welding different framehead

90volts · Post by **90volts** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:57 pm

can anyone tell me how involved changing out a framehead is? i see theres a superbeetle pan in the classefieds nearby for not much. everything looks good except for the front end. is there a big deal or is it better just to wait it out- cause i am not in a hurry.i presently don't weld but am looking around to learn and start a build from the ground up over a long term to learn everything myself (as opposed to my present buggy). thanks all.

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:26 pm

I'm by no means a proficient welder, but I've shortened pans, cut down seat mounts and even rebuilt motorcycle and dune buggy tube frames. I've just got a cheap wire feed welder. I do all the cutting, bending, trimming, grinding and fishmouthing and when its dead straight I securely tack weld it all together and check it again. Then I take it to a certified welder(who teaches at the local community college) and he runs the bead with the perfect penetration and minimal distortion. He's usually done in 15 or 30 minutes because I've done all the tough, time consuming (expensive) work. In the mean time I've gotten better and better with the wire feed. With the time and care you can put into it, you'll probably do a better job than if you had it done by a body shop. You'll definitely have gained some new skills. If you do decide to do it, make sure you locate the seam at a point where you can weld a doubler strip over the top of it, not right up against the front bulkhead.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:28 pm

I bought a Lincoln mig welder. I watched the video that came with it and read a book. I practiced (briefly) on scrap and then went to town. I welded my pan, Built a trailer and repaired numerous things. I found welding to be a piece of cake. As for the torch set I bought, well thats a different story.

90volts · Post by **90volts** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:24 pm

a 110 or a 220 scott?

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 7:27 pm

If you are welding anything that needs to remain square, flat, or in line with something...Remember that welding will shrink the joint a bit. Normally not a big deal but if you are welding a frame you may want to take a few precautions. Lots of tack welds help. Tig tacking makes for a better finished mig weld if you have the machine available. "Moving around" as you weld an assembly will even out the distortion. Lets say you are building a square frame, if you were to weld one corner completely you would likely end up with a diamond shape. If you start out gnats ass square, (measure diagonally) and skip around you are more likely to end up square when it cools. On a frame too large to fixture or pound back into square, making a temporary X brace with come alongs will allow you to adjust for shrinkage too. Another helpful thing for welding sheat metal is a copper or aluminum "chill" bar behind the weld. This backing will allow for a hotter weld and keep the oxygen away. Also try to remember that most body shops are pretty low tech, their stuff only looks good from a distance with a lot of bondo. If you don't like the way it turns out you can always cut it back apart or blend out an ugly weld with a pretty grinder.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:45 pm

Mine is a 220v. Furbar is right on. These are some of the things I learned my reading a book.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:47 pm

Check out this thread. http://www.meyersmanx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3189&highlight=welders

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:12 am

My nephew is taking welding in high school right now. Hopefully he gets good enough to come help me out a bit. I tried showing him how to tig weld the other day. I guess that just takes a lot of practice. When I want something to look extra good, I have my wife weld it. She welded titanium and steel alloys for a place that casts jet engine parts for about 15 years. People that do it everyday get real good at making a bead look as good as it sticks. Nothing wrong with having someone else do the hard part. Kind of like with paint, 90% of the work is prep.

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:44 am

Just my :2cents: but if you're going to shorten the floorpan that your working on would it be best to use the rear section from the Super Beetle chassis and source a front section from an earlier torsion bar sprung car, joining behind the parkbrake as usual? This could give the perfect combination in my opinion of 4-joint IRS rear and king & linpin front and would mean only having to get two lumps of chassis to line up instead of three.

90volts · Post by **90volts** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:19 pm

thanks for all the info. dave, i'm not looking to shorten though. but i think i will wait it out for a standard anyhow.not in a hurry with this one. hell, still working on the last one!

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:22 pm

Mike, you should expand your garage down your driveway alittle. and build a shed for all that stuff in there