Re-welding the windshield frame, what gauge steel is the body? Options

[bcaschera]

So... I am going to attempt to re-attach the windshield frame on my teener. The welder i currently have at my disposal is a flux stick welder and im afraid that this thing will just burn holes right through the factory steel. I know that mig is better but this is available to me and it is already a hack job so (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) to get me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) . Any input on this subject will help.

[charliew]

I did a lot of rust repair with a ac stick welder and some with a ac stitch welder attachment but it also required a HUGE amount of grinding and welding. You learn a lot about striking the arc and moving on and off of the edge of the molten metal, you also learn that it's by far the most costly way to do a sheetmetal repair. I've also spent many hours with a torch welding sheetmetal this is a good way to learn about heating sheetmetal and it is formable after it is welded to a degree. I now know tig is the least damaging to the base metal but it needs to be really clean metal. Mig is the welding that almost anyone can learn pretty quickly but the prep and reseal of the weld is what makes the best welds last nomatter how they are done. The damage is with the heat to the base metal beside the weld bead, it gets really brittle. When I was learning I would torche weld a seam in the bottom of a old jeep tub and sometimes a long crack would happen 5 minutes after I finished right through the center or beside the bead. Torch welding puts a LOT of heat in the weld area. Tig has the most confined heat source and the fact you can start hot and cut the heat back is a big advantage in applying heat over the length of the weld.

My old friend that has a fab shop can weld aluminum and stainless and mild steel like a robot. He can also weld sheetmetal great but he hates it because of the contamination and the contortions you usually need to be in to get the job done. He aquired a complete 1942 ford jeep mostly for free. It had most of the driver side, where the shovel and axe grooves are, missing and nearly all of the floor was gone. Everywhere there had been oak in a channel the metal was gone, including the rear panel. It still had the ford name on the rear thats why he wanted it. I spent 370 hours rebuilding the entire body including the seat frames, windshield frame supports under the front fenders and even the glovebox door needed repair. I did it with a mig and .023 wire. All of the sheetmetal was replaced with 16 ga as that was the easiest to get, he had a lot of it left over from other jobs. 16ga new metal is probably 100% easier to weld than 20ga new metal in my opinion.