Really Should Stop Modifying my Daily Driver into a Track Car

[cosworth]

Tig welders solve many things people freak out about.

You’ve got me thinking about brake cooling now from reading all this.

 

[Fusion Works]

I honestly don't understand how normal people function throughout life without multiple welders, a mill, lathe, and saw to cut metal.

 

[Woods247]

I finally bought my first welder last week. No more mooching off my buddy or driving to his shop with 10mil other humans to fix or build stuff.

 

[cosworth]

I honestly don't understand how normal people function throughout life without multiple welders, a mill, lathe, and saw to cut metal.

Gotta love the heat wrench too. I took a job at a CNC shop in January and it’s been stupid fun.

 

[Fusion Works]

I finally bought my first welder last week. No more mooching off my buddy or driving to his shop with 10mil other humans to fix or build stuff.

Owning a welder does not a welder make. You need a lot of practice before you make important things. Use WAY more heat than you think you need. This is the problem of most beginning welders, they are too cold.

Now you need to build a welder cart. Hope you got a gas bottle to go with it. Flux core sucks.

 

[Woods247]

I finally have everything I need. This isn’t my first time this is just the first one I’ve owned. Fix your car so I can show you how to go faster.

 

[cosworth]

…This is the problem of most beginning welders, they are too cold.

Flux core sucks.

As someone who first started welding in the 80s, let me start by saying that heat is important but the #1 mistake new welders make is not cleaning their metal first. Once you have contaminants in the weld you just keep pushing them along.

Grind, sand, prep with acetone. Then do it again. You’re probably still not clean enough.

And flux core doesn’t suck. Dirty metal makes it suck. Mig is great for welding upside down. But if you want to WELD, use ac/dc tig.

 

[Fusion Works]

Flux core sucks, fight me. (unless you are building a bridge or welding a structure in a hurricane) Dual shield is really cool tech though. For most DIY guys a MIG with gas can make beautiful strong welds. Getting the machine and the operator setup correctly is worth it.

Yes Prep is another one I see not even amateurs fail at. I love my blast cabinet. It gets me clean bare metal with a quickness. Acid tanks are good for mild steel. Cleans off rust and mill scale well.

Love me some TIG, but its time consuming for somethings. Roll cages with TIG SUCKS. I tend to MIG tack exhaust systems, and carry them to the bench for finishing. (I only do stainless exhausts now).

 

[Fusion Works]

I finally have everything I need. This isn’t my first time this is just the first one I’ve owned. Fix your car so I can show you how to go faster.

Barber TT at the end of the month. (if I can get enough motivation to go stay at Barber in 100deg heat.

 

[cosworth]

Roll cages with TIG SUCKS. I tend to MIG tack exhaust systems, and carry them to the bench for finishing. (I only do stainless exhausts now).

In situ welding is where mig shines. If you can have it on a bench, it’s tig. Love tig, but capping off 3in stainless pipe with argon blows. So much setup. Futzing around.

If you have a good welder with the right settings available, some new wire, flux core can burn through the big projects fast. Fussy car stuff that needs speed is solid core. Fussy car stuff that you want to spend a day on? Tig.

It’s like manual milling and CNC. Some stuff you just need to blitz on the manual real quick. Other stuff needs coding.

Sold my mig when I went all stainless on the cars. Bought a fist with mild steel pipes and I needed to bust out the Oxy on it one day. Not fun. Considering a cheap mig again now.

Makin’ bacon

 

[Fusion Works]

Can't live with only one type of welder. Need MIG, TIG, and gas setup.

 

[cosworth]

Any thoughts on undertray aero? Or are you happy with the reduction in lift from spoilers?

 

[Fusion Works]

I am happyish with the aero, I think there is some more to be gained with tuning. The OEM flat panels do a decent job with the floor aero and my panel covering the rear beam cleaned that area up. A rear diffuser would be the best way to clean up the under hatch area. Rules preclude a full flat floor and as this is still a street car, I am not interested in going that route. My front splitter goes back to the front axle centerline per the rules. I keep debating a tray behind the axle centerline that will replace my tunnel cross bracing with a flat plate of aluminum.