Welding

Hi all,
Got some major welding coming up and just wondering what kind of money i should be paying. I've been recommended a welder by my garage but just need an idea of what the work may be worth…

Inside Rear wheel arch
Spare wheel boot well
Near side sill floor
Bulkhead where clutch goes thorugh - already had a repair plate but even that needs replacing

Its lookin pricey but i need to get it done.

Also any ideas on a refurb of my gearbox? price wise.

Cheers

Lewis - Where will the work end!!!??

Hello mk1munky

             A welder is different to to a Restorer , my local garage does welding [mig] and thier MOT standard is to plate over the top of existing rust . This will of course pass the MOT test but looks crap and will last for perhaps a few years if you are lucky .
            Any body on here who restored correctly will tell you to cut out the rot and repair to a good standard will not be cheap . If your welder is expensive ask to see some of his completed work , if you welder is cheap walk away [ unless he's retired and want's something to do ] Good luck with it , have you thought about buying a Mig and having a go yourself ?
Might be the best option and the cheapest

Cheers …….

chudd said

have you thought about buying a Mig and having a go yourself ?
Might be the best option and the cheapest

and you'll know that it's been done how you want it, I know to some people the thought of doing they're own welding is a little daunting but it isn't that difficult and when you get the hang of it, it's very satisfying to know you've done the work yourself..

You might find it better to buy a cheap mig and go on a night class at your local college to learn how to do it yourself.

You never get the attention to detail and effort you would make yourself from a cheap welder and for a proper restorer to do the job you'd be looking at mega-bucks.

The secret with welding is to take your time, don't be afraid to cut away rotten metal (if its rusty its not helping the strength of the car anyway) and don't be afraid to chop out good metal to get in to a tight spot to do a repair properly.

Cheers people.

To be honest i've been looking at courses for when i go back to nottingham for uni. Found a few evening courses that seem worth while and i agree there's nothing better than doin it yourself. I'm a bit of a perfectionist tho, but spose that can only be a good thing for my mk1!

Where would i be able to get a mig from? easily available and what sort of price?

Got a welder coming out on saturday to have a look, so i'll get a price on it first and see if he can show me some examples of other work. Mite get him to do the clutch area cos it's a pain to get to, but as for the arches i mite have a go myself.

Cheers

Lewis

Paid ?140 for My MIG (With gas, think this is the better option for beginners).. gas bottles are around ?7 each and a reel of wire is about the same (can't remember the size of bottle or reel though ops: )

See if your local college do a restoration course as usualy you can take your own car in and work on it using there gear, the initial startup cost when welding is fairly high, say ?150 for the welder and another ?100 for the regulator, gas rental and gas, those little bottles last no time at all and this is a much cheaper way of doing it but if you only plan on doing 1 car you may want to try the college

Chap did my blue one (see pics in new section "fellow mk 1 owners"
paid ?600 for all work and parts included work was as follows rear panel repair both sills replaced, a pillar repair, both rear arches repaired/ new ones fitted, front panel and both tow eyes refabricated plus 6 or 7 other small patches plus two new front wings.. That should give you an idea ..oh and had spare wheel whell done too and primered after.

Hi Mk1 munky, mk1inbits here also in Chester.

Can't quite believe I have just read your post and I am in exactly the same position regarding welding work. Only difference being that I trusted a so called restorer to work on my car and they did nothing but bodge it. My car has now been in the my garage ever since I got it back and I can't bear to finish it because I am not happy with the work they have done. How about this for an example - rear arch repair welded on but curve is all wrong as such the trim won't fit on arrrrggggghhhhh! bodging b@@@@rds. I have thought of all different ways of trying to correct their work from starting again !!! to getting a mobile welder out of yellow pages , to buying a mig and having a go myself and buying a mig seems to be favourite although that then means I've still got to get it painted, I am quite capable in terms of DIY , restored 3 houses etc so I am quite tempted just a bit scared of taking a grinder to my car- perhaps we can meet up to discuss?

Yeh sure, would be good to meet up. Where abouts in Chester are you? Im right in the centre, just by the fountains roundabout if you know it?

The welder picked my car up on saturday, i was gonna call to cancel but they turned up and after a check over he quoted me to 250 - 300 which i thought was fair for the work to be done. Should be back to tomorrow. He was recommended by the VW specialist so im praying he does a good job. Seemed to appreciate my car though for being a mk1 too so fingers crossed.

With regard to doing a course, i figured i haven;t got the time or money to be doing that at the mo. maybe after uni when im freelance but just too much on with a proper job and uni in the balance.

Drop me an email mk1 in chester at lewizkid@hotmail.com or just reply on here.

Cheers.

Lewis

Good luck with the welder MK1 munky  let me know how you get on, what are you doing about the paint ?. I know the roundabout , i live out by sainsburys and work in watergate street by the racecourse

Weldings done, charged 250 for it…spare wheel well, off side rear arch, near side sill and where the clutch goes through the bulkhead. Seems to have been done to a decent standard. Though theyve missed a bit on the front arch, think i forgot to mention it but would have been nice for them to check over. Obviously too much to ask.

Don't have to repaint any of it as it's all hidden. Although i will need to attack the paint bubbles at some point, any ideas what paint to use?

mk1inbits…if you wanna meet up at some point drop me an email. If your car is garaged i could bring mine over. Let me know lewizkid@hotmail.com

mk1mucky, you say you have a few rust bubbles you are going to attack! when and where??any good and reasonable price bodyshop? because I have a red GTI shes mint except for 2 bubbles on the scuttle panel, and dont want to ruin it with patchy jobs on her! as they say Red is hard to match!!!

If you do let me know, because I need someone local around the Northwest! Yep, me from warrington!