I would like to know if any one has had any luck with wire feed welders to install floor pans and quarter panels or is a mig welder with gas the only way you can weld the new metal. Thanks In Advance.

Wire feed and MIG are the same thing. And personally, I use both MIG and gas welding when doing jobs such as you mentioned. Some places a mig works better and others a good old gas still does the job.

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Fan of anything that is interesting and moves human beings.
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
1948 Chevy PU with 401 Buick

Did you perhaps misunderstand the question Martin? A true MIG is an Inert Gas welder. There are [cheaper] wire feed versions available that use a flux core wire in place of the Argon shield gas. I'm in the same boat - I know where I can get the non-gas wire feed, but I'm not certain the quality will be what I want. I finally found a local shop that rents a MIG, but it's $45/day and I think I need it a few days to do it right. Can someone tell us what differences to expect between the 2 welder types on sheetmetal?

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Matt
http://camarotech1.com
Camaro Tech 1st Generation

Go with the mig gas shielded. The flux core leaves a residue (slag) on the weld that requires removal (usually with a chipping hammer). The clean weld of the gas shieled welding technique is the way to go for body work. At $45/day the cost adds up if you look a new brand name (lincoln, hobart, etc.)gas shielded mig could be picked up for less than $400 and a used even less.

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68SS ZZ4, 4sp T-10, 12 bolt, getting painted

78Z28, 330hp vortec, TH350, 10 bolt (just finished)

Well there ya have it, the difference between the flux core wire and the gas. I use C-25 personally as my shielding gas.

OldBlue, with MIG, you can contain the heat much better than gas. If your going to be doing alot of welding, it would probably be cheaper to go buy a welder than rent one(at $45. a day)and then when your all done, you still have the welder and can take on extra work and pay for the welder that way(its all on how you look at it). If you go shopping, just look at the duty cycle of it, is the big thing your going to pay for, and if it 110 or 220 volt.

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67 Camaro SS Conv.
70 Challenger R/T Conv.

[This message has been edited by ragtopman (edited 10-18-2000).]

I've been welding for over30 years now and I bought a lincoln weld pack 100 at home depot a few years back for about $260. I used it to weld patch panels in my 67, the welder beeing a flux-core type was difficult for me to use. Later I started on a 70 model welding in patches around the rear window, due to the thinner rusted metal I had to buy a mig conversion kit, about $75 ,and is much easier to use. Anyone with any mechanical ability should be able to run one of these in just a few minutes.

Thanks a lot for the info. I looked in a Northern Hydraulics catalog (usually pretty reasonable), and the cheapest MIGs were over 1000 bills - so I wrote off buying one. Maybe I should look into it again. I'M A TOOL HOUND!!!!!!

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Matt
http://camarotech1.com
Camaro Tech 1st Generation

I was looking at buying a MIG welder recently and the one that really caught my attention was the lincoln SP125. Nice machine! With the cost of the welder, auto darkening hood and a bottle of gas, I was looking around $850 - $900.

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67 Camaro LS6 454/TH400/12bolt 3.73
1989 TransAm 5.7L WS6 W/all the options

www.geocities.com/akfourme/ (http://www.geocities.com/akfourme/)

I too have been checking into buying a welder and trying to tackle some repair work myself. I agree with cardude in that locally here I have found the Lincoln SP125 to be the best fit for my needs, and with gas kit, helmet, cart, etc it all comes in under $1,000. I'm hoping maybe Santa could see his way down to the local supply house and find room on his sleigh! When you think about all the times you have said to yourself "I wish I had a welder to do that" over the years, and like ragtopman said, the ability to do extra work for others to pay for it, it sure beats renting.



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I just purchased a Lincoln 100 and MIG conversion kit from Home Depot 3 weeks ago for $299 and $79 respectively. I live north of Atlanta in Cumming Ga, so not sure if that price was local only. I’m a beginner welder, but seems to work great so far. I was told by virtually everyone to go with the MIG.

i have a mig welder that uses either flux or gas you will need gas to weld sheetmetal if you try the flux #35 you will blow holes thru your work ,the sheilding gas(argon CO2) with thinner solid wire #24 works great,i am not a "pro" at it and i have welded patch panels as well fixed some gardening stuff and even fixed the deck on my riding mower, i would just buy one the uses r endless,good-luck..

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70camaro(350)ground-up restification,350 slightly modified

I bought a millermatic 172 mig welder about 2 years ago. It's a 220 volt welder that can weld up to 1/4" in one pass. I have used it to weld my quarter panel, door skin, trunk, and almost every other part on my car. This welder is by far one of the best i have used. I got it at www.welders-direct.com/challenger172.htm (http://www.welders-direct.com/challenger172.htm)
it sells for $635 and shipping is free.
The welder is small and portable. I looked at all models(including lincoln) and miller is what more professionals use

Where do you get the gas for these? Do you have to rent the tank and exchange? Can you buy a filled tank like a propane cyl? How long will a tank last? Been looking at one of these myself but the gas part has me scared when it comes to cost and finding the stuff. Oldblue; lots of body shops these days are using an epoxy adhesive to put on minor repair panels. Made by 3M and comes in a two tube type caulking gun setup. Maybe not too good for stressed panels, but fine and rustproof for other areas.

You can get a CO2/argon bottle at any welding supply. I bought mine for about $140. It cost around $20 to fill. I have only filled mine once in the last year and a half and I have used it extensively. If you don't want to buy a bottle you can rent one for about $9 a month. I went through Praxair.
Good luck.

you will also need a 30LB. regulator for the gas bottle,i purchased my bottle with gas for 80 bucks,there r 2-size tanks you can get,my welder came with the regulator.

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70camaroSS ground-up restification,350 slightly modified

Houndog, you are right I didn't see that. I have had a MIG for many years and have heard so much bad talk about the flux core, I didn't even think about it. I do recommend only the "real" MIG and nothing else. Now for those long welds down panels that can be butted, I recommend a jewlers torch, they can be bought from Eastwood and Sunchaser tools (a little cheaper) 626-795-1588. It is almost like a TIG, you can lay a bead 1/16" wide! they are real cool, and for only about $100.00 they're a deal.

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Fan of anything that is interesting and moves human beings.
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
1948 Chevy PU with 401 Buick

so which mig welder is the best to get size wise? Is a 85 amp good enough for framework, body, exhaust? it says from 18 guage to 3/16

I have been reading all of the responses and it seems that a mig welder would be the best option but I am on a limited budget. I was also considering the body/stitch welder attachment that I have seen in JC Whitney and has anyone used that option to weld body panels. Thanks Again.

I have been welding for several years myself just recently switching over to a mig for body work. Prior I was a avid stick welder, however thrown that out the door for anything under a 1/2 in thickness. Just welded the floor panels in on my 76 camaro drager it worked great using Argon gas at about 25 pounds with 35 diam wire. for the gentleman with the question concerning amperage the 85 amps is great for the thin body work but your streatching it on any type of frame work your going to need more heat for that type of work. One guy told me on here SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY spend a few extra bucks if you want to do frame work. My wife bought me a lincoln for our tenth anniversary at 1500 bucks my opinion is it's well worth it. Any birthdays or the like coming up guys start kissing up I did.

You can rent a bottle of gas even cheaper by the year. Praxair has a 90 cubic foot argon (about 3' tall)for $56/year + $43 to fill. This could be the way to go if you do a lot of welding because it's cheaper to fill per cu. ft. in the larger sizes.