Which welder?

[dreamingmuscle]

My son has a beetle that he wants to shorten length wise about a foot. He is going to mount a fiber glass manx type body to it.

What type of welder would be best to put the pan back together?

I have both a small 110 Volt wire welder, And a 220 volt arch welder. But haven't used either type in years so there is going to be a learning curve.


Thanks Glen

 

[NUTTSGT]

Honestly, I'd say neither. The arc welder definetly not what you want to use. The 110 wire welder I don't think would have enough penetration. I'd make the attempt with the wire welder first.

 

[Blacksn95]

Depends on how thick the pan is and how many amp the mig is.. Personally id run a 180amp and up mig welder.. But stick will do just fine Aslong as your good with it

 

[BigMike782]

The material in a VW type 1 pan will weld just fine with a 110 volt machine but this is not the place to practice.....have a skilled welder do the work or assist/over see the work to be sure it is safe.

The pan under my Manx was gas welded but it was done in the late 60s or early 70s.....man that car was a lot of fun!

 

[Bondo]

The material in a VW type 1 pan will weld just fine with a 110 volt machine but this is not the place to practice.....have a skilled welder do the work or assist/over see the work to be sure it is safe.

The pan under my Manx was gas welded but it was done in the late 60s or early 70s.....man that car was a lot of fun!

Ayuh,.... Agreed,....

If ya find any portions thicker than, say 1/8",...
Break out the stick welder, 'n stitch it up with that....

 

[rsanter]

for the sheet matal you can use the MIG
for the thick stuff you will need another welder or if you feel ok about the arc welder and your skills
although for the pan of a VW I think just about all of it is thin stuff so the MIG may be fine for all of it depending on its rating, you can also weld both sides in some cases if you dont get enough penetration

bob

 

[jack stand]

Remember that peoples lives depend on these welds! Now that I got that out of the way, we did one many moons ago, 40 yrs? and I think that there is a recess around the edge of the "pan" where the factory body bolts to. After shortening it we beat in piece of pipe (as big a size that would fit) into this recess and it gave us a much larger area over the seam repair area to weld and help re inforce the whole thing.