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[zwill23]

Usually gas, but have a 110v flux core for remote jobs. I have run miles of wire through my Hobart Handler 190 that I got about 10yr ago. Great machine for the price and Miller parts interchange (only had to replace the trigger connection since ownership). Most MIG's are dual purpose and can do both gas and shielded wire, just have to reverse polarity.

Good to know on the hobart, I've been told to just get the millermatic 211 but the price is hard stomach. I've heard good things about the hobarts and they seem like great quality for the price point, and it's nice to know they live up to shop work too.

[ForcedFirebird]

Are you guys using gas or fluxcore? I'm getting ready to purchase a welder and have come to terms that using gas makes life much easier.

Usually gas, but have a 110v flux core for remote jobs. I have run miles of wire through my Hobart Handler 190 that I got about 10yr ago. Great machine for the price and Miller parts interchange (only had to replace the trigger connection since ownership). Most MIG's are dual purpose and can do both gas and shielded wire, just have to reverse polarity.

[zwill23]

I use .030" on everything. In fact the MIG setting rarely even change much beyond one notch in the heat and two on wire speed. .020" is a pain as you seen. The heat needs to be really low and slow wire, even then it tends to bubble easily. I find using too much heat/wire and using technique to avoid burning through has better results than being too cold.

Are you guys using gas or fluxcore? I'm getting ready to purchase a welder and have come to terms that using gas makes life much easier.

[ForcedFirebird]

I used the 110v welder i was given for free. I wanted to try out .024 wire, I'm not sure if I'm a fan. I feel like .030 just works fine even on sheet.

I use .030" on everything. In fact the MIG setting rarely even change much beyond one notch in the heat and two on wire speed. .020" is a pain as you seen. The heat needs to be really low and slow wire, even then it tends to bubble easily. I find using too much heat/wire and using technique to avoid burning through has better results than being too cold.

[ForcedFirebird]

Great CAD work!

I like using poster board.

Beer cartons work great. Just hard to cut a straight line after drinking them for the box. ;)

[moatilliatta]

Great CAD work!

I like using poster board.

[mike.bmw]

Nice rust repair (on both the van and the E30)!

[s14brent]

quarantine and boredom forced me to work on the e30!!

this has been bugging me for quite a while now. been putting it off for a year now.


not exactly the square patch I thought it'd be


CAD cutout


not bad! used 16ga sheet since I have quite a bit leftover from the piece I bought for the van.


this is where I left off. I need to pick up some seam sealer. (hoping local autozone has some or i'm going to have to order from amazon-not prime). Hoping I can wrap this up at the end of the week.


I used the 110v welder i was given for free. I wanted to try out .024 wire, I'm not sure if I'm a fan. I feel like .030 just works fine even on sheet.

Going through a box of parts I found an e39 ps line I accidentally purchased twice. I cut it up to use the 90 degree bend.



I also added 5mm spacers up front. turns out i was smacking my sway bar with my tire at full lock. I also took out the TMS rack limiters and threw on the SLR speed ones I had laying around. I wanted to just see if there was any difference. I have about 1/4" less so if anything it's nominal

[jeenyus]

nice man! this looks fantastic!

[s14brent]

trying to keep this to a minimum since it's not e30 related, but i think i'm confident enough to do the rust repair on the e30 now. (which in hindsight is laughable compared to the job i just had to do on the van). found some cancer under the giant front rubber mat thing. It wasn't so bad until i wire wheeled the paint away. the floor was 18ga but I replaced it with 16ga since that's all that they had at hardware stores near me. I wasn't going to drive across town to spend more money on a large sheet of 18. underside has 3m seam sealer over the welded area and 3 coats of 3m undercoat spray. Patch size was 23"x7". I might have a smaller area to do on the van near the driver seat rear mounting bolt, but I'll do that when I figure out if i'm putting in swivel bases or not LOL. but the e30 is going to be a breeze in comparison.

[s14brent]

not really an e30 update....but i made the cover photo on e30 drifters fb group LOL



been busy with the van lately. I even busted out the welder already LOL. I probably won't post too much, but did the oil change, flushed the radiator and the heater core (super nasty stuff but now the van has heat again), changed the TPS, NGK plugs and wires, fixed a vacuum leak, dropped the drive shaft and replaced the transmission output shaft seal and sealed the weep hole on the yoke, replaced the cap & rotor, rewired a new head unit and a few other small things. The engine runs super smooth now. I'm pretty happy with that, and even more happy that there aren't any leaks! This wasn't a complete disaster!!
I went to a few junkyards across town to get a bunch of brackets or little things like an interior door handle, climate control, gauge cluster bulbs, etc. I also found out quick that a 79' headlight doors aren't anywhere close to 90s even though the body hasn't changed much, i thought if i could wire in the turn signal and maybe open things up a bit for the larger housing everything would bolt right up.. definitely not! but I did score a tube grille (from that 79 at a smaller private owned yard) that I quickly made some brackets for out of 1/8" flat stock I had laying around to make it fit. These stupid things are going for $150ish used from what i've seen in some groups/forums. Local pick and pull yard wants $50 for that sized grille, and all the ones they had were cracked.


i painted the brackets black before installing. I also painted the headlight "doors" with some leftover vht ceramic silver paint. The grille is basically setup with intercooler brackets. I tried to move it and it shook the whole van LOL!!

not bad at all for a $20 junkyard grille and everything else was just sourced in my garage LOL. I just have to figure out the upper/lower trim. I'm hoping I can find something similar from a c10 truck at the yard and make it work. I actually really like this for some odd reason.

I'll be installing a single DRC moto chock and anchors in the van instead of my previous plans. I just need to be able to use this sooner than later and I finally got my classic plates for this thing. I really need to hit this thing with a power washer. I have a laundry list of mods I want to do to this (mostly freshening up suspension/wheels & tires) I was worried about doing the LCA bushings, but moog LCA replacements are $60ea side, but i'll wait to do that after I get some drop spindles for the fronts. Sidenote: I'm not used to SAE sockets. I really need to learn the size that's roughly a 12.5mm, oh and the one thats right under 10mm. guessing that's 3/8? shits weird yo.

Anyways, thats all. I was planning on posting more pictures, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum on non-e30 content. And hopefully I'll have some e30 updates for you guys' soon.

[jeenyus]

HOA = Overpriced Dream Killer

[s14brent]

gutless huh?... LS Swap it lol

already thought about it....trying to bury that one down deep. but LQ4 or LQ9 might fit the bill better. the main concern right now is space. I can't work on any vehicles in the street per the HOA, and the van can't fit in the garage currently. So the stock motor is going to stay for a while....meanwhile i'll be doing an oil change on the street this weekend LOL.

[2mAn]

It's pretty gutless, i'm not sure if it'd be capable of towing long distance-not sure it could meet freeway speeds with that much weight behind it tbh.

gutless huh?... LS Swap it lol

[s14brent]

Is the van for the bike? Or towing the E30?

primarily for the bikes and being a parts hauler for now. It's pretty gutless, i'm not sure if it'd be capable of towing long distance-not sure it could meet freeway speeds with that much weight behind it tbh. I'm going to have to try to find some parts like a hitch (most likely curt - 6000lb tow capacity, 600lb tongue weight) and also some 2500lb rear helper springs if I decide to keep this. Right now it's a blank canvas which I like, but definitely no plans or space for a full size trailer at my house. The plan was to classic plate this like my e30, (5k mileage max per year and no smog). I just wanted an enclosed space to keep the bikes on during the road trips to the track. After maintenance checklist is all done, the priority is a removable dual bike rack (https://www.boltiton.com/product/1-d...y-gm-van-rack/) asap. oh and to wire up some led bars/lights that I've had in my storage from my buddies old f150 lol.