6mustang6

How thick is the metal that makes up the frame? Im welding that plate in, where the engine crossmember bolts, and im wondering how thick it is. Im going to flux weld it. MY welder can weld metal up to a 1/8 inch. Is that sufficient? I just hope this works, If you remember, my bolt is missing from the frame where my engine crossmember bolts. So im going to weld a bolt to a metal plate, and stick the bolt through the hole, and weld the plate to the frame. I hope it stays.

Scott H.

IIRC it's about 14 gauge, and I think it is doubled up in that area. Look inside the hole.
You can weld thicker than 1/8" by doing multi-pass welds. Just make sure to clean all slag and spatter away from the previous weld use a stiff wire brush to clean out any remaining slag. Take your time, focus on penetration, and laying a good bead.
How proficient are you at welding overhead? If you aren't comfortable, I'd highly suggest you spend some time practicing. Or hire a guy to do it for you. In fact that would be a great way to get your welder setup correctly and get some good tips too.

Good luck! you should notice an improvement in handling when you are done. BTW: since you are going to be doing some welding anyway... why not tie the cross brace in to your lower control arm mounts?

Gee's, am I beginging to sound like a broken record or what?

6mustang6

thanks Scott. You're right, it is doubled in that area. What should that make that is inches? If you take both doubled pieces into account, it looks like a 1/4 inch thick. We had to take that welder back, because it was missing something, and i saw one welder that welded up to a 1/4 inch thick. Should i buy that one? It wasn't able to weld mig though. Also, I've never welded before, and will practive with some metal. Im not going to weld a crappy weld, because i'll just have to do it all over again. when you say double pass, do you mean laying a bead, then laying another bead on top?? Im still learning welding terms. I might as well, take a piece of metal and attach the lower control arms, it cant hurt anything. Those are the damn things causing me all this trouble, moving in and out.......[:@]

Scott H.

You won't be penetrating through to the inner piece, so realistically you'll be welding to 14 gauge. I'm always for getting a better quality welder. That said, just because the sticker on the front says it can weld up to 1/4" plate, doesn't automatically mean it will do a better job.
double pass means you lay one bead, clean off the flux and wire brush the weld and area around it. Then lay another bead beside it with aproximately 50% overlap. You are now welding to the first weld and more of the surrounding steel.

Since you are going to weld on a nut plate, I'd strongly consider making that a U shaped plate that allows you to weld up the sides of the frame rail as well. This will give you plenty of support. On the oposite frame rail you will need to add a spacer the same thickness as what you weld on the other side. I am also more in favor of fabricating a "capture" block and welding that to the plate, than I am welding the nut to the plate. If you weld the nut you remove the temper, and the threads pull/gall easier.

As for practicing. My strongest suggestion is to complete a welding class before attempting to weld anything on your car. If that is not possible, I'd find a local professional to come in and do the welding while showing you what (s)he is doing. If that is not possible, I'd think very carefully before proceding yourself. Read and follow all the safety and operational instructions that come with your welder. Also, if you go to the Miller or Lincoln welding web sites, they probably have some good information that will help you out.

edit*****

I've done a heck of a lot of welding, and consider myself very competent. I chose to take my car in to a shop to have them weld the subframes and the PHB bracket with the car up on a dyno stand, instead of laying on my back on a garage floor and welding next to the fuel & brake lines. Trust me, it isn't any fun laying on your back and trying to weld in a confined and dangerous environment. I've done it as part of my job, but wouldn't do it to try and save a buck on a personal project
Just something to think about.

*****

If you have to go it w/o professional help, I'd start off this way:
Get yourself a 4' piece of 3" wide flat stock, what ever thickness your welder is capable of. Cut a couple of 5" long pieces. lay them into 45 degree V length wise, and run a bead in the bottom of the V. make 4ea 1" stitch welds. Clean up and inspect each weld before proceding to the next. Your weld should look like a stack of nickles that got knocked over, but are still straight and tight. Look for no open pits in the weld, and an even heat signature on both sides that radiates about 3/8" for 1/4" steel. Flip the plate over and look for even heat signatures about 1/8" wider than the bead you laid. When you have a smooth consistent line of welds down a 5" plate, take it back to a vise and use a big hammer to break the two pieces apart. Properly welded the mild steel should tear away from around the weld. The weld itself should not break.
Once you can nail a beautifully strong "row of nickels" in the horizontal, take the same V and do your weld vertically. This time instead of moving the puddle using small circles, you are going to make a run of "J"s starting at the bottom of the J and pushing your puddle up the surface. The overall look is the same as your horizontal weld, a clean tight stack of "nickles". Clean and inspect the same way.
Overhead is back to a circular pattern moving your puddle along the line of weld. Where in the horizontal I focus on the center of the puddle, in overhead I focus on the outside ring of the puddle, to insure I get good penetration w/o using excess wire.

Make sure you wear leather work boots, welding gloves and 100% cotton clothing that covers your whole body and is buttoned up head to toe. When I'm doing vertical or overhead, I wear leather sleaves and bib, or a complete welders jacket if temperatures permit. Anytime you are welding keep a friend close by as fire watch with a fire extinguisher in his/her hands. His/her job is to watch your back for, and also make sure no one else enters the area. Fire watch remains in effect for at least 30 minutes after welding is complete. Make sure the area you are welding in is free from debris that could cause a fire hazard, and is sheltered so that the light from the arc will not be seen by people passing by. Keep a 5 gallon bucket of water 3/4 full near by to dunk the hot metal in. Before leaving the welding site, nothing should be too hot to keep your hand on.
I've seen some pretty nasty things happen when people did not heed proper safety instructions. Please be very careful, and never work alone.

Good luck,

Scott

6mustang6

Thanks for ALL the information Scott. I must say, i am very confident in myself, and i believe i can do this. I wouldn't do something like this, if i thought i would screw it up. I will have a fire buddy with me, while im doing it. Also, what is this capture block? If you say not to weld a nut, i wont weld the nut, but can i find this at a auto store or hardware store? Thanks again Scott, you're always so much help to me.

Scott H.

Basically, the "capture block" is a piece of steel that will "capture" the nut and keep it from moving. It can be as simple as an upside down "U" welded over the top of the nut with a hole to let the bolt stick through. You need to "capture" 4 sides of the nut to keep it from spinning.

Good to hear your self confidence.

Best of luck with this.

Scott

6mustang6

Ah, I gotcha now. Thanks Scott, I'll fabricate something like that instead of welding it. lol, I think that self confidence is going to get me in trouble one day.