Series 3 109 Station Wagon, full ground up resto and 88 redo careless resto driving project

I am still working out whether to buy a TIG or not, still unsure what to buy and how much money I want to spend. I see yours doesn't come with a pedal which seem to be either a must have or not depending on who you believe.
I have been looking at R Tech, Jasic and similar units, haven't really considered the cheaper units as I tend to find you get what you pay for with tools, or is this nonsense if you know what you are doing as far as TIG machines are concerned?
I was looking at a quality DC only machine as decent AC/DC machines are quite expensive but I hadn't really been thinking about the bodywork on the landy, just making up bits of stainless.
Still can't make up my mind

This thread prompted me to bite the bullet and order the welder after several weeks of dithering, ended up splashing out and getting a Parweld XTT202P, now I just need gas and learn how to use it.

That Parweld XTT202P looks like a fine piece of kit.


I got a Hobby weld cylinder From Macgregor supplies, it's the 100 % Argon Ultra cylinder which comes with a regulator and they throw in a quick connection.

Not cheap at £322 all in, but for £110 to refill and its capacity is quite good, and no rental.


Also I separately ordered a foot pedal, as my Tig has the connection for one, it would seem a pedal is very useful to control the power.


I already have a ROHR Mig which has been lovely to use. However I did take apart the new one and spent some time checking all the connections, and cleaning out bits of loose solder which was laying around. So yes you do get what you pay for, but all the components inside are made in the same factory in China anyway, it's mostly the build quality which can be a bit rushed. Still I'm hoping to get many years service and if it breaks, I'll most likely be able to fix it lol, as the parts are all standard and available.


Happy welding Bruce, Tig does look like so much fun if time isn't important

Been working on getting the underseat tool box to fit with fettling and pre drilling all the rivet holes before painting it, to avoid future galvanic corrosion hopefully.


Not sure how to finish the covers, as they have a lovely patina, but there is a little rust where the back lip slides round the aluminium of the box.

Maybe to clean and clearcoat, then finish with the abrasive pad to have a matt finish. It should look as original, but lock in the patina and seal from further corrosion

I am watching the various build threads which are in front of mine as I am a while away from bodywork yet, I also don't have the room in the workshop to get larger bits in to work on them at the moment, at least till I can get some of the stored parts refurbed and on the chassis!
I did look at the ROHR kit and what was said about it and the reviews were patchy, probably because of folks attitude to the cheaper end of the market as most of them were professional welders. It doesn't mean it doesn't work as well as the more expensive stuff. I have an account with BOC and although I looked at Hobbyweld their pricing online was a bit "vague" I'll have to compare the various suppliers to see what is best in the next couple of weeks and see whats best.
At least with what I have bought if I turn out to be rubbish at TIG then I know its me, and not the kit
The bits for the stainless exhaust mod on one of my bikes arrived today so jobs are starting to queue already.

Lol, Yep I can relate to having a lack of space too.
The painted seat base is living in my caravan while I complete other bits. Otherwise it would catch overspray, or just be in the way.

Got the under seat tool box painted with Raptor epoxy anti corrosive paint, now that all the holes are drilled. It's an infra red light above btw, to help cure the epoxy.
Hopefully if there's no bare metal, even in the holes for rivets, galvanic corrosion and rust should be better protected from. Also I use closed end rivets like for boats.
It is my intention to use caravan mastic seal in-between the join of steel to aluminium.
This may be a bit of a hassle, but unlike other compounds used as sealers, this stuff never sets, and is similar to what's used on sailing boats to seal port holes ect.
Don't want me tools getting wet .

I've a half cylinder from BOC of Argon CO2 mix, and it's cheaper to fill, but has rental each year.
I don't estimate I will use as much gas to Tig as to Mig, so having a cylinder without the reoccurring rental fee, and the higher capacity cylinder, may pay off long term.
My gas flow is about 25 cfm with Mig, but with a small cup I'm hoping to use 7-10 cfm for Tig.
And most of my welding is Mig.

Your stainless steel exhaust mod sounds like an interesting project in it's elf. It would be great to see the results you get. Good luck with it

Really nice finish there! I used to have a tig, but sold it as I wasn’t using it enough to justify the outlay. They are fantastic though, especially for thin body panels and exhaust manifolds. I do have a hobby weld bottle on my mig, which works out much more cost effective than the rental bottles.
I have been using puraflex 40 from Toolstation for seam sealing panels etc and it seems to work really well.

Good call onthe TIG purchase . They open up a lot of new options , you can even use them to free off seized fixings ,Not there proper function but heat is heat and if it can be localised them all the better ..
Its worth looking at the Jasic alternatives . I bought what is for all intent and purposes a Jasic unit but branded under another name , It was made in and sol from Poland.

The instructions were in Polish so I took to the Jasic website and downloaded there instruction manual so I could decipher the digital display on my machine which used the same symbols as the Jasic unit . All of the settings and functions were identical to the Jasic manual .. Jasic were £1600 the Polish version was £450 .

I had my doubts as to the functionality of the machine as I was replacing my ancient masively heavy tool box sized machine for this reasonably compact and light weight electronic gizmo, but I nedd not have worried . It works beautifully . I recently welded some ali casting for my current hot rod project , the material was 10mm thick in some areas and up to 20mm thick in others , with the machine set at 10amps it breezed the job, . Sure I could have made a slightly cleaner job of it but its not a structural part , the modification is cosmetic and it was being blended to look unmodified ,so 100% continuity wasnt a big issue .

Finding the ideal settings on the electronic machine is the mind bender .. but they are also a lot more forgiving and the machine will tell you if your chosen settins are within working parameters , ie if you select a material thickness , to low a current and to thick a tungsten setting the machine will display a warning , its then just a case of adjusting either or setting and cracking on with the job.. Clean old material as well as you can and you will have less ark issues . Thre are frequency settings on the electronic machines that will blast through the surface oxidisation on new ali sheet without the need to wire brush it , but wire brushing at least the start point will gee you up as the ark will start easier , the pulse will burst through the remainder once your welding.

Tig is very therapeutic your going to learn to love your tig welder

Rather than clog up this build thread I have started a welding thread. Form this one and the other on AG it seems there is enough interest to have one. I will certainly have plenty of questions over the few weeks
We should let this tread go back to the build thread it was rather than hijack it!

That sounds awesome Auld Duffer, free off seized fixing, I never thought of that. Also what is that part youve been building up, could it be some kind of a foot rest ?

That's no bother Bruce, I will have a look at your welding thread.

The gas cylinder, foot pedal and some spare torch bits just arrived, yipee, time play





The seat frames, after lots of cleaning the rust off, rust converter, more rubbing and painting with acid etch primer, rubbing down more and painting with Raptor primer, and so on.

Got some filler for an aesthetic fill over some small craters caused by corrosion. They’re not structural, but would have been emphasized with a glossy black finish, so I filled them as in pic took an age of wet sanding the frames back to a flat finish.

Last night the props, underside of the tool box and frames got a couple of generous coats of 2K gloss black shot over them.



The rear prop is a bit rust pockmarked, but it's got new hardy spicers, and the splined slider is in good fettle.

The front is also refurbished and has a new bellow, but I kept the original clips as they're just lovely, I think.




It looks a bit lumpy with orange peel, but hey it’s under the car, and there's so much paint on that it could be wet sanded and polished to a mirror finish, but I just wanted a really good thick coat on for protection. The seat frames are looking good, but I got a couple of runs, and the man with my Argon gas just delivered.

So the plan is to put all the parts in Velma the caravan and let them cure for a few days, while I play with the Tig and fix a small top/side aluminium panel. It’s corroded at one end, so I hope to build the edge up and reshape it.

Once these top side panels are in paint, I have all the parts of the seat box and seat bases restored and ready to rebuild them, which is quite exciting, because it’s taken quite a lot of work to repair and restore all the parts.


I should probably get on and change the gearbox now too , find out if the rebuilt one is any good

The part in the pic relating to the Tig post is actually a reproduction of a vintage cylinder head cover for a flathead V8 Ford engine . They were originally made by a company called Thickstun who make speed equipment for boats back in the 50s .. The originals are very rare and reproductions are not made commercially ,but a few were turned out by an enthusiast who cast them from an original . Unfortunately they got a bad reputation as they never fitted the heads due to material shrinkage once extracted from the mould . There are a few badly fitting sets to be found on cars but I decided to chop mine up and make them fit better .. Ive sourced a full set incliding a genuine thickstun dual carb inlet and a copy air cleaner .. Hope that fills the gap.. without to much of a diversion from the original post

The model A usually came with a 3.3 litre 4 cylinder ,but I had the old 21 stud war surplus Flathead V8 so decided to fit that as a homage to old school hot rods.

I never would have guessed it was an engine cover. As you have suggested, the TIG has so many uses, and what better example, or way to fettle away the day. Hats off to you sir, I would love to be a part of making something as interesting and unique.
Hopefully you will finish with a paint job worthy of such a beauty, but I'm sure there's lots to accomplish first.
Good luck with moving forward

Well time to get this old lump out
Removing the mount at one side so not to disturb the exhaust, it needs to come off and get cleaned up to go onto the rebuilt unit anyway.
Knocked open the lock tabs and one broke off

On removing the clutch slave cylinder quite a bit of hydraulic fluid escaped, so I'll replace the master and slave since the parts are fairly well priced and both suspected of leaking.
It's clear the first motion shaft oil seal has been leaking for some time too
But I don't think there is any engine oil in the bell housing, because it would be a little darker

So I'm happy to just change the gearbox and wait until I've recommissioned the newer five bearing motor, to swap and keep Gigi running while I rebuild her three bearing engine and make her capable of running on unleaded fuel. No doubt some fun will be had working with metric and imperial
But the box is out and I can get on with restoring parts before swapping them over, and checking the clutch plus fitting a new spigot Bush to the crank.

Also maybe I could carefully tidy up some hacked welding on the bulkhead while there's access
Also some that was missed and covered over

I've built a blasting cabinet, since had no success finding anybody locally who has a small one.
So sod it I made a semi walk in one, for my cheap blaster which cost me less than £20.

Been cleaning up the very rusty gearbox mounts
Also the remaining two aluminium parts for either end off the seat box, one has corrosion at the end and the other not so bad needs paint.
With a full face mask, overalls, wellies, hat and industrial marigold gloves it's quite fun and effective, leaving a great key in the surface for paint.

And I'm hoping a really clean surface on the aluminium parts for my first attempt at TIG welding

The bottom seatbelt mounts which had reacted with the seat box were my main reason for needing to sand blast.
They were nasty, but I didn't want to buy the replacements at £28. Wanted to keep the originals, but cleaning them would be really tricky, especially the insides which would be visible as soon as the doors opened.
The sand blaster done an awesome job, and left a surface perfect for paint

Really happy with this.
But I don't know if they would have originally been black or silver ??
Does anybody know the original colour. The metal end of the 3 point fixed belt was black plastic coated originally; I've ordered new replacement 3 point static belts as close to the originals as possible.

Pretty sure they were black originally, so that's what they've become with lots of 2 k automotive paint. Hopefully this will help reduce galvanic corrosion in the future and keep originality, even if a little more glossy.



Also I got new 3 point static seat belts British made.

I will have to carefully remove the top mount so the original cleat fastener can be used. I am using the original imperial bolts and will add a thin nylon washer to help reduce friction on the plastic coating of the bottom mount against the bolt.
Apart from two aluminum panels which sit over the top of the seat box and under the seat frames, all the components are restored and awaiting reassembly in Velma, the caravan.

These will be repaired and repainted when I have the rebuilt gearbox fitted.

The gear box is coming along nicely with the odd snagg overcome . Parts for gear box and seat box all painted together in 2K automotive paint


How else should paint be cured with gentle heat !




As it was

Each part is stripped, cleaned and rebuilt.


I made a brake adjuster tool from some old tools I don’t use, consisting of a socket and allen key. The original design turned out to be too big to use on the installed brake so I made it a better size.

However it works very well and is very kind to the square drive adjustment bolt.


The adjuster was extremely tight, and despite soaking overnight with WD40, required much force to get things moving


Tool remade to fit in situ


Everything cleaned and ready for reassembly




I cleaned the drum mounting bolts, which have two threads ⅜ BSW / 16 tpi and ⅜ BSW / 20 tpi. So glad I rescued these taps and dies from being binned some years back.

There's something wonderful about using old hand tools to restore. It takes time, but can be a very rewarding process.

The end of these drum mounting bolts threads had become damaged, so it was great to re-cut them; which avoids cross threading on reassembly and further damage.



Rebuilt gearbox mounts


Time to add some oil and change the clutch fork with new release bearing over over

Where and how are you doing the 2 pack paint? I need to start thinking about how I am going to paint me wagon and need to start thinking about how eventually.
You seem to be doing well enough with it

think I'm going to follow this.....



Rich.

BruceB said:

Where and how are you doing the 2 pack paint? I need to start thinking about how I am going to paint me wagon and need to start thinking about how eventually.
You seem to be doing well enough with it

Click to expand...

Hi Bruce,

I have the ideal garage to paint in, because when I open both front and back doors it vents very quickly due to the through draft, and away from any people.



‘2K Urethane paints are tough, glossy, two component coatings for use over primed or painted surfaces. When fully cured, 2K Urethane paints are rock hard, chemical resistant and incredibly tough.

Durable and easily cleaned, they will not crack, chip, or peel with age. These beautiful, two-component coatings are stronger than any color paints you have ever tried.’

I buy most of my paint from Dingbro as they have a really good paint department and love folk doing classics as it’s more interesting than their run of the mill stuff.




I use a really cheap gun for most primers and parts, and have a Devilbiss Smart Repair Spray Gun, which was ridiculously expensive and can produce awesome finishes off the gun. I’ve painted a bonnet and lots of smart repairs and it’s paid for itself. But a £12 cheap gun is just great for most things.





A minimum of 4CFM compressor is needed for spray painting, so ideally a belt driven oil filled compressor motor and the biggest tank you can get, mines about 150 litres capacity I think with a 3HP motor. It ideally needs a 16A power supply as a 13A socket will just start to melt after a while lol. I found this out the hard way lol.

I had to use a special plastic primer before the high build primer.

Then metallic followed with clear coat, finish straight from the gun...

Which looked lovely back on my car



Yep I love this paint, but it's seriously dangerous to inhale or even get on your skin, so lots of PPE.

I have a cheap plastic/paper like haz suit. Yes, it's white and has a hood so I look like CSI in it lol. I just repair any holes and tears with masking tape and have been using it for about six years.



I have a 3M Respirator and wear nitrile gloves. It’s more ideal to paint in the Summer when it’s warmer, but just now I actually risk warming the mixed paint a little in the microwave, which is probably crazy and I slightly freak out that it may explode lol, but it’s just 10 sec at a time and swirl to get it to about 30degC.



You can wet down the floor to keep dust down and more if you're after a concourse job.

Sorry no Landy pics, mor soon as I've just finished restoring the handbrake lever, which has more parts than you may think.

Hand brake

Repairing the gearbox has forced me to do many other restoration and rebuild jobs like the seat box which had serious galvanic corrosion.

One of these was the handbrake lever. It works fine, but while it’s out and available, well now is the time to take it apart and give it some love. Because it’s looking rather neglected.
I started by taking photos of how the parts were ordered to assist reassembly.

It’s getting a bit crusty after 47 years lol.



You get the idea.

After much cleaning with wire brushes on the drill and even some flap discs for some built up rust.

Everything was treated with Kurust, acid etch primed, then painted in 2K gloss black ready for reassembly


The knob was cleaned on the end of a drill with 600 wet and dry paper, T cut and even I tried bleaching it.