Been on and off the board for a few years yada, yada, yada.
During that time I have been rebuilding a 1971 B-GT. My recommendation
to Frank is that if he has the space and the time, go buy a welder and do
the job himself. I looked for about 6 months for someone to weld the
rockers, sills and floor pans (basically the whole middle section and a
bit more than that). I called virtually every body shop in the phone book
and no one wanted to touch a 25 year old car with rust - too much profit
on the newer cars. The only price I was given was $1000 per side with no
guarantees! "Certified Welder" union wages! So, I went to The
Anderson's and purchased a flux core welder (Mig was out of my price
range: $200 more than my budget allowed). A few pounds of flux wire
later and I have new rockers, sills, floor pans, and a bit more welded on
tight and securely - yea, Iv'e done the bouncing up and down on the
middle seam to check and no problems so far.
My recommendation is to make sure all parts are super clean. I ended up
with the least amount of grinding when the metal was bright and clean. I
also recommend getting a pair of welding pants, a shirt and a welding
cap, this really saved the clothes and skin - especially on the days when
I was on my back for a few hours welding overhead.
The whole job took about 6 months total. If your father, father-in-law,
brother or some other close relative has the skills I agree with John,
get them to do it. If not, two good weeks of practice, three or so good
welding books, a nice pile of scrap metal, a spot welder removal tool
(i.e., a good 1/4 inch drill bit) and head right into it. Besides you
can always grind off the bad parts and reweld them.
Since my MG welding I have use the flux core welder to repair a AC
bracket, a few bikes and other odds and ends - the uses never end!
Jim Porco
1971 B-GT (Over 100,000 miles in black primer and ready to paint.)
On Wed, 1 Jul 1998 11:21:51 EDT Jethogger@aol.com writes:
>Hello. My two cents. If you remove your rusted floors and do all
>the clean
>up. And remove the trunk pan and do all the clean up work. Get your
>new
>replacement panels. Then shop around to have someone weld them in. A
>one
>time investment for a mig welder will pay for the complete project.
>You will
>probably only use the welder once?. Do all the dirty labor your self
>and let
>a pro do the welding.
>It will not cost that much. John Flintstone, ga.
>
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