1931 Deluxe Delivery renovations.
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Yuppers, he is.
Nice work
Yes. Like i said earlier, without his help this project would never get finished. Not only dod he do all the difficult stuff, he displayed incredible patience showing how to do this stuff myself. Now if only I could remember all that he taught me.
Putting the "skeleton" together.
I've had a pretty productive couple of weeks. One of the things that has vexed me since the start is what to do about the shifter. The mercedes trans is side shift but I wanted the shifter ti be located where the original was which came out of the top of the tranny. It actually HAS to be there as there is no other way to have it work with these little cars. Fortunately, Mercedes has a neat little "remote" shifter because the shifter is located a fair ways behind the trans so all I needed to do was figure out how to mont this to the top of the trans and low enough to be below floor level. Unfortunately, that put the shifter directly above the shift levers on the trans and to keep it low left no room for the shifter levers. I had visions of having to make the shifter rods go back to a pivot then forward to the trans or maybe use shift cables that could loop back or some such. Never liked either option. Studying the trans layout I decided to use two bolts that hold the tailpiece to the trans as mounting bolts, bend a piece of 1/8" steel to make a platform for the shifter and i could align it to coincide with a spacing in the trans ribs that is just large enough to accommodate the shifter levers. Then, if I angle those levers right I could get then to where I could make some short shifter linkage and all would be good. Because i was limited to fitting this too the one spot on the trans where there was space enough between the ribs for the shift levers, the shifter itself is about 1/2" further back than the original and about 1/2" further to port. This is what i came up with.
This is what I had to work with. the original mercedes shifter, shifter rods , shifter levers etc.
Mounting plate.
Parts ready for powder coating
Powder coated ready for re-assembly
Shifter re-assembled ready for final install. Cut a groove to accept an E-clip for shift lever to linkage and used cotter pins for linkage to trans lever
This is what I had to work with. the original mercedes shifter, shifter rods , shifter levers etc.
Mounting plate.
Parts ready for powder coating
Powder coated ready for re-assembly
Shifter re-assembled ready for final install. Cut a groove to accept an E-clip for shift lever to linkage and used cotter pins for linkage to trans lever
Now there is some problem solving!! Looks great...add in that you just “whipped” those parts over to the powder coating station, in the corner of your shop!!
Thanks for the update, such a cool project!
Greg
Thanks for the update, such a cool project!
Greg
A few pics of the short-ass stubby linkage. I had to push the brake line coil down and under the master cylinder to make room for the reverse gear shifter linkage. Not a lot of free real estate on either side or behind the tail of the trans.
Snug in there, but a nice neat job. Well done
Been a while since I posted an update. Working on the body work. First time since getting back from JVO's 2 years ago. I'm doing the patches in the wheel wells first where it won't be seen for practice. Didn't get any pics until today, forgot. So this is that last patch i did so far (did 3 others in this same wheel well). My Tig welding aint much for pretty but it's pretty much for strong. Getting good penetration. Still not near as nice as Johns welding but serviceable. I just can't seem to get my welding where there are no low spots at the perimeter of the bead so will still require a skim coat of filler. I make my mig spot welds about 1/2" apart. My thought being that that close together will maintain the flush fit of the patch and when I tig it up, I weld from one spot to the next, then cool it with air then do another spot to spot, cool and so on. Thinking that 1/2" should be small enough to prevent warping. If I'm doing this wrong, or there is a better way, please share.
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Thanks Keith. Due to my total lack of experience, I'm reasonable]y happy with my results so far but have a LOT to learn. Practice practice practice. As long as my technique is sound, the quality will come in time. It should be noted that the welds that i have done so far have been in relative comfort, sitting on a stool welding on a relatively flat surface. Even still when i did the patch in the pic, the top of the patch which is in the vertical was problematic for me. I've already decided that if I have to do a patch on a low panel that can not be removed like this one, I will put the vehicle on the lift and lift it to a comfortable height so i can sit on a stool and weld it at eye level. I can't imagine how I would do a cab corner if i can't lift the vehicle
You will figure out the best position to weld in. When I first got my tig, I used to lay on my back under the car, with the pedal under my knee. Push my knee down and try to weld. I don't try to do that now. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Comfort is everything. Don't tell anyone my welding looks good. Its still butt ugly compared to someone who can really weld. I just make sure everything is melted together good, and there's enough filler in place to be able to grind the uglies off afterward and have a nice smooth panel. And when there are pits, you grind them out and weld them up also.
Half an inch is plenty close for tack welds. Regardless of whatever your procedure is, when you start to see some warpage, stop and grind the uglies off, and hammer and dolly it lightly to get it back to where its supposed to be.
Fit your patches tightly but leave an ever so slight gap, just enough to see light through. Fit a test piece with a slight gap, a few inches of zero gap, then a little gap again. When you tig it up, the area with a couple thousandths gap will not warp as much as an area that is tight, where the metal is touching. When you get to that spot, you will see the metal rise up, or down, until you get to a spot that has a few thousandths gap again, and there will not be nearly as much distortion again.
Its kinda like the way they say our mountains were formed. Two plates slide toward each other till they meet, then they have to rise up. If there is a gap between them, the gap just gets skinnier. Pay attention to that, and you will go a long ways toward controlling distortion in your panel.
Too close to hijacking your thread. Next time I do a weld across a low crown panel, I may do a post on it, and controlling the warpage on a low crown panel.
Half an inch is plenty close for tack welds. Regardless of whatever your procedure is, when you start to see some warpage, stop and grind the uglies off, and hammer and dolly it lightly to get it back to where its supposed to be.
Fit your patches tightly but leave an ever so slight gap, just enough to see light through. Fit a test piece with a slight gap, a few inches of zero gap, then a little gap again. When you tig it up, the area with a couple thousandths gap will not warp as much as an area that is tight, where the metal is touching. When you get to that spot, you will see the metal rise up, or down, until you get to a spot that has a few thousandths gap again, and there will not be nearly as much distortion again.
Its kinda like the way they say our mountains were formed. Two plates slide toward each other till they meet, then they have to rise up. If there is a gap between them, the gap just gets skinnier. Pay attention to that, and you will go a long ways toward controlling distortion in your panel.
Too close to hijacking your thread. Next time I do a weld across a low crown panel, I may do a post on it, and controlling the warpage on a low crown panel.
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So mig or tig...which is easier and which gives a better end result...remember this advice is going to a person with no training in either and really doesn’t mig weld very well. Also your welds look very good to me..Which tig welder do you have?..thanks..
Oh boy, you're opening up a can of worms here. I'll stick my neck out a little and give my two cents worth before a died in the wool mig guy wants to hit me.
In the beginning, there was me, a real shitty looking model A cab, and a pile of parts. I took the college night course to learn to weld. Gas welding and arc welding. I got pretty at gas welding, but I could never get the end of the welding rod in the right spot with a foot long electrode. No mig training. Self taught there, with help from others.
I was learning metal work. Did a couple patches on the back of the cab with the mig, a foot long weld. Looked worse than terrible. Ground off all the uglies, then tried to fix the distortion. Ended up with about a foot long crack right on or beside the weld. Cut it all out and did it all again, exactly like the first time. Got the same results.
Went and bought a syncrowave 180 Miller a long time ago. I always tell my friends, if you can gas weld, you can tig weld. Same deal, different heat source.
The only time I do a mig weld now on sheet metal, is where there is a fairly high crown on the panel, and its hard to get to it with the tig (that comfort thing).
Its so much easier to grind a soft weld, and there isn't nearly as much of it to grind either. Its sort of like any other really good quality tool. Makes you smile when you use it. (real Beverly shear for example)
If you are looking to buy a machine, I'll tell you the story of my sister calling a few weeks back. Her grandson was taking a welding course, and they thought it might be a nice deal to buy him a machine. What would I recommend? I told her to buy either a red one or a blue one. You guys know what I mean.
I've done work in other people's shops in the past few years, and I've used a few offshore mig welders, and I can see why someone struggles to learn how to do good work with a piece of shit for a tool. The trigger response with a mig is very important. I can pull the trigger on my blue welder, and I get the same result every time. These offshore tools, some seem to have a delayed response when you pull the trigger. WE played with that thing for a couple days, and I finally had to lift my Miller 210 into my truck with a buddy and haul it to his shop so we could continue the job.
Sorry Cody, don't mean to hijack your thread.
If'n I were to guy a new tig today, I would buy one of those that are a lot more portable like the diversion. I've used that one some, and I really really like it.
In the beginning, there was me, a real shitty looking model A cab, and a pile of parts. I took the college night course to learn to weld. Gas welding and arc welding. I got pretty at gas welding, but I could never get the end of the welding rod in the right spot with a foot long electrode. No mig training. Self taught there, with help from others.
I was learning metal work. Did a couple patches on the back of the cab with the mig, a foot long weld. Looked worse than terrible. Ground off all the uglies, then tried to fix the distortion. Ended up with about a foot long crack right on or beside the weld. Cut it all out and did it all again, exactly like the first time. Got the same results.
Went and bought a syncrowave 180 Miller a long time ago. I always tell my friends, if you can gas weld, you can tig weld. Same deal, different heat source.
The only time I do a mig weld now on sheet metal, is where there is a fairly high crown on the panel, and its hard to get to it with the tig (that comfort thing).
Its so much easier to grind a soft weld, and there isn't nearly as much of it to grind either. Its sort of like any other really good quality tool. Makes you smile when you use it. (real Beverly shear for example)
If you are looking to buy a machine, I'll tell you the story of my sister calling a few weeks back. Her grandson was taking a welding course, and they thought it might be a nice deal to buy him a machine. What would I recommend? I told her to buy either a red one or a blue one. You guys know what I mean.
I've done work in other people's shops in the past few years, and I've used a few offshore mig welders, and I can see why someone struggles to learn how to do good work with a piece of shit for a tool. The trigger response with a mig is very important. I can pull the trigger on my blue welder, and I get the same result every time. These offshore tools, some seem to have a delayed response when you pull the trigger. WE played with that thing for a couple days, and I finally had to lift my Miller 210 into my truck with a buddy and haul it to his shop so we could continue the job.
Sorry Cody, don't mean to hijack your thread.
If'n I were to guy a new tig today, I would buy one of those that are a lot more portable like the diversion. I've used that one some, and I really really like it.
So are all tigs the same or are there higher voltage for thicker metal like a mig...I would most likely only use it for sheet metal...
