Figured I would report in and let some of you know what my plans are. I have been persuaded to install a solid rear axle in my car by a few forum members that were recently discussing the idea.

As a result I also fullfilled a longtime desire to own a good MIG welder. After many weeks of studying and learning as much as I could about welders and talking to my local guy who owns a very large fabricating shop I had it narrowed down to two units.

I wanted the unit to be more than probably what I would need to avoid possible issues of running into jobs that the welder would not be large enough for. I had decided on the Millermatic 210 and Millermatic 251 as my two options. Both are capable of welding very heavy gage steel and even aluminum with the addition of a spool gun. Granted TIG for aluminum would be probably better but this guy that owns the fab shop said they are moving more and more away from TIG with the outcome of these spool guys, which he said they use A LOT for aluminum.

Last night I went and picked up the 210 unit. After some more discussions I learned that the 251 was pretty much overkill for anything I would be welding and the 210 was actually preferred by more people for .035 size and smaller wire. So that clinched the deal for me - plus the 210 was about 500 less.

Here is the one I got:



The guy I bought it off of gave me a pretty good deal. He met the lowest prices I could find from internet wholesalers (1472) and then threw in a free helmet, larger 80 dollars worth of .035 wire, a contract for 150 dollars to get the cover gas thru them which includes FREE refills of the gas since I am just a "hobbyist".

Pretty pumped up about starting to lay some beads with the new unit. Need to go to the hardware store at noon today and pick up a breaker for my breaker panel and wire it up for 220v.

Then to add more fun to the gargage, dad said he is eying up a grizzle mini-mill which should put us in a pretty good position to make just about anything.



I have some pretty good ideas for our corvettes in the way of suspension components and these tools should give me a way to make them a reality.

Plus I needed them to do my solid rear conversion for my car.

Pulled the rear out of my car for the last time Tuesday...gonna miss the old IRS, but only till my car starts doing some of these

Dad's chevelle:
[IMG][/IMG]

 

Is that 210 model also good for body welding and floor pans? How much did it cost? I am new to welding so I'm looking for something easy to use on my 67 restoration. I have full length floor pan, rocker panels, and trunk pan to weld in, as well as patching some areas. Having the flexibility to do many other metals would be nice also. I've been looking at the Harbor Freight models but am hesitant to try them out. I may be taking some classes soon or I will find someone to teach. Looking forward to hearing how the solid rear goes. Take pictures. Good luck.

 

Those look like fun toys. I'm filled with jealousy.

 

If you can keep track of the mods and fabrication then turn this project into a kit to install a solid axel you can make a heap of money by selling the kit.

 

You can't go wrong with a Millermatic So how did you decide to do your solid axle project? If you need any help, let me know.

 

Could you use a helper? I'm not doing anything this weekend.

 

Here is the plan. Moser 12 bolt, 33 spline with spool, 4.10 gears, S&W chromoly 4-link, either koni or strange DOUBLE adjustable shocks, same wheels now...

I am not going to cut the car up to do the project. After extensive discussions with people the length of the links do not really matter. The brackets I am going to be going with have a TON of holes for almost infinite adjustment. So finding the optimum Instant Center should not be too difficult..

The way I figure it is I have been able to hook the IRS to 1.3X 60' pretty much on any track condition; and its a MUCH more difficult setup than the 4-link is to tune and maintain (in more ways than you can imagine).

I fully expect to see some super nice gains with the 4-link and even if it goes the same 60' times,....I have reliability and piece of mind. My car should be pretty well bulletproof. And I always have the option then of a power adder if I really wanna get NUTS>.

With the twins and all here, chances are I will not really get a whole lot of racing and stuff in; and this should give me lots of time to money around in the garage if I need to should the project drag on....but I don't think its going to be too difficult.

elefkow....sure you can come and play....just bring some of your sunshine....snowing pretty good out right now here! Also a few chicks in bikinis would be good for motivation.

 

so jesse...where's that beefed D44 headed?

though since i am being laid off on feb 5th from Time Warner...if you need a hand in the shop...i need the experience of a solid axle conversion on a C4 for more than obvious reasons - i just dont think even your D44 would be up to the task. I probably should worry about the Transmission first however

Good luck with the conversion...

and yes...a good MIG is totally invaluable. mine is a good fair bit smaller, but i learned to layer quickly and i can go to 1/4" or just over with little effort, which was perfect for around here. someday i'll get a bigger one if i stay into cars...

 

Cool... good luck with the project

 

Rick yeah the 210 is able to do body panels etc. Might want to go down on wire size, but its more than capable of working on and was the suggested unit for working on automotive type applications.

Fubar, the D44 was sold already to a forum member and I am taking it to him this weekend for delivery. The D44 with the spool setup I did was super strong and should be great for him (running mid 11s). No question he will have many many years of use out it. I am actually going to miss the old-gal. Never really had a complaint about the center section...it was always the other things that cropped up with problems then and again.

The last time to the track, driving 2.5 hrs one way and paying 50 dollar entry fee....warm the car up, do my burnout...stage...and BAM both rear spindles broke - that really frosted my tail. So I figured what the HECK...the wife gets twins for christmas/new years....I should get a solid rear and welder.

Seems fair enough right?

 

Two things I have learned about MIG welding, make sure the pieces you are welding are super clean and don't try to weld in a breeze or with a fan going. The shielding gas will get blown away from the weld and it will be full of holes. I also have a Millermatic, not quite as big as yours but back when I bought it I had seen a picture of Robert Yates Racing's shop and they were using the same unit I bought. I figured if it was good enough for them it would do for me too. I built my full tube chassis Chevelle with it and never had a weld fail.
It will take some playing to figure out temp/wire speed settings but you'll be laying beautiful welds in no time.

 

i see no issues with that deal

 

What model did you go with? I just noticed how expensive the 210 was.

 

Not sure, I'll go out to the garage and see which one it is. Keep in mind, I bought it in 1990 so that particular model is no longer available. It cost me around $700 then.
Mine is called Sidekick XL. I have welded 3/8 steel and I have welded body panels with equal success. It's no good for aluminum though I tried and it leaves a weld about 1/2 in. wide.

 

Take pictures for us along the way will ya?

 

Thanks for posting about this.

I am interested in this as well, as a hobbiest wanting to learn.
Could you do a little update about how the wirring goes for this project?

I am trying to learn about this, but I am at step 1 with this. I picked up a book and have started reading, but it is not really pointing me in any direction.

I basically wanted to fab up some exhaust, maybe some frame braces, and I am sure it would take off from there as if I got decent at it.

People I talked to said to get a tig. The car shows I watch appear to use mig. it is all very confusing.
I see cheap arc welders, which I have no ideal why there are so many different ways to do one thing.

can these welders be ran off a 220 source where some houses may have a 220 outlet for a dryer in the garage?
I could not find info about this in my book. It is frustrating trying to get into something when you are completly clueless about it.

 

I travelled down this same path in the mid 90s. I bought a Hobart 230V welder and both sleeves to run Al and steel/SS along with two gas tanks and both spools of wire. I have welded so much with these units and taught myself by making the "ugly" welds on scrap and just kept working at it. I can lay down pretty nice looking beads in aluminum (which is more difficult than laying nice beads in steel).

Bill,
With regard to the 230V wiring that is available to run the dryer in the garage, this typical;ly has adequate quage wiring (but I would confirm distance and guage). Typically these "hobbyist" type welding units will pull between 25A and 40A, which can be accomodated by a 10ga wire provided the run is not too terribly long (no 150' runs). I also made up a 10ga extension cord to work out in the drive for those occasional projects in the drive. And... I even added a 230V outlet on the brick wall that my estate gate is mounted at the end of the drive in case there is something out there that might need attention (overkill I know, but just in case...).

Jesse,
You will get good at welding in no time, it just takes a bit of patience and practice.

Aaron

 

Bill, you probably would be fine with a MIG. Handles the most common steel jobs. It's the quickest way to weld. It usually uses carbon dioxide as a shielding gas.
The consumable wire is on a spool and feeds in thru the gun.

TIG is the highest quality weld but it is very time consuming and takes some practice to master. If you can gas weld with acetylene and oxygen, then you have a good base for TIGing. They are similar in how you watch and control the molten pool and add filler rod. One hand holds the torch, the other feeds the filler rod and your foot controls the amperage. Usually argon is the shielding gas for TIG. TIG gives you the ability to weld aluminum, titanium, very thin gauges, chrome-moly in addition to the steels.

Stick welding just needs a power source, no gas as the electrode itself provides the shielding. Used for steels and iron.

I have a lincoln squarewave 275 TIG /stick machine. It is 220V. I ran the 220V line out to the garage. Only 3 wires, but I did have to change the receptacle. Not bad at all.

If I can provide any assistance, I'd be glad to help.

 

The Grizzly is a nice unit . My Dads shop just picked a nice Drillpress and a mini milling machine

 

I got a Millermatic 210 as well its a great welder. I am looking into getting their 350P which is their top of the line pulse mig machine. I tried it at SEMA this year and it makes excellent welds from gauge thickness on up to 1/2" plus! Not to mention that it has excellent aluminum welding abilities as well when coupled with the Python mig gun. It is a self contained puller head that when used with aluminum wire will produce welds almost as good as TIG but much faster.