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4-18-11

How do you clean your turn signal switch without getting your interior sprayed with contact cleaner? Step one, eat one gallon of ice cream. Step two, put the handle of the now empty bucket on your column and put the switch inside. Step three, spray and clean!

I used some emery cloth on the contacts. You can pull them apart slightly to get the cloth in between. I worked it back and forth and also moved the switch to clean them.

I also tightened the nut on the turn signal lever. The two prongs were wrapped around the corner of the nut. After turning, they were on the flat side. I did not have any loctite so I just squeezed the tabs as tight as I could.

These tips were shared by Ross in this thread. I added my picture of the nut to that thread for future viewers.

Next I removed the gear selector light from the column and made a new wire and connection. I will reinstall and possibly test the turn signal switch when it gets warmer out.

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So far, my research on my terrible welding seems to stem from using flux core wire. Some say you can weld sheet metal with it, but many others say it is a real challenge. My Campbell Hausfeld welder is also too powerful, even on the low setting. Flux core wire gets hotter then the solid core used with MIG gas.

One guy I saw used a dimmer switch bought from Lowes. He cut an extension cord and added the switch to lower the voltage to the welder, thus cutting the power down. Some people were telling him he was going to ruin his welder, but he used it to customize an entire car with no problems over several months. Since I don't remember how much I paid for my welder, I may try that and see if I get better results.

I also plan on clamping some copper along the entire seam I am welding to dissipate more of the heat. My copper spoon didn't do much, but I may not have been using it properly.

Supposedly there is a kit available to convert my welder to use gas, but it is no longer available. I do not think it is an option anyway because I have to do all of my welding outdoors.

Location doesn't affect if you use flux core or a shielding gas. Forgive me in advance if you already know this, but the flux core of the wire and the shielding gas serve the same purpose- they shield the molten puddle of metal from oxidation while the arc is struck and in the few seconds when the filler material (welding wire) is chemically bonding to the base metal. The flux core in the wire actually melts to create an inert gas at the weld site, the same as stargon or any of the other shielding gases.

I've had the best luck with wire feed welder on sheet metal using .020 wire (or similar), the lowest voltage setting, and a mid-range wire speed. If your speed is too low, you will linger and burn more holes. If your wire is too large, more heat will be generated at the point of melting and you're more likely to burn through. I've never used the spoon technique, but I did a lot of metal work on a Willys wagon using a 110V wire feed welder with pretty good success.

I'm assuming your welder is 110V? Even if it's 220, you might be able to get it low enough with small wire. Most non-name brand welders share components with Lincoln, Hobart, or Miller, so you might be able to take your welder to a local welding shop and get a regulator and the hardware to plumb it in. Also, if you get smaller wire, of course you need new tips for your gun.

Just my !

- Ken

I just didn't feel like being out in the cold today and hauling flash unit across the street.

I wanted to get something to you and you asked for a view of the filler neck area. This is from last summer. I will get over this week shoot it, supposed to be back up into the fifties.

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Thanks guys...

Ken P, my concern with gas is that I heard the slightest breeze will blow the gas away from the weld and it is not good to use outdoors because of this. The one thing I did not try is speeding up my wire. I thought that it would push through the puddle and make a hole faster. Maybe introducing more metal will actually cool the weld...

Stephen, Thanks for the pic. Take your time. I won't get to the other side for a while. Your pic is helpful. Looks like you have rust started in the same place I do. Whenever you get a chance for more pics, I would appreciate it, unless someone else has some handy. If I could get some around the perimeter of the trunk floor, that would be great. Also if anyone has under car pics under the back filler panel (where the back up lights are, as well as inside the trunk) that would be great. Again, no big rush at this point.

I have not had the problem while welding outside- I grew up on a farm, so I've done a bit of welding outside. You could alway set up a sheet of plywood or cardboard to block the breeze if required.

I think the reason the faster wire speed works is because it forces you to move a little faster with the bead, thereby spreading the heat. The rule of thumb I use: if the welder is sputtering and spitting, I'm moving too slow (wire speed too slow). My best beads are laid when the welder sort of sounds like a zipper- a really continuous noise. Maybe someone else can explain it differently or more clearly.

You might also practice on some of your scrap pieces; mess around with the settings until you get it dialed in.

Best of luck!

I've often heard it should sound like sizzling bacon.... Mmmmmm bacon.

Lol... mmm bacon indeed.

That is an excellent way to describe it.

4-21-11

Thanks for the tips on welding. Next time, I will try a faster wire speed and see what happens. I also got a big copper pipe from work that I will clamp along the seam I am welding for extra help. If that doesn't help, I think I spotted a mig welder in the maintenance shop that I might have to borrow for a while.

Today I hammered out a piece to replace the upper curve next to the frame. I have no body or metal working tools so it was pretty tough. I put the metal in the trunk and cut to approximate size. Then I started hitting it with a ball peen hammer to bend the metal inside the trunk. When I got a general idea where the bends should be, I put the metal on the ground and hammered it with the ball peen hammer while I raised and moved the metal to make the wall come up and bend around. Looking from underneath, I think the bend should be sharper, but I don't think anyone will notice. It is in the trunk anyway.

After I was tired of hitting metal, I put in the new wire/bulb assembly for the gear selector indicator. I also screwed the turn signal switch back in and tried it. It seems that there is too much room for the selector to travel downward because I quickly shifted the nut that I had tightened previously. It is not as bad as it was, but I don't want to put everything back when it is like this. I will have to go and buy some loctite and see if that fixes it for good.

I don't know how I missed it, but I just saw another service sticker on the drivers door. Looks like it was serviced at a Chevy dealer in Chicago. No dates on it though. Since I bought the car in Chicago, maybe it has spent it's whole life there?

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A life in Chicago would sure explain the trunk floor or lack thereof.

One of the most memorable sights this westerner from the land of no snow has seen was on one of the expressways coming from the airport. Some beat up old car passed us in the fast lane going a lot faster than we were -- his right front fender literally flapping out & up and down a good foot or so. The driver apparently didn't have a care in the world something might fatigue or fly off.