What type of welder should I use?

Either stick, MIG or TIG can be used to assemble and install Welder Series parts. The machine has to have the capacity to weld the material thickness (most Welder Series brackets are 3/16” mild steel).

Stick welders don’t need a tank of shielding gas because the electrode is coated. This coating burns and keeps the air from the weld during the fusion process. Stick welders are more forgiving than TIG if the material being welded is dirty. A good weld made with a stick welder is… a good weld.

MIG welders are convenient because the wire feeds as long as the trigger is pulled (until the spool is emptied). It is easier to get the gun in position to weld because the arc will only be created when the trigger is pulled. MIG offers greater control than stick because the arc is closer to your hand, the arc is always the same distance from your hand (a new stick electrode starts out 12” to 14” long and burns down to the holder), and it’s easy to use two hands to steady the gun. MIG welders are more forgiving than TIG if the material being welded is dirty.

TIG welding gives the greatest power control of the three types being discussed. Often a foot pedal or thumb control is used to adjust the intensity of the arc while welding. TIG requires co-ordination between both hands and, with a foot control, one foot. TIG is not tolerant of dirty material. Rust or carbon scale will “jump” from the material to the tungsten electrode and change the arc pattern. Often it’s necessary to stop welding and replace or sharpen the tungsten when this happens. TIG does produce the dainty, “etched” pattern often seen in street rod and race car products. These are made by highly skilled welders.

A Welder Series tig weld.

Welder Series Mustang II upper towers, showing a mig bead (foreground) and tig bead (around the shock cone).

Welder Series ’32 Update: E-brake linkage revisited

As I’m reassembling the car, there are some things that I think I should have explained a little better at the time of the first article. The emergency brake handle mount is a neat little piece, but I don’t think I explained how it attaches to the floor.

See that little bung at the button end of the ‘canoe’? The bottom of that bung sits on the top surface of the bottom floor panel. Get that? I think you will. I used the Lokar ratchet mechanism and incorporated it into the canoe, which drops the handle into the floor.

The canoe was made from the outside section of a bent 1-5/8″ tube.

This is the hole where the canoe sits.

Below the 2″ thick floor, the linkage fits through a slot in the bottom floor panel. I bent up a linkage rod required to clear the center section tube and threaded it on both ends.

I drilled and tapped the Lokar brass block so it would work with my threaded linkage rod.

I used a 3/8″ heim joint (or “rod end”) to support the linkage rod and also to serve double duty as the upper bolt for the transmission mount.

A little out of place, but an update nonetheless. I put heat shrink on the wires as they exit from the frame rail and tuck in to the grille shell so they won’t stand out like… wires.

Welder Series ’32 Update: tank vent

A gas tank needs a vent. Otherwise, as the fuel leaves the tank and is blown up in the engine, a vacuum is created and eventually the fuel pump won’t be able to suck hard enough. Try this: plug your nose. Say “wukka wukka wukka!” No seriously, plug your nose and breathe through your mouth. Then cover your mouth with your hand. Not for very long though. Now release your nose. Your nose is like the vent valve, your lungs are the engine. Oxygen obviously represents gas. As your lungs try to get more air, pretty soon the reserve in your mouth runs out, but as soon as you open the vent (your nose) the engine runs smoothly. If this experiment didn’t work, see a doctor – you’re not plumbed right.

Moving right along, here’s how I vented the tank.

Revision 1 was slipping a rubber hose over the barbed end of the gas tank vent. Revision 2 was copying Cam, who slipped a short section of rubber hose over the barbed fitting then transitioned to stainless hard line. Here’s revision 3:

The brass piece on the right is the rollover valve/ vent. You can see the barbs on the top of the fitting where hose normally slides over. I’ve ‘toned down’ the barbs.

The 3/16″ stainless line *almost* fits inside the barbed part of the brass valve, so I machined it down just a bit so it slips tightly in. Remember, this line is mostly for vapors, with the occasional fuel sloshage. The two hex fittings are threaded on to a joiner fitting which I machined the hex off, just like the front brake lines.

Here’s the final product (I hope). You see, the tank is already in place so I had to use a welding rod to get the basic shape I needed, then transfer those bends to the stainless line. I put the joiner fitting in place so that the fitting can be installed and then hooked up to the vent tube, since there’s not enough room for the whole thing to twirl around as the vent is tightened.

For more articles, please visit www.welderseries.com.

A Little Horton Hot Rod History

I came across these scans tonight and thought it would be fun to post them, just for you to see some of what the family’s been up to for the past 30+ years.

One of “the twins”, a pair of trick hiboy roadsters built in the 80′s by Paul Horton and Lloyd Stewart. This ’32 is still seen at Louisville.

Paul & Dorothy Horton with me in the ’29 in the mid 80′s.

The same ’29 on hand formed 2×4 rails matching the contour of the body. This car had an unfortunate end in a cemetery after being T-boned during a poker run. You can call it luck if you must, but for some reason my brother and I (who ALWAYS rode in the rumble seat) asked to ride in a ’46 sedan with friends. After the accident, the battery (strapped down in the floor of the rumble seat) was found way down the road. I don’t call it luck.

A ’23 T Bucket that kind of started the whole parts business. This car was built in a Montreal garage by Paul and Dorothy Horton. There are tonnes of trick parts on this car!

The current (well, it hasn’t been on the road in three years) ’40 Sedan is the car I remember traveling to events in as a kid. With over 90 000 miles, we made quite a few!

The 1935 Chev built between the cherry tree and the apple tree in Paul Horton’s parents back yard.

My brother and I before we were made redundant by pin-ups ;)  I’m the cute blond making the bird face.

“Dear Welder Series…” Tech Help Introduction

Here at Welder Series, we get emails. We reply to emails. All of them. Even those nice people who want to see me more satisfied. (What’s a “male product”, anyways? Am I a product of my own imagination?) Anyways, I thought some of these tech type emails would be beneficial to more of you than solely the person who penned keyed the question. Onward.

Dear Welder Series…

“Hi there,
I recently purchased one of your triangulated 4-link from Horton’s (www.horton.on.ca). I am currently building a 28 Model A Tudor and I am building my own frame. I’m about ready to start fabricating the rear section of the frame and I was wondering if you can give any tips on how to rig up the rear suspension/frame so I can get the car as close to the ground as possible without loosing to much headroom since the car is going to be chopped. I will be running 32″ tall rear tires and I would like the frame to be about 5 inches off the ground (at the floor before the rear Z). Also, I will be channeling the body.

Thanks a lot for your help!
Paul”

Dear Paul…

This will be a neat project, Paul, but will require some planning.

The rear suspension set-up depends on the tire size. The frame mount for the lower bar should be about 5″ lower than the axle centerline (c/l), as shown in the installation drawing. With your 32″ tall rear tire, axle c/l will be about 15-1/2″ from the ground. We figure about 1/2″ for tire “squat” (the flat part of the tire on the ground). Using this information and your 5″ frame-to-ground dimension, and assuming(?) a 4″ high frame rail, the lower bar frame mount will be about 1-1/2″ higher than the top of the frame rail (2-1/2″ if you use 3×2 rails).

The upper bar frame mount should be about 2-1/8″ higher than the axle c/l height, or about 17-5/8″ from the ground. This would be about 8-5/8″ above the top of a 4″ frame rail or 9-5/8″ above a 3″ rail.

You might be able to incorporate both of these frame mounts into the kick. Or the lower mount could be a “bump” on top of the rail and the upper mount could be on the kick-up.

I would do lots of mock-up work before cutting anything. Then I’d tack everything in place and carry on with the build. This makes it easier to deal with “ambushes” (things that crop up that you weren’t prepared for). Specifically, check the angle and position of the upper bars. This will have an effect on the frame width (or vice-versa).

I hope this helps.

Paul Horton

 

If you want to send us an email, it’s easy: click on these words

Dear Welder Series…

Are these (Mustang II kits) made to fit a particular frame? We have a 66 Chevy II. I would have to check if the front wheel base falls within the 56” to 60” range of these kits.

Also. We already have an Aerospace Components disc brake setup on this car, so could the stock spindles work?

Thanks for any info,

Bill

Thanks for writing, Bill.

Our MII kits are designed to be notched by the builder so the ride height is where you want it. Our installation sheets go through this process step by step. The 56″ kit would be the one to use on your Chevy II.

The GM spindles are quite different from the MII spindles and can’t be used on the MII crossmember. If the brake kit is designed for your stock GM spindles, it will not work with Mustang II spindles. Possibly some components can be used, but the spindles are quite different.

I hope we can help with your project.

Paul Horton.

 

Dear Welder Series…

Rob here. Mr_____v on the H.A.M.B. and some other boards.

I’m about to build a new frame for my 48 Chevrolet Pickup and since I already have a stash of M II suspension pieces I’ve pretty well decided that the most logical way to go with the suspension is to use one of your kits and the factory Ford pieces including the strut arms.

The plan is to run steel rims with a shallow reverse or offset . Basically the old 15×7 chrome reverse wheels that have been around forever.

Ride will be low but with coil springs and no bags.

My question is, Which of your M-II kits do you suggest for this application? I can figure out the outside of hub part easy enough but do you have certain kits that are made especially for the AD GM trucks?

Rob

Hi, Rob. Thanks for writing.

The 56″ MII kit is normally used with your series pickups. You would still notch the crossmember and the upper towers so the frame ride height will be where you want it.

Be sure to order the strut rod bracket & gusset kit (#108140) and, if you will use the later model T-Bird rack, order the rack mount spacer kit (#24410). The steering shaft bearing support (#219600) is another thing you will probably need.

The reversed wheels will likely still be o.k. to use as there is quite a bit of space out to the fender edge with standard wheels.

I hope this answers your questions. If not, please hit me again from another direction.

Paul Horton

 

Dear Welder Series…

To whom may help,

I see you have your brake pedal brackets kits available, but I was curious if you had anything to serve both a hydraulic brake AND clutch pedal kit. (IE a two pedal design with opposite direction offsets etc) Do let me know if you can help! I am currently putting a 1947 Ford Truck Body on a GM 2 ton chassis with a Cummins motor and I am looking for an original looking solution to having a hydraulic clutch and hydroboost brakes.)

Mike

Mike, we do have a brake & clutch pedal set-up, but it isn’t in the webstore yet. Please go to the catalog pdf file, http://www.welderseries.com/hardcopy/weldercat.pdf , page 21. When people buy this kit, we usually suggest substituting, in the brake pedal/master cylinder bracket kit, a brake pedal with no offset so the pedals can be offset symmetrically to clear the steering column. This reduces the price slightly.

I hope this helps. Please write again if you have other questions.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

update: We do have the brake/ clutch pedal assembly in the web store – click here, then check out the youtube video.

Dear Welder Series…

working on a 73 javelin with a chevy big block conversion need idea on motor mount fabrication for this application

Our C005 mounts (https://www.welderseries.com/blog/online-store/chevy-motor-mounts-rubber-insulated/) are very versatile and should be a good choice for your Javelin.

The 2149 is a urethane-bushed mount that is easy to install and has a hi-tech look. (https://www.welderseries.com/blog/online-store/chevrolet-motor-mount-kits/)

I hope we can help with your project.

Paul Horton