MBrown
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| posted on 13/3/14 at 10:08 PM |
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Chassis welding
Hi all,
Am new to the forum and have joined as I recently started building a haynes roadster. Have got half way through making the chassis, tack welding at
the moment. This is the first time I have welded and have been practicing on loads of off cuts before hand. Seem to have got the hang of it ok and
have tested a few welds which all seem okay.
The thing is that I am contemplating getting the chassis welded up professionally once it's all tacked in place, anyone know a good welder near
Milton Keynes? Or does anyone live near that is willing to lend a hand/check that my welds are up to the required standard?
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated,
Mark
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phil clegg
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| posted on 13/3/14 at 10:17 PM |
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welding
There is no standard as it is not checked,as you are going to drive it i think getting it welded by a pro is a good idea.A s a mot tester i see lots
of welding and i am quite suprised how bad a lot of it is .So do not just think any one with a mig can use it.Ask around locally there will be a man
that can.Possibly a rollcage for motorsport installer nearby.Good luck
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CosKev3
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| posted on 13/3/14 at 11:11 PM |
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Take some pics of your welding and post them up 
Plenty of user's on here will be able to advise if it's good/strong enough.
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MBrown
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 09:33 AM |
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This is an example of one of the welds I have done, where I have done a weld I have then tack welded the other 3 sides to either get a professional to
finish it off or if mine are up to standard then I will go back and complete it once the whole chassis is in place
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Peteff
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 10:00 AM |
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Your tacks are a bit on the big side. Grind them down then crack on and weld over them. If you can keep that standard up it looks fine.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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ashg
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 10:23 AM |
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that doesnt look like it will fall apart. have you cut through a cross section of any of your test welds?
when you tac stuff put the current on the welder right up so its not such a big tac.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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40inches
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 11:13 AM |
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I'd be more than happy with that standard of welding, even on a pro built chassis 
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MBrown
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 12:19 PM |
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Thanks all, I ground a v in it too so it should have penetrated all the way. I will put my current up on the tacks, I was reducing it as I
didn't want such a big tack but then leaving it on longer to ensure it would hold, now thinking about it leaving the power on higher and
reducing the time makes more sense. When I tested my welds I would grind them down then bend them looking to see if there were any weak points. Thanks
for the advice
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mark chandler
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 01:13 PM |
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Looks great to me, when you go around and backfill keep leaping all over the car when finishing keep your welds short and do not do all sides at once
or the heat will distort the frame.
I,ve seen professional welds that do not touch yours.
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 03:29 PM |
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Weld shape from the photo looks quite OK. I've been supplied 'professionally welded' components that look far worse.
If your MIG has a burn back adjustment, might be worth playing with a slightly longer duration to assist the shallowing at the end of the weld (or
just spark it up again at the end of the run).
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UncleFista
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 04:08 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by phil clegg
There is no standard as it is not checked,as you are going to drive it i think getting it welded by a pro is a good idea.A s a mot tester i see lots
of welding and i am quite suprised how bad a lot of it is .So do not just think any one with a mig can use it.Ask around locally there will be a man
that can.Possibly a rollcage for motorsport installer nearby.Good luck
You're not joking, there's a Ka for sale at my local garage (garage, not sales) for £600.
It has a couple of holes, the large one on the A pillar is pretty bad, but at least they've had a go at the one on the sill
Tony Bond / UncleFista
Love is like a snowmobile, speeding across the frozen tundra.
Which suddenly flips, pinning you underneath.
At night the ice-weasels come...
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MBrown
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 04:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by motorcycle_mayhem
Weld shape from the photo looks quite OK. I've been supplied 'professionally welded' components that look far worse.
If your MIG has a burn back adjustment, might be worth playing with a slightly longer duration to assist the shallowing at the end of the weld (or
just spark it up again at the end of the run).
Unfortunately it hasn't but I'll try sparking it up again, thanks for the tip.
I've also been looking at people's welds and mine I guess looks relatively good in comparison, especially when looking as that ka, £600?
Really when it looks that bad, and ka's aren't the safest in the first place! You're basically paying £600 for it just to fall apart
when driven, hopefully that won't be the case with my haynes!
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blakep82
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 04:29 PM |
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Rather than turning the voltage (its the voltage that increases by the welder settings) up for tacking, instead I'd turn the wire speed down a
little.
The voltage/current characteristics with a slower wire speed will mean a longer arc length, resulting in higher current (for the same voltage), deeper
penetration, and less filler.
Looks good though!
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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40inches
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| posted on 14/3/14 at 04:31 PM |
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What you can do, at the end of a run, is to come back along the weld for a few mm This will finish it off nicely.
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MBrown
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| posted on 15/3/14 at 02:59 PM |
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Thanks again all, am next working on it this Friday so I will give these ideas ago, thank you
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 15/3/14 at 04:53 PM |
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I started as a complete novice welder when I started my chassis. I really enjoyed the process of learning to weld, although there were moments when I
felt like throwing stuff out of the window! You will find that some days everything will go like clockwork, and other days absolutely nothing will go
properly - on those days you just have to walk away and do something else before you do some major harm (in fact, I strongly recommend it). What I
found useful was to watch a professional welder do his job, and to pick up tips as I went along - how to hold the torch, what speed to move it along
the weld line, and so on. Most of this I got from a couple of 1-day courses in welding at a local agricultural college.
When I cut all the tubes for my chassis I had lots of odd ends left over. I spent quite a few hours welding these together, grinding them in two
across the welds to check for penetration, and finally beating welded joints senseless with a 2lb hammer to see how easily they came apart. Once I
was reasonably sure that I could make a weld with decent penetration and good strength then I made a start on the chassis.
You should be prepared to grind away any weld that you are unsure about, or that looks second-rate, and re-weld. You should also be prepared to
replace any lengths of tube that you have messed up while grinding away bad welds, or that have been compromised in some way while welding. I reckon
that I must have ground away and re-welded quite a number of joints in my chassis, and replaced 3 or 4 tubes that I was just not happy about when
I'd finished.
It's a great feeling when you finish though! Being able to say "that started as a pile of tubing on the garage floor" does wonders
for your self-esteem.
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MBrown
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| posted on 27/3/14 at 02:46 PM |
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Progress so far:
I have been tack welding loads to practice then continued tack welding the chassis and am getting the hang of it. I have played about with the
settings but in the end just went for the standard one recommended in the mig welder manual. I have found if I get a lot closer to where I'm
welding and make sure I have excellent lighting and good view of exactly where I'm aiming then a short burst in the middle of the groove I make
on the edges it seems to do the job. Now I am getting more comfortable I realise I don't need to drown the area on loads of molten metal to get
a good tack! So my tacks are getting significantly smaller
[Edited on 27/3/14 by MBrown]
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MBrown
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| posted on 18/9/14 at 09:18 AM |
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Another progress pic:
I have also now added the rear suspension brackets, fully cut out the middle piece of box section in the front of the gearbox tunnel and added a
number of the chassis plates.
I have altered the back slightly so I can put a larger fuel tank in.
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907
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| posted on 18/9/14 at 09:36 AM |
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It's soooooo nice to read a thread where obviously a bit of time and care has been taken
to produce a quality result.
Well done mate.
Paul G
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MBrown
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| posted on 18/9/14 at 09:50 AM |
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Thanks, it's really starting to come together and feel like I have actually made something! Seats have been ordered so I can measure out and
weld in some mounting points for the seats. Altering the sump at the mo and waiting for a clutch kit and new gaskets to arrive before I try the engine
in place and make up the engine mounts. Will add more pics soon!
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MBrown
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| posted on 24/11/14 at 04:44 PM |
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Progress update:
I have bought a full set of fibreglass body panels from Equinox in Faverhsam, the quality is amazing, very pleased. Gone for black with the small
bonnet scoop, I have got the boot space as well as I wanted this car to be relatively practical and usable. I also got the wide nose cone with oil
cooler duct just for looks really.
Equinox
The sump was altered by Rye Guard services Leighton Buzzard, they did a great job and I'd definately recommend them for any metal work.
Rye Guard Services
I now have the engine roughly in place and will be making up some engine and gearbox mounts.
Today I have also bought a safe which will form the glovebox (again as I wanted the car to be practical and useful) so I will be welding mounting
points and nuts on so the safe can only be removed when the safe is open (unless someone wants to cut through several pieces of metal on the chassis
to remove it) and the safe will go just above the passenger footwell and the dash will have an opening which will then reveal the safe. The capacity
of the safe is 9.9 litres so bigger than most normal car glove boxes. The Equinox Scuttle doesn't have a back to it so I will be making one that
accommodates the back of the safe although it won't need much accommodating as the size is almost a prefect fit..
If anyone thinks of any other useful ideas to make the car as usable as possible please let me know
Mainly I'll be looking to use it as a run around and long weekend holiday car. Thanks all
[Edited on 24/11/14 by MBrown]
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MBrown
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| posted on 2/8/15 at 12:40 AM |
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Its been over 8 months since I updated this, so thought it was about time I show the progress on the chassis - I probably should have finished it now
but hey, getting close.
Photo of the body work trial fitting to ensure the engine was at the right height.
Another body work shot with the glove box mounted in place
Basic seat mounted in place - hopefully this should be more comfortable for travelling greater distances which I hope to do. I had added some
additional tubing to strengthen this since I took this pic.
I had to amend the Haynes Roadster engine bracing slightly, I have done similar on the other side of the engine.
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MBrown
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| posted on 2/8/15 at 12:54 AM |
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I have now welded in the footwells, this pic doesn't quite show them fully welded, and I have also now added small cut outs to fill any unwanted
gaps.
I have then created the rear section of the car. I used 1" box section instead of circular tubing as I want to add a solid roof that will fix to
this easier and although it will be heavier it will be a lot stronger to support it. It will also then fit the equinox bodywork better. I have also
adapted the rear slightly from the plans so it can accept a bigger fuel tank - again something I wanted as I am intending this as more of a GT than a
racer.
Tank is 30cm longer so will be approx 9-10 gallons and has a small swirl pot underneath to compensate for the greater potential for fuel starvation
around corners. I have only just received the fuel tank so have waited to fully weld the rear in case there are any clearance issues getting it in -
it was close but went in fine in the end.
I also went to add the usual V at the front for extra strength, then realised that my radiator outlet would have got in the way so then adapted it. It
might not be as strong as a V but I thought it was better than nothing. Steering rack support now also on.
The boot will be something like this, I also have a boot lid in fibreglass. Is still need to alter it slightly so it fits flush but I'll do that
when fitting the bodywork once finally assembling it.
Another shot of the bodywork
Will post more soon! (hopefully)
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Nickp
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| posted on 2/8/15 at 06:24 AM |
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Looking good 
Soooo similar to my build, race ya?
I'm interested by the extra brace you've added alongside the cyl head. I've just put a strengthening web on that side and doubled up
on the other side (not ideal). I'm concerned about space on the cyl head side as I'm just trying to plan where the exhaust manifolds
route. I'm looking at turning the rear manifold upside down, modifying it and presenting the outlet just over the top rail and out of the side
of the bonnet. The front manifold, I was thinking of turning the outlet 90deg and poking it out of the side panel. Then hoping to join them in a 2-1 Y
piece or possibly run 2 x motorbike silencers in a shotgun stylee.
I'd be interested to see your sump. I chopped about 25mm out of the base of mine but have added some capacity at the front. It's away
getting welded at the moment but will post pics once done. Overall I've lost some oil capacity but I hope to compensate for this by fitting a
big oil cooler (possibly 30 row) to get a bit of capacity back and also keep cool what I've got.
http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=198679
[Edited on 2/8/15 by Nickp]
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MBrown
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| posted on 2/8/15 at 09:04 AM |
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You're already ahead! I am hoping to finish the welding off, give it a few coats of paint and maybe start putting the floor on in the next
couple of weeks. I haven't taken any off the bottom of the sump yet, just off the side. Did you have to shorten the oil pickup? Another builder
on here hasn't taken any off the bottom so I might just see what I think when it is on wheels and the ride height sorted - we shall see.
For the exhaust manifold, I have seen this and might give it a try:
It should give more space near the pedal box but until I get a pedal box in and buy the exhaust I won't know if it's enough. I probably
won't get those until after the new year but I'll let you know how it goes
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