'66 Deluxe

[Six Volt]

Nice job on the "butt" weld's Bruce. Like I said earlier, I find those to be very difficult unless you get the gas and wire just right. Looks like you were able to avoid that vertical outer seam. That's a relief. Battery tray looks great. Can't wait for the long left rocker pictures. That's where I got impatient and warped mine. Looks like you're taking your time so you should be good to go! Keep up the great work!

[framingsilly]

Nice progress Bruce . That bus is lucky to have found you for sure . Are you going to be doing the painting as well ? Or farm that part out ?

[Dual Port]

Nice progress Bruce . That bus is lucky to have found you for sure . Are you going to be doing the painting as well ? Or farm that part out ?

I have the ability to put down a "decent" paint job, maybe 6-7 on a 10 scale, "probably" good enough for the bus. I've probably painted about 50 vehicles in my life, mostly HD trucks and a few cars. People don't give a F about trucks, even runs and sags are fine for most truckers as long as it's one color (usually white, paint code 9219). My fault lies in getting the bondo straight, so I'm going to see how far I get. I'll try to do the whole job, and I could probably make it look as good as Sean's. We'll see.

I moved the bus over so I have more working room on the driver's side using HF dollies. If they're strong enough to hold my fat ass, they'll certainly hold a bus.




I cut all of the bad shit oside and made a "rough cut" for the rocker.



Tomorrow- fix the front bulkhead.

[tferr]

Compliments on how clean you keep your work area. It speaks to a great work ethic which is showing in your results. Keep up the great work

[rokemester]

The bus is looking great Bruce! You're getting closer to 2.45678% complete and the radio installed No?

[slayer]

Compliments on how clean you keep your work area. It speaks to a great work ethic which is showing in your results. Keep up the great work

If only I could be half as clean! Great thread love it!

[Dual Port]

I got lucky and scored a great deal on this Millermatic 135 off of CL, I saw it listed just minutes after the guy put it up. First come, first serve, they guy said he could have sold it a dozen times, it was $400 with the tank and cart and has low hours. It welds MUCH better, I am happy![img]
I thought about butt vs lap and decided to go with butt. Here is the final fitting of the panel and ready to tack. Gaps are too small for a panel clamp to fit in. The fit of the panels from ECC is excellent, much better than that clusterfvck on the right side.

See guys, the shop is not always clean


Doing the cut I found yet another dent filled with 5/8-3/4" of mud just behind the driver's door. Did this PO drive using the braille system? Jesus, there's little bumps and bruises everywhere. I straightened it out and shrank it back flat using the torch and wet rag method.




Here's the panel tacked in place, now play connect-the-dots.





Funny story: I'm working along, super happy with the Miller, when I do a tack and the welder just welds like shit. What happened, out of gas? Bad spot in the metal? Pop, spatter, giant fireworks like I've never seen before. WTF? I try it on a piece of scrap and it welds fine. I go back and weld further down doing a tack and it's fine. I go back to the spatter spot, grind it down and try again, spatter city, pop, terrible. I jump over it and go to the next spot and it's fine. A few minutes later I check the inside to find my spatter spot was caused by one of my giant magnets on the inside at that spot. Wow, I never thought a magnet would interrupt a weld like it did. Live and learn.

[Six Volt]

Nice work Bruce. Was your old welder an LE? I have one of those 110 Clarke w/gas. I think they're made in Italy. Not bad, but not a Miller. My next welder is a Miller or an LE.

I see you were able to save the lower metal just in front of the seam under the door. Looks like you cut your metal even with the seam. I didn't have that luxury as mine was all crap. I initially "mudded" over my seam, but thankfully my painter fixed it for me.

Looks like you have a nice fit with the area where the seam meets the rear wheel well. I got lucky with mine by overlapping the wheel well flange on the new metal that covered that connection point. I didn't know what I as doing. I was just lucky! Your's looks a lot better than mine!

Looks great! You're doing a fantastic job! Keep up the good work and the great documentation pictures!

[Dual Port]

Yes, the other welder is a Lincoln Handy Mig, which is their entry level model sold at Home Depot and not at the "real" welding suppliers. The guys at AGA laughed when I asked for a liner and other things as this model doesn't get much respect, I was hoping to support a Cleveland based business to find the sucker is made in Poland. There's a reason a new Miller is almost 3 times the cost of a Handy Mig.

Yes, the doglegs are solid on this bus, as well as all four wheel arches, which is one of the reasons I bought it.

[Six Volt]

Since i don't have a 220 line, I'd be happy with one of these http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig ... del=M00234

I wonder how accurate the auto setting is on these models? If it's even close, it would make welding panels a cinch.