Rookie's 67 Cj5 (re)build - Here We Go....again

If I well understand, you bought this Jeep in Texas 2 years ago. Be sure that one day it will work well. I bought mine in june 2011, had a problem with wires in July (short circuit, all melted). I know a good mechanic working at the WW2 Jeep center, I towed my Jeep to his house.
I had it back in July 2012, because unfortunately he became ill... now all is in order. Except that I put it 1 month ago at my local garage mechanic for grease, oil changing, some small things to do. It takes time, no spare parts in france, doc in english...we must adapt to the situation.

And now I am repairing and painting the hard-top with antirust painting (Hammerite) to put in for winter.
Temperature is going down rapidly and I hurry up because if too cold, no good for painting.

All this take time, time and money; my wife is wondering how much I can spend for my "toy".

Maybe it is better to buy a new Wrangler, a new car is not so expensive and you an re-sell it with few loss.

That to conclude : buy a new one is maybe the best solution!!

 

Copper! Ok, I can give that a shot. I'm using a small stick welder, so that may be part of my problem as well. Thanks for the input!

 

stick welders should not be used for sheet metal...makes sense why your having problems

 

Another ah ha. I'm learning a lot here. Guess I need to make friends with a welder!

 

I'm a good hack with a torch and bailing wire... But my little mig is so much easier. Was in a hurry last time I had it out...
trailer repair before going somewhere ... Pivot Hand crank needed weld...3lb coaxing... Weld... hammer...weld. Shorts, button down summer shirt, boat shoes... Well, short story... Baseball catcher stance was how I was positioned while welding... Good dose of sunburn on inside of thighs... Lucky my inner shorts were long....

 

Now when you say mig, does that mean it is a gas welder, or a flux wire welder...or both and... I've only used stick, and that's why I bought the one I have. I can get a decent bead with it, just not on the thin body panels. I'm still trying to figure out if I seriously need to find someone better, or if I can learn a different kind of welding.

 

I prefer wire feed with .023 wire and 75/25 gas for sheetmetal...flux will also work but I like welding with gas alot better

 

Once you get decent with a mig, the stick welder becomes a big paperweight. A 110v unit will work for what you are doing, just get a heavy extension cord to go with it. Just remember to jump around and spread out the heat, you can't run 2" long beads on sheetmetal like you can with thicker steel. Weld 1/2" here, then over there, then another spot...

 

Y'all are great! Thanks for all the input. Now....I just have to get myself a mig w/ gas. I may never have a working jeep, but I'm going to have a lot of great tools!

 

When I did welding on my jeep, I used a aluminum block on the backside to act as a heatsink. The cooler the better for straightness. I also used the spot weld technique.

 

Ok, this is on the way for delivery. I hope it works. I'll be purchasing a tank, and from what I hear, 75/25 is the best for this sheet metal work. The same welder sells for $363 at Lowes, so I feel like I got a deal getting it for $286. Once it gets here, I'll get some practice with it, and get to work. After working with a stick for a while, I can't imagine this would be to hard (although, like Warloch said - going to have to learn not to move down as it burns down). I'm also looking at this (below) to replace my wavy, hole-filled floor, from Classic Enterprises. It seems significantly cheaper than some of the other options. I've already spent waaaay more than I ever intended - but I have a lot of toys now! Also, I have read that people have recommended a spot weld cutter to remove the panel. How about a thin disc and an angle grinder?



In other news, I just cleaned my entire garage, which allows me to park my car in the garage as well as the jeep and my wife's crv for the winter. The nice thing about driving a small car is that it parks end to end with the CJ5 and fits just fine. There's nothing like a clean workspace though. I found the top of my work bench for the first time in months. It's just kind of nice to walk out to your garage and go "wow, it doesn't look like a war zone in here."

2manytoys - I like the heatsink idea. I've borrowed a hunk of brass that I'll try to put on the back of the holes. We'll see how it works.

 

It also helps to keep from blowing through the weld.

I used many cutoff blades on my restore. The thin ones work great but can brake if your not careful. The spot weld cutter is good if you can find the welds, mine was so rusty I just started to cut and grind.

 

My dad uses a die grinder with a 3/8" ball style cutter to cut spot welds. But then again, he has WAY more patience than I do.

 

Slowly making progress. Took the winter mostly off. Opted for outside frame rail headers for steering shaft purposes and for fun too. Apparently i will still need to add in a ujoint and brace for steering to make it work. Still stripping layers of paint with my poor compressor and pneumatic DA sander. Hopefully this'll be drivable by the summer... So much for a quick project!