Practiced my aluminum TIG welding over the weekend. It's been a while since I've done much so I'm a little rusty.
This one is not bad. Just a scrap of the tubing I'll be using for my intercooler pipes - 2-1/2" x 0.062" tube.
I'm definitely a fan of a pretty weld bead, and I really try to make them both strong and neat.
I'll do another few hours of practice and then I'll feel good to go on the real parts.
In reply to TVR Scott :
Hooray for pie cuts!!!!
Recon1342 said:In reply to TVR Scott :
Hooray for pie cuts!!!!
Right!
This test piece isn't actually true pie-cuts. I was playing with the idea of cutting wedges about 2/3 of the way thru a tube, and then bending the elbow and welding the seams. It worked ok, but wasn't as smooth or as pretty as I wanted. And it was a pretty huge pain.
So I've got some real mandrel bends on order.
For being rusty, it looks like a pretty good stack of dimes to me. Mandrel bends will help expedite your tubing requirements.
Dirtydog said:For being rusty, it looks like a pretty good stack of dimes to me. Mandrel bends will help expedite your tubing requirements.
Thanks. I'm probably being overly picky. I laid down a couple more beads after that one that looked a little better. Pretty much passed my arbitrary personal inspection. I'm going to make my own coolant expansion tank, and I really want that solid. That's my big concern.
Cleaned up the R200 LSD with a wire-wheel and die-grinder:
Looks a little tidier now! I need to pick up some paint, and then I'll give the iron case a quick shot of color. Gun-metal gray is speaking to me right now.
TVR Scott said:I'm a little rusty.
The hell you say!
Dirtydog said:For being rusty, it looks like a pretty good stack of dimes to me. Mandrel bends will help expedite your tubing requirements.
The best welders I know are all hypercritical of their own work...
The best welders I know are all hypercritical of their own work...
Yup. I mentioned it a few pages back, but I originally learned from my grandfather. He was just so good at all kinds of welding, and I really looked up to him and his passion for his craft.
Then at my first jobs out of school I got to work with some crazy good welders. Guys who'd TIG together pop-cans for fun on their lunch breaks. Everything they did looked awesome. Great guys and I learned a lot from them.
As far as my own work goes, I'm pretty happy with my steel TIG work. It usually turns out fine and looks nice. I can lay a strong structural weld on 1/4" to 3/8" stock with my flux-core welder. It's not always pretty, but that's just the downside of flux-core. I feel good about the stainless TIG work I've been doing lately, and the nitrogen purging has been has been a bunch of fun. Aluminum is probably my weakest, but in some ways it's more fun than the others. It's just a bit different, and when I can hit it right it's super satisfying.
What a lovely rear-end you have. 
As for rusty skills Tig'ing AL, I hear you. I had a friend drop by with some aluminum castings the other day and say "weld these". I need to get some practice in before I strike an arc on that stuff.
I primarily work with stainless steel, and it’ll let you know when you do something wrong. We purge weld with argon (it’s a requirement due to food contact).
probably 95% of a good weld is in the prep work.
Recon1342 said:probably 95% of a good weld is in the prep work.
True words. What's your normal prep routine?
I usually do my trimming and fitting, then brush with a wire-cup, then wipe with acetone. I have wire-cups that are segregated for aluminum, stainless, and steel/everything else. I actually bought die-grinders for each - I have like five of them. Changing wheels is a pain.
Welding wire gets wiped with acetone before use, then I only handle it with gloves. I guess that's making certain assumptions about the cleanliness of my welding gloves, but the show must go on!
Today is a special day: one year ago was when the TVR arrived into my life. A fine milestone, and worthy of taking stock and thinking about the year, what I've done, and what is to come. Flip to the bottom if you don't want to read my pontifications and just want to see a few new pics!
It's been a year of fits and starts. I definitely got thrown off by the 2.0 control pack being discontinued out from under me. There was a long stretch there when I was reluctant to do much. I thought hard about switching engines. I looked deep into other methods of control. It all worked out with the control pack, though I think I was on the way to figuring out other directions.
This fall and winter getting the motor mounts and transmission mounts done has been a big actual and emotional milestone. Suddenly a finished car feels more like an attainable goal. Really nice to get some positive forward motion and be able to build success upon success.
Upcoming project focus is really around building something that will actually start and run. Sounds silly in a way, but I could easily get distracted with body-related work, with pulling apart the suspension, or all kinds of other projects that distract from that first-start day. So I'm trying to remind myself of that.
Near-term projects:
Mistakes? Generally I'm pretty happy with the decisions I've made. I really waffled on the transmission, and I wish I hadn't bought a Mustang MT-82 and then an NC 6spd. Will try to sell the Mustang trans and make some of that back. Sometimes I wish I'd pushed harder this summer and fall, but I try not to dwell on lost time.
Generally though, Tim's Law does rule. If I don't spend a fair chunk of time every week - 10 hours by the law - then my momentum fizzles and the project slows. I definitely feel best building progress on progress. So onward!
Here's a couple pics of what I've been doing lately. The differential got three coats of Rustoleum spray. Cleaned up nicely! Axles and diff mount from Good Parts is due tomorrow in UPS.
I've been messing with intercooler location, and am thinking about switching to a low-mounted location in front of the radiator. I'd been planning to go above the radiator and eliminate the spare tire location, but I laid this out and I think it looks pretty good:
I like it. I wouldn't be the first person ever to package a FMIC in front of a radiator. And I do get to keep the spare. If I felt I needed a little more room, I could swap the full sized one for a donut. That would give me several extra inches to spare. I've been resisting cutting off that spare tire mount for months now, and looks like maybe this setup was meant to me!
Anyway, thanks for reading and sharing in my year of play time. It's been fun communicating directly with some of you, and I hope to meet some people in person. And throw me thumbs-up if you're enjoying the read!
Reading right along. Not much to say cause you seem to know what you are doing.
Pete
Mucho!
happy 1 year milestone! It’s taken me longer than that to tear a car apart and sell every last little scrap from it. So building one definitely should take longer. Good job on the progress so far!!
In reply to TVR Scott :
You did a great job cleaning up that diff. Can't believe that's the one I sent you.
+1 on the you seem to have things solidly under control so there's not much to add! Definitely having fun reading along, so please keep it up.
I am always stoked when I get an email telling me there's an update to this thread. I'm enjoying following along immensely!
New axles and diff mount came yesterday. So Pretty!!!
The newly painted diff looks great too. Kinda cool dealing with brand new parts instead of the ratty old rusty ones.
I think I missed it, is that a Z32 R200?
TVR Scott said:Recon1342 said:probably 95% of a good weld is in the prep work.
True words. What's your normal prep routine?
I usually do my trimming and fitting, then brush with a wire-cup, then wipe with acetone. I have wire-cups that are segregated for aluminum, stainless, and steel/everything else. I actually bought die-grinders for each - I have like five of them. Changing wheels is a pain.
Welding wire gets wiped with acetone before use, then I only handle it with gloves. I guess that's making certain assumptions about the cleanliness of my welding gloves, but the show must go on!
We’re not allowed wire wheels, as the risk for foreign material in the food is too high. Depending on what I’m welding, I start with a clean flapper disc, take it down to clean metal, and then use a buffing pad for smoothing it out. For purge welds, the surfaces are then hand fit with a file and then wiped with acetone.
Brotus7 said:I think I missed it, is that a Z32 R200?
It is indeed an R200, off a Q45 if I remember correctly. Stampie?
Gear ratio 3.54:1
Picked up the gas tank from the chemical stripping place yesterday. Here it is all soaked and blasted:
I wasn't totally happy with the insides. Still quite a bit of gunk left in there. Cleaning to follow.
Next step was laying out and cutting for the EFI pump.
I made the original hole with a hole saw and then expanded it with tin snips:
After that it was pretty simple getting the pump mount in and test fit. Not bad:
TVR Scott said:Brotus7 said:I think I missed it, is that a Z32 R200?
It is indeed an R200, off a Q45 if I remember correctly. Stampie?
Gear ratio 3.54:1
Yes that's an Infiniti Q45 diff cause everyone knows that Q45s are the E36 M3. If I remember right there was a hole in the trunk of that Q45 and no matter where I moved I couldn't get away from the damn dipping of stagnant rain water on me.
In reply to TVR Scott :
10 hours by the law - then my momentum fizzles and the project slows. I definitely feel best building progress on progress.
Same law I live by to the hour! The "progress on progress" bit is what I seem to thrive on and maybe explains why finished projects don't hold my attention for long.
Pete
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