General Fabrication

Finished up new trans mount

 

Those are very nice. The starter fits in there right? I did a set on a 3.4 and the starter didn't fit. Had to remake like an idiot.

I should have made the LS mounts with a bolt but just didn't have the material at the time. They are actually off right now. Prob should change. lol. Your tigs look really good. I've official gave up on mig. Just looks like shit compared to tig.

 

Same way I just have to use the small holes on the top of the frame instead

 

Oh shit, didnt realize that was an ls..haha You goin 2wd prerunner with that frame?

 

Yeah it fits, I had to redo the driver side already because it was in the way of my steering rack. TIG looks nicer but I gave up on it because it was taking to long and I only have an air cooled one. I had roughy 50’ of welding to do on the frame plates and I switched to mig halfway through and took about 1/8 of the time. I have my buddy do most of the tig stuff at his house with his water cooled torch.

 

Was originally 4wd and I had everything to keep it 4wd with an ls but I came to the conclusion none of the stock 4wd drivetrain would hold up to 37’s and more power so I made it 2wd.

 

Def for frame plates you have to mig. Im more talking smaller stuff like mounts and things you see.

Yeah, i doubt the stock front would hold up to a lot of power. Which harness/efi are you going with?

 

I wanted to learn TIG and I had enough material do it lol

Using a swap specialties harness and a MVB trans

 

Is that an oem ecu reflash setup with that harness?

 

I have the stock computer I haven’t done anything with it yet.

 

Have you looked into a holley terminator?

 

Nice TIG welds

 

Some caps to clean up the backside of the Solo shock hoop

 

New engine crossmember built

 

Would anyone recommend stick welding when it comes to fabrication? More specifically rear shock mounts to the frame??

I’m in school for welding right now and have been doing stick. Won’t move on to MIG for about another 4 weeks or so. It seems MIG is the general answer but I do feel pretty good with stick (obviously i won’t attempt to weld on my truck until after I’m done w/ school) but I feel like I rarely ever see anyone stick weld when it comes to fabricating stuff for our trucks. It just seems potentially more plausible for the garage fabricator in some instances because of no need for gas.

 

Certainly a good way to make a solid weld if you're comfortable with it. Definitely takes a lot more practice to weld on a vehicle no matter what type of welding it is (TIG is hardest, MIG is easiest). Stick is going to be messier and will take more cleanup than MIG. Also consider wire feed flux core welding, similar to MIG but no gas needed if that's your goal.

 

I’ve actually started MIG and dual shield a few weeks ago and really enjoy it! I think I was under estimating how strong welds actually are if done correctly lol I’m sure MIG is just fine for welding shock mounts on.

 

How can i go from nice welds to shitty welds
Hobart 180
Smaller 10lb tank

could it be low pressure on the tank?

 

Turn the valve all the way open. No wind and make sure your at 25-30ish on the regulator. Lots of spatter so make sure your settings are right and the polarity is set for solid wire

 

Welding on metal that isn't clean or no shielding gas are the first two things that come to mind. Were you inside or outside? A draft of wind could blow your shielding gas away and cause this issue.