Need more heat welding the nut to the bolt.
Martin
Martin
CK5
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'88 K5 - Running Down A Dream
- Thread starter jimmyleetn
- Start date
Ground up restoration of my '88 K5. The plan is to go through every inch of the truck and fix or replace pretty much everything that needs it. This will also be a full vert conversion and I plan to make the vehicle look more like a 73-75 than 88.
The entire inside of the nut, should be filled with weld, the threads to never be seen again!
Martin
Martin
When I weld to a bolt, the heat gets turned up a little. Then I add a couple of tacks on the bolt. Then put the nut around the tacks and burn it in solid
I think my welder is too wimpy, at least that's part of it. It's a 20yr old flux core rig. A pipe fitter I know called it a Mickey Mouse rig once lol. Never needed a better one until now. Not sure which attempt that was in the picture. I burned it good on the last attempt it just wouldn't penetrate well. It'll be pretty easy to make that piece with some flat bar though.
Once you weld one up hot enough to work, you will understand how well it works.
Martin
Martin
You both got me thinking last night about how piddly my flux core welder is so it looks like I'll have a new MIG135 from Eastwood (it was on sale too) with some shielding gas soon. Should be able to get a better burn with this setup and the body work I'm about to do should look nicer.
I remember my first time welding with my Hobart 240v. Been using a little 110v welder and it worked but was having a hard time welding on the frame. First pass with the Hobart and it blew completely through the old welds and nearly through the frame. It was awesome.
I'm pretty excited to have this one. I made it a long time with that other one but it was time to have shield gas capabilities and be able to weld up to a quarter inch thick. I was maxing out my flux core's limits pretty good welding the frame repair plates in by the steering box. I would have gotten Eastwood MIG140 or got the Titanium 140 from HF but it was just a little out of my price range once I factored in the gas tank and I couldn't justify the price difference for my intended use.
That’s the plate that made me step up. Still flux core (to cheap for bottles) but it welds like there’s no tomorrow.
I feel bad that I picked up a K size tri-mix for stainless.
You will definitely like the gas shielding better. Unless you are outside in the wind.
You will definitely like the gas shielding better. Unless you are outside in the wind.
I went back and forth while I was looking at my options last night but I want to weld in patch panels from a pickup truck where my strikers are and it looks like I'm going to have to patch the rocker, b pillar, and a small part of the floor. I'm also going to have to weld in some steel tubing underneath and some plating where the seats attach to strengthen the floors for when the top gets chopped. I figured the welds would be cleaner and it would help me fight the rust better, and I'd probably puke if I burnt a hole through the door jam or the rocker panel. Other than the initial sticker shock of the tank. The refills aren't that bad. $61 a refill for a 80 size tank. I can live with that. Especially no more than I'll use it.
I’ll get them one day but for what my current needs are the flux core works.
And blowing holes through is easily fixed. Just do a whole bunch of tacks to get it filled and then weld it solid and grind. I’ve done it plenty of times haha.
And blowing holes through is easily fixed. Just do a whole bunch of tacks to get it filled and then weld it solid and grind. I’ve done it plenty of times haha.
I need it to be summer. I've barely touched this before thing in weeks. Almost got the interior out over a week ago and haven't had a minute to spare since then. New welder is in, I already wish I went size up but I think I'll be happy with this one. It was one of the best sellers at Eastwood but ironically they discontinued it the week after I bought it. Probably why it was on sale. Here's a few pics of the progress. Lots of random wires from speakers, amps, and subwoofers I'm having to remove. The bone head used deck screws to hold the speakers to the floor. What an idiot. Floors look good up front. Once I get the driver's seat out I'll get the floor cleaned up and get a good picture for you guys.
Deer bank account,
It's me again, Lee. I'm sorry I can't find it in myself to keep large amounts of money in you. I hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me.
Always and forever,
Lee
AMD premium 73 to 76 doors, windshield, driver and passenger glass.
Not pictured, but in the mail are my refurbished vent windows. By a lucky stroke, PRP went ahead and completed them ahead of time.
It's me again, Lee. I'm sorry I can't find it in myself to keep large amounts of money in you. I hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me.
Always and forever,
Lee
AMD premium 73 to 76 doors, windshield, driver and passenger glass.
Not pictured, but in the mail are my refurbished vent windows. By a lucky stroke, PRP went ahead and completed them ahead of time.
Well these are nice tight. They're actually hard to open. They look amazing and should have zero noise.
Finally got the seat out and then the carpet and insulation. Bonehead before me used the wrong bolt and broke a seat mount nut and the floor cracked real good on another bolt location so I get to fix that. More importantly, look at these floors. I found a little surface rust to heavy scale in spots but no rot and it looks great if you crawl under the truck and look from there. Should I just grind down to clean metal with a wire brush and seal it up with some rust encapsulator followed by good paint. POR15 seems like overkill since it's fresh bare metal in most places and I'll probably never drive it in the rain much. I've never done this part before. Also, check out all the bubbles in two of the pictures. What are y'all's thoughts on those too? Just curious about how to approach this floor.
Wire wheel, encapsulate, paint.
You could also use a converter instead, dissolve the rust, probably better in this case
Is the Rust-Oleum rust reformer worthy for those bad spots or should I look at Eastwood or some other brand? Even if I use a converter, I'll still encapsulate and then paint those bad spots. I never knew the insulation in these trucks was part of the reason the floor rots away. Some areas were growing mold and still moist and I've never driven in the rain in two years.
These are so minor rust-oleum would work fine.
The insulation is a big problem, it's absorbing the moisture from the air.
Great! Thanks for your advice! I'm gonna go pick a can or two up. That insulation is going to the dump. I'll use kilmat, dynamat etc. when I finally get around to interior work.
