not.030. Smaller wire welds with less burn thru. I set the heat up enough to burn thru if I run a bead. Let me explain. This way the weld heats and fuses quickly with a lower build up of weld bead. Weld your panel with a series of 1/8"-1/4" spots. Make tack welds 2" apart, then 1", then 1/2". Back and forth not all in a row. While they are cooling knock them down with your 3M disc. After grinding it will be easier to see if you have any pin holes when connecting the tack welds. Now go back(all your tacks are now 1/2" apart) and tack right next to your previous welds. Your tacks will now all be about a 1/2"long. Again don't go right down the patch,skip around. While they cool grind again. Repeat until the bead is solid. DO NOT atempt to weld long beads. Always leave a gap of .030-.060 between the patch and sorounding metal. A slow weld takes way less time than trying to fix a warped panel. All panels warp some,the trick is to minimize it. I'm sure pros can do it with no warpage, but we a not pros. However you can achive good results. As far as curving the metal. I bought a large 8" diameter piece of PVC. I shimmed it off my bench with a 1/8" shim and clamped each end with a C clamp. I slid the metal between the PVC and the bench and lifted it up to roll it. Heres a couple of pics of my 64 N/SS project for an Idea. Good luck. Oh Ya I have an F-Body also.
Doug

The pieces (big curved piece made with PVC bender)

Frt edges of wheell well being moved forward 3"

Tacked up

Ready for mud, warpage less than 1/8"

I wouldn't think twice about using a 110v mig. It is the quality of the machine that counts. I run a 110v Lincoln mig welder and I love how well I have been able to stitch together the Duster with it.

Thanks for the reply's and good info. DVM, That's awesome, gives me a few ideas and I have tons of PVC here already. This has made me really anxious to get to work on it now instead of BLAH, this sucks.

Make sure you heed his advice about leaving a gap between the two pieces of metal. I think that is the source of much of my warpage issues. At first I wasn't leaving any gap at all, thinking the more precise the fit the better, but then I learned about gapping. It's only logical: if you're adding metal with a wire feed welder you have to give it somewhere to go.