Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Sparky I see you have Peter T."s big blocking hammer. 
You are doing a great job! That hood bracing looks really good.
You are doing a great job! That hood bracing looks really good.
68 Firebird 428
- Thread starter Sparky
- Start date
Sparky
Promoted Users
Thanks Chris, I think of all you guys on here when I do this work, really appreciate all the knowledge you guys share.
I bought 3 of Peters hammers, some dollies, and other hand tools from him just before the Covid hit. I talked with him for an hour one in the phone over the internet one day, great guy. I found one of his first wave of wheeling machines he imported to the US that was personally signed by Peter. Had to drive 29 hours round trip to pick it up. Got 2 hours of sleep on that trek.
I bought 3 of Peters hammers, some dollies, and other hand tools from him just before the Covid hit. I talked with him for an hour one in the phone over the internet one day, great guy. I found one of his first wave of wheeling machines he imported to the US that was personally signed by Peter. Had to drive 29 hours round trip to pick it up. Got 2 hours of sleep on that trek.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Peter really is the "real deal". I've got one of his wheels too. They are really nice machines.
Where in MA are you? I lived in Duxbury for about 8 years when I was a kid.
Where in MA are you? I lived in Duxbury for about 8 years when I was a kid.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Lord willing, I will be riding my motorcycle through your area in August.
Planning a 7,000+ mile ride from Arizona to Maine and back.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
That's quite a journey in a car let alone a motorcycle. Wow!
Sparky
Promoted Users
Wow that’s gonna be a trip you’ll remember. Well feel free to look me up if your passing through, need a garage to do any repairs or maintenance, or just get a bite to eat. PM me for my contact details if your interested.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Yes, I like to ride. So I am riding solo to Dayton Ohio where I will meet up with a couple of friends. From there we will travel up the West coast of NY and then cut straight across on I-90 to I-95 and on to the East coast. We will follow the coast line to the eastern boarder of Maine and then head North along the border before looping back. Once back to Ohio I will be riding solo again to my home in Arizona.
As with any motorcycle ride, everything is subject to change. Thanks for the offer to stop by it is appreciated.
As with any motorcycle ride, everything is subject to change. Thanks for the offer to stop by it is appreciated.
MJM
Promoted Users
That makes my butt hurt just thinking about it, lol
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Sparky
Promoted Users
No problem, post all you want. Nice looking bike!
Sparky
Promoted Users
My first application of SPI epoxy on the underside of the 400 hood, I moved the Iwata gun too fast, and had some thin textured areas. I watched some videos of guys using the same gun, and were moving half the speed I was. I sanded it down to get all the nibs out, W&G remover, and shot two wet coats moving much slower, and seemed to get a better coat. Next is to get the bracing installed.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Sweet.
The LPH400 requires a slow steady hand as you have discovered. If you want to go faster buy a SATA.
The LPH400 requires a slow steady hand as you have discovered. If you want to go faster buy a SATA.
crashtech
Combo Man & Mod
Just fyi, it's also possible to simply increase overlap in addition to slowing down travel speed. I move fairly quick with my LPH-400 but I only move a few inches at a time on my passes.
That underside looks pretty glossy, so it's hard to say if there is anything that needs adjustment.
That underside looks pretty glossy, so it's hard to say if there is anything that needs adjustment.
Sparky
Promoted Users
Thanks for the tips guys. I’m waiting for the NVH sealant to come in before I can install the bracing and plug weld it in.
Sparky
Promoted Users
Got in the NVH foam and the caulking gun, so off to work I went. I dry fitted the hood and bracing, mapped out my clamping areas, and noted the factory indentations where the foam goes. I also prepped a couple of 19ga pieces of sheet metal to practice plug welds and dial in the welder.
I settled on a power setting of 3 and 28 for the mig wire feed rate. It was a quick one shot weld with minimal bulging on the backside on no burn through.
I also ground down a 3/8 drill bit flat, and with a back grind on each flute leaving a thin flat to scrape off the epoxy on the base metal of the plug weld, just like Robert showed on one of his threads.
got all set up applied the NVH foam in the proper places, nested the brace down into the hood, clamped around the parameter where there were no voids between the two, started at the front of the hood on the plug welds, and “POP” instantly burned through the plug weld base metal. I was thinking is the metal thinner here? Or did the scraper bit remove metal? Why did it burn through so quick, and consequently I had to use what I call MachineGun welding to fill the hole creating a lot more clean up work on the front and backside. Not good!
After about 4 more plug welds blowing out while I was readjusting the welder each time, I concluded that the test welds I did on the practice piece were on metal that was not media blasted nor epoxied. Those welds were nice, 1 squeeze of the trigger and fill the plug. Even though the drill bit scraper removed the epoxy in the plug hole what was still nearby reacted with the weld puddle and seemed to cause the pop that would blow a hole in the base metal.
I had to settle in on a power setting of 2 and a wire feed of 22 to find a compromise (no burn through, and fill the plug with good penetration) but I still had to do 4-5 trigger squeezes to fill the plug without blowing through. Just made a lot more work cleaning up.
4 hours later got it all welded and rough ground inside and out.
I settled on a power setting of 3 and 28 for the mig wire feed rate. It was a quick one shot weld with minimal bulging on the backside on no burn through.
I also ground down a 3/8 drill bit flat, and with a back grind on each flute leaving a thin flat to scrape off the epoxy on the base metal of the plug weld, just like Robert showed on one of his threads.
got all set up applied the NVH foam in the proper places, nested the brace down into the hood, clamped around the parameter where there were no voids between the two, started at the front of the hood on the plug welds, and “POP” instantly burned through the plug weld base metal. I was thinking is the metal thinner here? Or did the scraper bit remove metal? Why did it burn through so quick, and consequently I had to use what I call MachineGun welding to fill the hole creating a lot more clean up work on the front and backside. Not good!
After about 4 more plug welds blowing out while I was readjusting the welder each time, I concluded that the test welds I did on the practice piece were on metal that was not media blasted nor epoxied. Those welds were nice, 1 squeeze of the trigger and fill the plug. Even though the drill bit scraper removed the epoxy in the plug hole what was still nearby reacted with the weld puddle and seemed to cause the pop that would blow a hole in the base metal.
I had to settle in on a power setting of 2 and a wire feed of 22 to find a compromise (no burn through, and fill the plug with good penetration) but I still had to do 4-5 trigger squeezes to fill the plug without blowing through. Just made a lot more work cleaning up.
4 hours later got it all welded and rough ground inside and out.
Sparky
Promoted Users
Here’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask the pros; what do you do to stabilize small hanging parts when you spray them? I’ve been using a make-shift hook to hook into a hole on the bottom of the part and steady the part while I spray it. Before that the part just spun around and I felt like a monkey trying to F$&@ a football, to get it all covered. Perhaps I should use two wires per part?
