Hot Wheels Project

[One-eyed Sailor]

Where else on this planet can you find this level of entertainment?
Doesn't exist.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Attachment of the rear subframe to the main begins,
My fabrication skills have improved, ive cut slots into the old axle housing and can now simply slot the subframe into the axle housing , I'll also chuck some more support to the rear via angled gusset type of thingy, I dunno, this honestly is just unfolding as I look at it LOL.
Now lets see if my weldings improved as I try to lay a clean join around this thing.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Ok so its gone together pretty well, just threw some bronze hammertone over the fresh work, ive jumped on this thing and its holding real good, my welds are still disgusting at best but have got better, im now not having to grind and sand it all back to pretty it up,. I've just welded it and painted some protection, tomorrow's job is drill the motor mount holes and axle holes etc
Almost there
To be honest my biggest hurdle is missing the joint on some welds, I start in the right place but when I have a look I've gone crooked, I then do the join in the right place and then try to clean it all up, .
I have managed to fix the cheap mig, the wire roll holder was flogged out so I bushed it up, way better but still in need of something better with better amp adjustment... Not high n low, like the mig I have now LOL

 

[Son of Kradus]

Motor mounting issues.
Can't believe I didn't see this coming, chain's running way too close to the cross bar, anyway it's an easy fix, I'll cut the old cross bar out n make a new one further back with lugs protruding forward's to mount the motor.

Wish I'd started on the chain before the disc adjustments, cut a small clearance in the crossbar to make room for the rotor, was looking real good, I was feeling so good about the world LOL

 

[Son of Kradus]

OK so a complete chop out and design change, gone is the 5-6mm bar and angle crossbars to be replaced with some random rectangle tubing from yrs gone by, it came off an old Futon couch we threw out yrs ago, I robbed all the good metal off it and some 17yrs later it gets a new life as supports and motor mounting applications.
I ran a bigger thicker piece across the back and then two smaller beams go over the rear support and are cut into the old axle housing then welded up.

I'm really happy with how its looking, I got carried away with the bronze hammertone and kept going till the can ran out.

After I mount the motor the very rear will be shaped a bit and angled off to tidy it all up.
Even though it's a jumbled monstrosity we've managed to get some serious flow through the frame and we're starting to achieve a really tuff look. Also all geometry from the original craft is still intact and the rear subframe has met in just the right place and angle so the rear is sitting horizontal and level, not slightly angled.
So close now I can smell it

 

[Son of Kradus]

Here's a laugh to get you peeps into a great weekend.
I've bought the wrong clutch, its got a 420p chain sprocket, I needed 428p, it dosnt even wrap half way before missing link's.
Yet another "Son Of Kradus" can't believe I didn't see that coming, moment.. the correct clutch n sprocket is on its way, $53 more to the tally

The madness was only just beginning, I'm almost finished the project and I'm making stupid stuff up's, Only at the end I've slammed a makeshift stand comprising of my drums, I can now work at a good height and save my back only to be grounded by the chain issue Grrrrrr

So for now I'll keep busy rigging up the brackets for the disc caliper and slave unit, the hydraulic cable, which would have to be the stiffest Flexi cable in the world magically wraps around the underneath of the seat and into position, those two grey brackets are from..... Ummmm I can't even remember what they're off but at 4mm thick and a predrilled hole or two and they're gonna be the support brackets, they're just sitting close to where the final position is just to give yous an idea.
Hmmmmmmm what else have I missed, what's next ha ha ha

 

[Son of Kradus]

YESSS!! The cigweld has retired, I had got to the point where the tip had arc'd inside the very end and i couldn't run the wire through it,
So it was off to Bunnings and came home with this
180 combo mig,stick n Tig, I'm doubting the tig capabilities of this coz @ $435.0 its really what you'd pay for a quality stick or decent small mig, but we'll see as time goes by, it's only light duty but I really can't wait for a chance to join some aluminium, for now it's continue with brackets and stuff.
And we have yet another son of kradus "cant believe I didn't see this"

The new welder takes a 5kg spool of wire, I of course was wanting to use the small 1kg that's leftover from the cigweld. Grrrrrr dammit when will I ever learn
Ran out of time today, I'll grabb some wire tomorrow

 

[Son of Kradus]

Clutch turned up today, been a great week receiving eBay presents. Chain fits so snuggly when ya get ya number's right.
I've remeasured everything and it turns out the axle is 5mm out at one end, thats a bit much for me even though this things designed to be sideways 95%of the time, there will be a slight hole adjustment on one side to straighten..
Then mount the motor
Then the disc brakes etc.
Then smalls, cables n painting.

 

[Ulu]

YESSS!! The cigweld has retired, I had got to the point where the tip had arc'd inside the very end and i couldn't run the wire through it,
So it was off to Bunnings and came home with this
180 combo mig,stick n Tig, I'm doubting the tig capabilities of this coz @ $435.0 its really what you'd pay for a quality stick or decent small mig, but we'll see as time goes by, it's only light duty but I really can't wait for a chance to join some aluminium, for now it's continue with brackets and stuff.
And we have yet another son of kradus "cant believe I didn't see this" View attachment 216737
The new welder takes a 5kg spool of wire, I of course was wanting to use the small 1kg that's leftover from the cigweld. Grrrrrr dammit when will I ever learn
Ran out of time today, I'll grabb some wire tomorrow

That welder does not have an adapter that you pull off so you can put on the small spool of wire?

 

[Son of Kradus]

Hmmmmmmm didn't really see anything, the internal spool holder is bolted in, I didn't really wanna unbolt it, pull apart and ruin it ha ha ha
Had another drama today, the gun was a bit rattly so I tightened the tip and housing, well didnt it start playing up, wire now restricted and current had dropped,.
Turns out id tightend the tip too much and had restricted the flow of the wire, re-adjusted the tip and it welds great,

 

[Ulu]

I’ve never owned a MIG welder and I have never used one that was inexpensive in any way. But I’ve used some nice Lincoln equipment from 30 years ago that I thought was worth owning if I’d had the money at the time.

All I know about these new machines as what I read on the Internet and some of it has been discouraging. One of the things that I’ve seen repeatedly is that you should make sure that the main internal ground strap to the DINSE connector, And any little grounds for the circuitboard are substantial. I’ve read reports of very thin copper straps being used on some welders of this class, Where are you cannot see them with the covers on.

 

[Son of Kradus]

So made the bracket for the disc caliper, it presented a problem, because of its design it needed a solid bush to cover the distance from the calipers hole, out and around the body and meet the bracket itself,
I looked at various setups on you tube and found they all had the bush fixed/welded to the bracket, so I went about and found 2 old sockets, ground them to length and then welded them over the holes on the bracket, all intensive efforts were made to align, screw together and complete the whole bundle then sit it on the disc and adjust,re-adjust and adjust a bit more. Then Tac weld before removing everything to do the final welds.

I then scrounged up this horrible bunch of off cuts and slammed em together to make the pivot transfer from pull to push on the master cylinder. Thats a trainer wheel attachment off one of the kids bikes from yrs ago, somehow I just knew it would get a 2nd life. I'm gonna attach the bracket for the master cylinder to that and it'll give me enough hight to get the pivoting arm to work well. To be absolutely honest I am using up old steel stocks and utilising the holes here, I really didn't want to drill through 5mm steel so heres my cheap way out that also gives me welding and fabrication practise, time wise its about the same as setting up the drill press etc.

They came up great, not the most visually appealing things but hey.... Know what I mean

. Tomorrow im making the base bracket for the pivoting arm then, add the bracket for the cable end of the action.

 

[Son of Kradus]

The new welder has its very own home atop of the steel filing draws, the welding bench is only 3 feet away and the hose gets to be off the ground and wont get stood on and kinked.
Yes the welds are getting better but an awful long way to go LOL

I even chucked a mount on the wall for the earth and torch.

Been a lot of fun making the brackets etc so im starting to get a feel for the correct amp and wire speeds, Soon guy's soon.... Maybe my welds will get better.

 

[Son of Kradus]

I’ve never owned a MIG welder and I have never used one that was inexpensive in any way. But I’ve used some nice Lincoln equipment from 30 years ago that I thought was worth owning if I’d had the money at the time.

All I know about these new machines as what I read on the Internet and some of it has been discouraging. One of the things that I’ve seen repeatedly is that you should make sure that the main internal ground strap to the DINSE connector, And any little grounds for the circuitboard are substantial. I’ve read reports of very thin copper straps being used on some welders of this class, Where are you cannot see them with the covers on.

its the warranty.... if it dies within 2 yrs its the replacement etc, there was models up from this but nudging $1k and then some ha ha . this is good enough for home, I doubt it would be worthy on a worksite!....maybe to destroy and throw empty beer cans at after work on a friday afternoon.
its light yrs ahead of the cigweld and i too have used some good gear when I worked at flour mills and feed mills.
Actually when we first bought our home in 2003 I was setting up the shed and I bought a used stick welder off this old european bloke here and it was called "The Briefcase" its still my go to welder for heavy plate and only 120 amp... but a genuine 120 amps, has a Giant roaring arc on it and it must weigh in at 30kg, it's a real old beast from the 80's I think! but man its still alive n well . he also sold me a bosch 100mm anlgle grinder.. I got both for $100, both still cranking like never before and this guy had owned this gear for yrs before I came along, he was replacing it all and was retired.

 

[Roxyspapa]

The new welder has its very own home atop of the steel filing draws, the welding bench is only 3 feet away and the hose gets to be off the ground and wont get stood on and kinked.
Yes the welds are getting better but an awful long way to go LOLView attachment 217438I even chucked a mount on the wall for the earth and torch.
View attachment 217439Been a lot of fun making the brackets etc so im starting to get a feel for the correct amp and wire speeds, Soon guy's soon.... Maybe my welds will get better.

No Gas?

 

[Son of Kradus]

No Gas?

Not yet, takes gas for mig n tig!, all in due time!

 

[Ulu]

its the warranty.... if it dies within 2 yrs its the replacement etc, there was models up from this but nudging $1k and then some ha ha . this is good enough for home, I doubt it would be worthy on a worksite!....maybe to destroy and throw empty beer cans at after work on a friday afternoon.
its light yrs ahead of the cigweld and i too have used some good gear when I worked at flour mills and feed mills.
Actually when we first bought our home in 2003 I was setting up the shed and I bought a used stick welder off this old european bloke here and it was called "The Briefcase" its still my go to welder for heavy plate and only 120 amp... but a genuine 120 amps, has a Giant roaring arc on it and it must weigh in at 30kg, it's a real old beast from the 80's I think! but man its still alive n well . he also sold me a bosch 100mm anlgle grinder.. I got both for $100, both still cranking like never before and this guy had owned this gear for yrs before I came along, he was replacing it all and was retired.

What I’m trying to tell you is it’s probably a pretty good welder, but it might have this one common flaw that you should look for.

The telltale is if you have to crank the heat all the way up and find that the performance is spotty.

The thing is, if that happens, it might indicate you’ve already burned something that didn’t need it. Good luck.

 

[Ulu]

Not yet, takes gas for mig n tig!, all in due time!

Different gas too, which is why I don’t have a MIG gun set up for my TIG box.
A decent size gas bottle is very expensive nowadays. I have oxygen, acetylene, and argon, but no CO2 mix for MIG.

A friend and myself built about three dozen new Trash racks for the Friant Kern Canal, and had them all galvanized. We did that using spray-arc welding, because it is so fast and silent.

But there’s yet another gas mixture required which has oxygen in it.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Different gas too, which is why I don’t have a MIG gun set up for my TIG box.
A decent size gas bottle is very expensive nowadays. I have oxygen, acetylene, and argon, but no CO2 mix for MIG.

A friend and myself built about three dozen new Trash racks for the Friant Kern Canal, and had them all galvanized. We did that using spray-arc welding, because it is so fast and silent.

But there’s yet another gas mixture required which has oxygen in it.

Ummmmm there you go, ive never heard of spray arc welding LOL, it must be hilarious for some to see my hard work looking like a dropped pie, its all good, its all in the name of fun, its counting towards valuable practise for when i decide im ready to build my motorbike! and that means a long way to go, the main thing is I know myself im nowhere near ready to do structural frame work for machines that are capable of 60mph+ Ha ha ha !

 

[Son of Kradus]

Got the pivoting arm and master brackets done this morning, its now 35'C and too hot in the shed so that's it till much later or tomorrow.
And ive done it again, gone and painted over where ive got to weld the last bracket in, the cable end holder, grrrrr I just get too excited and get carried away LOL