Puma Swede

[xztraz]

Thanks barry
The arch former is good for one time use at least but if doing it in a harder wood it could withstand a lot more beating.
Could have done the whole arch in one piece but only had small pieces of sheet metal. A little welding solves that.

Tig works really well if area is clean. Welding 5-10mm here and there and let it cool of so it won't warp. First piece of panel did warp a little since i welded a bit to much on each spot but nothing that some filler can't mend since the weld warps a little inward.
Also i welded without a pedal and i think it was better since i always find myself using my led foot and give the tig too much power and stuff warps or i make nice holes.

Used strong magnets to hold the pieces edge to edge. Welding the whole seam in one go would warp stuff badly. The weld itself would of course look a lot nicer.

Tip. Don't heat up neodymium magnets too much.

/Michael aka xztraz

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Michael
I thought you would have taken breaks as seaming the whole lot would lead to a lot of heat distortion. I would really like to try TIG welding but not for car body work. It must be great to have access to this if you have any aluminium to weld.
When I weld car bodywork with my MIG I spot it bit by bit taking breaks to allow it to cool and then use a strong light to show any missed welds which I weld up later. The good thing about MIG is it's instant welding without any heat build up. I've never used the magnetic panel holders but I've seen them for sale, when I did the short repair on my rear arch I used mini mole grips on the lip to hold the panel in place.
Keep up the good work :grin:
Barry

 

[xztraz]

I don't think this small TIG can do aluminium since it's only DC. But it can be used as a rude cutter if giving it the beans

Yes car bodywork is maybe not the most ideal place to use a TIG but i prefer it before MIG/MAG since i don't get hot molten metal flying on me. Filling up holes and gaps are a lot easier with MIG/MAG thou.

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Michael
I don't even use a mask. I locate the end of the torch where I want it and close my eyes and just give it a blast. I do have an auto darkening mask but only use it for special occasions. It's a good way of getting an early season suntan
It is easy filling up holes with the MIG but it's a lot of grinding afterwards. After over 30 years of welding I'm used to getting burnt but the worst is getting it in your ears. It sizzles on the wax before it burns inside your ears, then it gives you a sore throat for a few days. After that down your shoes in your instep hurts as well.
Barry

 

[xztraz]

When TIG:ing you kind of need to see what you're doing

My father actually loss his hearing on one ear because MIG welding :/

 

[tuonokid]

I know Michael, it's a bit like gas welding but with electric. After the first time my ears got burnt I learned to use ear defenders and goggles when I was underneath a car but nowadays I 've learned to work above, it's a lot safer!
Barry

 

[xztraz]

Got some color on the arches.

Saw some grinding scratches and need to wet sand a little and one more coat of red tomorrow. Then some 2-K clear coat.

No bumps or weird shapes.

 

[tuonokid]

Looks a nice job Michael, well done.
Barry

 

[xztraz]

Wet sanded and put on another coat of red today. looks good. need to wait a couple of days before clear coat.

Ripped out the fuel tank and got started with rust fixing underneath.
Also new fuel pump

and mounted my restored steering wheel painted red

Used furniture clinic leather restoration kit with polyurethane paint. A lot of sanding and cleaning was involved to get rid of old gunk.

 

[xztraz]

two days of grinding and phosphor acid washing

and some hammerite to start with

Maybe not the prettiest paint job but should keep the rust away.

Remains to spray under body spray and waxoyl like stuff in sills and such.

 

[xztraz]

Sprayed wax based stuff in the beams and under seal in wheel tunnels and underside

Grinded, sandblasted, rust killed and base coated fuel tank. hammerite next up

 

[xztraz]

Fuel tank painted and mounted with new fuel pump.
Exhaust system mounted and readjusted.
Rear bumper mounted.
various other bits and pieces mounted.
Starting to look like a car again

 

[xztraz]

Made the car drivable yesterday. No rear seat for the moment since i'm looking at an ICE installation.
Ordered an android car stereo (2din) see if i can make it fit.
need to put some new speakers in the rear speaker pods and fix up the front door speaker mounts.

 

[xztraz]

Some cleaning and waxing.

Ordered some 8" subs that should be mounted in rear speaker bins

 

[xztraz]

Got my android head unit the other day. 8" jbl gto subs and some sound deadening material.
need to fix a leak on the front part of the exhaust too.

clear coat still waiting. i might adjust the paint color a bit since it turned out a little bit too red. the car itself have a little bit darker shade. hard to see but noticable if picky. there are 5 or 6 different radiant red colors. picking exactly right isn't so easy. But i'll get there. I'll repaint the door handles and fuel filler cap too since those are a bit of shade too.

 

[CherryVimto]

Your Puma looks very nice!

 

[xztraz]

Thank you
A lot left to do but its starting to take shape

 

[xztraz]

New project

Excuse the somewhat shitty photo quality

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

what speakers are you putting in?

 

[xztraz]

8" in the pods are going to be JBL gto804

They should play good in small boxes. they only need 9 liters

I've put in laminated wood as a wall between chambers (screwed, gaps filled with glass fiber filler and sealed with sikaflex like sealer. and I've put in quite a lot of sound killing mat. but I'm not sure if i need to reinforce the sub enclosure even more. quite flexible plastics.

For front I'll use either the existing speaker. Infinity reference or get matching jbl speakers. Im not too shure i like the sound the infinity speakers produce. a bit to harsh sound.

for the rear fill I haven't decided yet. either some crappy 6x9" i already have. or if i get jbl in front i might as well get jbl in the rear bins too.

any suggestions?

First i'll try with a amp for only the 8" subs and the rest on the head unit. if thats too weak i might put in another 4ch amp for the front end rear.

the sub amp is an old budget amp (precision audio hot shots 2x 400w) i would say maybe 2x200w. but it did rock 2x12" subs before and could play loooud. so should be enough for the 2x8" I'll start with that see how it sounds.