Doright and Chevman,
Thanks so much for this!
3 weekends ago I picked up the flux core mig welder and finally last weekend I started playing around with some scrap 22 gauge sheet metal. The welds are very sloppy, but I did start to get the hang of it.
Before reading this, I reached out to the guy that fabricates the body kit that that was used to turn that STi Type R in the picture above into a replica S5 rally car (minus the roof snorkel). I wanted to see which welder he suggested. He has a nice write up on his own personal car project and he has welded in a pre-fabricated roll cage. He did a very nice job of creating support brackets. These support brackets attach the cage to the car and are clearly a heavier gauge sheet metal.
I would love to do something similar in my car. I'm planning on installing a cage. I haven't found one yet, but if it's firmly mounted to the car like this, that would be amazing. And if I'm going to buy a welder, I might as well get my moneys worth out of it.
So he said he has something like this mig:
https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-05718-autop ... elder.htmlHe said the welds are 50x better than what you can get from a flux core (which is a big relief). But stressed that I should find one with a highly adjustable power control since, in his words, subaru sheet metal is junk.
But you guys are suggesting I go with an Oxy/Acetlyne torch and stick weld. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea you could weld stuff this nicely with stick welding.
Would I still need to get my hands on a high power (relative to the light duty Oxy Acetlyne torch) to weld that thicker sheet metal to the chassis?
One important note... The kit the fabricator makes is carbon fiber and gets bonded to the car's metal work. It completely covers up all of the welding and stitching I need to do. So as pretty as those welds look with the Oxy/Acetlyne welder, you won't see them.
Are there metal working tools you reccomend I get for either making the patches or the cage brackets? A small metal break. Clecos for holding the patches in place for welding. A metal shear. Shrinker stretcher. I currently have a vice and some tin snips
Since all the patches I am cutting out are small and hidden, I don't think I'll need anything too elaborate.
Thanks again!