A vintage BMW race car build....Racing all over California with VARA in C-Sedan!

[bmw1602.com]

read my earlier post about the subject......I did testing....the welds are solid....it's just a different technique, like any technique you can do it right or you can mess it up. If you do it right with enough power and correct travel speed you get the same result. I welded tubes then cut them to check penetration. I used this test to adjust my settings... I'm using a 240v welder at almost full power (more than I would use if I was welding continuous).

I did the same technique with my 120v 20amp Miller and it looked the same as the welds with the more powerful welder but very little penetration on 2 .120 wall tubes. The key is to use alot of power proper wire speed (to aid in penetration) and to keep the puddle moving forward at a constant speed just as if you were gas welding. Create a puddle > move forward >create a puddle > move forward ......exactly as if you were gas or tig welding. If you get the right tempo you are starting the next puddle as the previous one is still glowing. If you wait to long in between then you might have cold/hot/cold/hot etc.. problems. You might just be putting a cold weld on top of another. When you doing it right the welder is buzzing almost constantly you just stop for a fraction of a sec and move forward.......naturally some of my welds are better than others due to positioning and my own fatigue in certain cases..... POWER is everything in this. Most of my tubes are 1.5"x.095 wall (on the thinner side due to my vehicle weight). Only my strut tubes are .120 wall. So given the thickness envolved I pretty sure I got proper penetration

Like I said as with anything you can do it properly and you can even make it look decent but not have great results. I'm 100% certain I got solid joints/welds. In fact since I'm racing the car I'm betting my life on my work. This in not my first time welding....I've been welding for a while now....

Thanks for your valid concerns......either way it's all done now. Considering some of the welding I seen on some cages people are racing on I not worried at all.

Please lets not turn this thread into a welding technique pissing match......

[5mall5nail5]

My worry is that you're talking about doing things properly and such but I've never seen that method used and I am very certain its not approved. You want a constant gas flow to keep the puddle from contaminating. Your pulsing is doing very strange things with both the puddle and its penetration as you can see its sitting up on top of the tubing at the edges. Just trying to help - that could be very dangerous in the end of things!

edit: it looks like you're using a stitch weld setting or imitating it but that is generally for sheet metal with single pulses rather than continuous bead since sheet metal will burn through. Good luck though!

[OLD MAN]

You are doing one Great Job Pedro! Giving me a lot of ideas for the 79 320/6. Miss seeing you and your car out at the Auto-x's in San Diego though.

[bmw1602.com]

Well it's been awhile.......

I've been really busy with my new job. I'm loving it. Better pay means more parts and hopefully.....on the track for next year!

So santa visted early,

I bought,
New 11:5 to 1 pistons (coated)
Main bearings drilled to Alpina racing specs (coated)
New wheel studs/nuts
Alum. flywheel 7lbs.

Willwood (I was going to use Tilton but I got a smokin' deal on the these)
Clutch pedal
Brake pedal w/ balance bar
3 master cyclinders kits(1 clutch & 2 brakes)
Remote balance adjuster

and a few other bits....




pedals



brake w/ balance bar



Clutch







still waiting on the pistons.......

haha...... I love it... my car is anorexic!!

How much do you think my car weighs......Rolling chassis?

No engine
no tranny
no driveshaft
no diff and axels
no caliper or brake booter and lines
no seats
no dash
no wiring
no gauges
no fire system
no fuel cell & pump

it's as basic of a rolling chassis you can get!

????????????

57 lbs. for the LSD 320i diff



67 lbs. for the 320i 5-sp tranny



1185 lbs....!








I wonder how much all the stuff will weigh???????

Final weigh should be below 2000lbs.......I think.....

[328ischef]

What brand/model/year/condition is your 120v 20 amp Mig welder? I bought a new miller and it easily penetrates through .125 and states that it will accommodate .1875 in two passes.

Have you run on it past its duty cycle one too many times or something, I've heard of that taking its toll on welders before.

I also might suggest reverting back to a more traditional welding technique...it seems you are becoming innovative where it isnt necessary and although a lot of your welds look nice, some seem to be sitting on top a bit.

Great looking car, nice to see a non-E36 build....coming from a guy who is doing an E36 build

[bmw1602.com]

Miller 130xp, I know the specs says all sorts of things but in practice if you start a bead it won't put enough heat into the bead until you travel an inch or so and the peices heat up. I guess you could pre-heat things to help with initial fusion.

But remember I used a 220v high powered MIG for my cage. I did not use my little 130xp. I don't think it's suited for the task.

Also I never run my welder past it's duty cycle, it still gives me beautiful strong welds. Besides if you try the arc starts to not perform correctly so there no point in pushing it.

I did many tests before sparking my cage, and am secure in my welds.

......wow.......nice Alfa.......would love to even just take a ride in it!

[OLD MAN]

Glad to hear you have a new job you really like!

Brendan (HDX) has his current E21 320i down to around 1850 fueled and ready to go. I'm still around at 2150 or so with the 320/6, lots of metal and interior to remove still.

[328ischef]

Ah okay I have a Miller 140 and it does a great job with things thicker than .125

What is the science behind this welding technique? It seems like you are re-creating the wheel or something. Remember, "Necessity is the mother of invention", but it seems like she may be on vacation during this innovation.

The Alfa is NUTS! BEAUTIFUL car and the nicest paint scheme I've come across. When my boss tore out of the driveway, it made the sweeeeetest noises Ive ever heard

[Keaton]

have you thought about making a box to put around your carbs and an air scoop in the front to make an "ram air" setup
in theory could give you a little more mid and top end if the box is sealed. it would be interesting to see MAP sensor data if you built a box

[///M3Augy]

I love this build and I love what you have done with the car. Keep it up!

[bmw1602.com]

have you thought about making a box to put around your carbs and an air scoop in the front to make an "ram air" setup
in theory could give you a little more mid and top end if the box is sealed. it would be interesting to see MAP sensor data if you built a box

yes, I will be building an alum. air box for the car. It will have an air scoop behind the grill. We have rules about "air scoops" using bodywork and we can't use the headlight/buckets as air scoops either.

There almost no clearance between the carb and the hood so it will be tricky. So let's see how it works out.

[Keaton]

yes, I will be building an alum. air box for the car. It will have an air scoop behind the grill. We have rules about "air scoops" using bodywork and we can't use the headlight/buckets as air scoops either.

There almost no clearance between the carb and the hood so it will be tricky. So let's see how it works out.

what about cutting the front air dam next to the headlight, that big space between the radiator and head light. (i dont know the rules)

[WillDV]

BMW1602 I've never been as impressed with a build as I am with yours. Its easy to have money to buy all the labour and expertise that someone else can provide. Its another thing entirely to DIY and still hang with the guys who didn't. I love the fabrication work, I'm amazed at some of the metal work you've done with what looks like a mallet and a vise. Keep it up man it looks like racing is in the blood.

RIP Ratzenberger and Senna.

[bmw1602.com]

what about cutting the front air dam next to the headlight, that big space between the radiator and head light. (i dont know the rules)

I'll try to get creative and stay within the rules.....so much to do before I start worrying about that.

BMW1602 I've never been as impressed with a build as I am with yours. Its easy to have money to buy all the labour and expertise that someone else can provide. Its another thing entirely to DIY and still hang with the guys who didn't. I love the fabrication work, I'm amazed at some of the metal work you've done with what looks like a mallet and a vise. Keep it up man it looks like racing is in the blood.

RIP Ratzenberger and Senna.

Wow Thank you for the kind words....helps keep me motivated all these years...

I have a small break at work and I'm hoping to get alot done in the next 2 weeks....

....so much to do I, I have to really get my ass in gear and start working....sometimes keeping working on big projects like this is hard.

that said my project looks like a walk in the park when compared to what this kid is doing in his garage.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3277830&page=1 (spend some time on THAT thread!)

The next goals is to get to a point where I can start working on the motor.

On list ,
-Weld firewall holes and tube holes shut and seal the firewall.
-Fabricate and install rear "firewall". (alum. or steel I dunno yet)
-Position and fabricate pedal mounts.
-Install Master cylinders and install brake lines.

**major milestone**get brakes operational!***

Then If I'm really lucky to finish all that, start working on the new dash fabrication and gauge positioning.

Oh yeah.....paint the engine bay.....paint all the new tubes inside the car.....

I have 2 weeks....lets see......


and here are some pics of the reason I haven't been working on the car.......

The only bad thing about working with movies and cutting edge technology is that your working with all this cool stuff and all these cool projects that you have to keep quiet about....so this is about all i can show....

To say I'm excited about what I'm doing is an understatement. Especially in this economy, I just happy to have a paycheck! Also, it's nice to have some funds to be able to complete the car......




me on the left on a pre-production prep day....and yes that a rally car






me trying to figure out what does what on our Avid DS system.



Like my co-worker says " I'm just a monkey in a spaceship, pushing buttons. " eventually I figure out what I'm doing!

Pretty much sums up how I learn things......

[PEI330Ci]

Wow!!!

That head/tripod is worth more than ALL of my stills gear combined.

Lucky bugger....

Now I understand the comment about "light" at my shop.

[WillDV]

soooo Camera.... Pooltable.... I've GOT IT!! You're filming a porno!!!

[clopez95m3]

Wait a sec -

Judging by the pin hole in the center of each puddle, are you holding the trigger, then letting go, then starting again? The foot of the weld puddle in each of those spots is terribly cold and I worry your penetration is non-existent!

It's called the toe of the weld but you were close with the foot reference.
I agree that in particular that section of that weld doesn't look so hot (get it it's a cold weld, not so hot, nevermind). The rest of the weld looked OK to me.

Nice job with the fabrication stuff, keep up the good work. Also good luck with the engine re-build.

Cheers,
Carlos.

[bmw1602.com]

soooo Camera.... Pooltable.... I've GOT IT!! You're filming a porno!!!

Hahahaha....great guess!

Unfortunately not true.



Well, I haven't done as much as I wanted but I finally welded up my firewall......



and fabricated the "taco" gussets for the door bars.

Started with a poster board template and ended up with my 4 gussets, The lines are reference lines for bending. I was debating adding a dimple (I have the die) but decided not to.



There are many ways to do this but this is how I did it. Pure brute force.

Custom "hand formed"







nice and symmetrical bend, it sits flat on the table.........



Hammer it gently into place to check fitment,




and ta-da!! Perfect gapless fitment.

Ready to tack weld and then do final welding.

[bmw1602.com]

Since I'm not in a rush I decided to tig the gussets. Also hoping I could lay down some nice looking beads since this is a highly visible area.

Tig is great for welding thin matrial like the gusset (16ga) to thick materials (like the tubing) since you can really control the arc and where you apply the most heat.

First I adjusted the contour on the gussets to ensure a near gapless fit. Next I secured in place with clamps and tacked it in.






Me getting ready to spark it up, finding a comfortable position is 80% of getting a good tig weld. When I did this one I was very comfortable and got a good bead. In another where I had a hard time finding a good position the bead came out like crap.

But every gusset I do my weldds get better, which is why I'm doing the driver door last!







moving up the tube...



about halfway



one down, 3 more to go.......fixturing the second one....





second one....a bit better....



macro closeup.....not perfect but not horrible either......especially considering the weird positions.....

[328ischef]

great looking Gusset template! Isnt it nice when things turns out the way they should!?! Keep it up!!!

[dm53]

After seeing some this on some other build threads I'm really surprised I didn't think of this before!

Basically just a tube that's connected to the cage so you can jack the car up from one centralized point and get both wheels in the air at the same time. Which is great for enduro pit stops ala Nascar style or just convenient so I can place both jack stands at the same time.

I would of liked to have placed it a bit closer to the middle of the rocker but there was some things in the way (maybe side exit exhaust). The bigger issue was also the sill tube bends out and the jack tube would not of lined up. In the end my location works perfect.

Would of been sweet to have air jacks but.......yeah right!

Was simple cut the hole with the hole saw - then slide the tube to mar the trim point - then cut a notch.......done.



after the notch was cut.......



testing with the jack........



I might weld a plate to the end of the tube...






Nothing like some cold beer to celebrate the end of cage fabrication !!!!



Bottoms up! ......yeah it was freakin' hot in the valley.....it's always hot there.....

Alo Pedro,
Boa ideia! I think I'll add that to the Mini.
Just finished building my own shop for the Mini, lift included.
Really nice to have my own space to work on the car.
Reading your threads makes want to get a welding machine now. What would you recommend?
From what I remember from the welding class I had in school, Tig & mig were my favorite. Actually did some nice welds in class.
Just now finishing my new all stainless exhaust system on the Mini.
Let me know if you if you ever come to Bayou country.
Ate' mais,
Steve

[neverlift]

Wow, this competes with jmitro on thread detail. Unbelievably good documentation of this build. Even though my project is an e36, I can apply much of what you have done to mine. I am sure I speak for everyone in the middle of a project like this, thank you!

[KraZm3]

WOW Pedro I never looked at your entire thread. It took my literally like an hour just to go through your pics. Your one talented Brazilian.

[bmw1602.com]

Alright......Happy birthday to me!

When to Ireland engeneering on my birthday to pick up some much needed parts......

this is just pure car porn to me.....


11.5:1 Compression 90mm bore by Ireland Engineering.





Closeup of the business end......




Deves piston rings.....same as they use in all their race engines for many years.........




Also.....

Got all my Willwood Master cylinders

Clutch 3/4" bore
Rear brakes 3/16 bore
Front brakes I forget.....

Also got remote balace adjuster knob....





Oh yeah got a new (to me) camera, Nikon D100. Expect much better pics from now on.......full photo shoots to come.....

[Keaton]

you probably already know this but, smooth out those sharp edges on the piston valve reliefs.