'82 far gone?

I went through the process of recommissioning an old welder i got for free.
It would have been better -and- cheaper to just buy new.
Most all of my supplies i get from Eastwood. Wouldn’t hesitate to get a welder from them. Mig is fine. Tig is better. If you get a Mig, be sure to get a gas bottle and not just use flux core, even though it might be temptingly cheaper to do so. 110v can work fine for most auto body work.

Once you know how to lay a bead or two, you’ll start to feel like you can fix anything!
 
I may not be the best welder (ok I know I am not) but look for one with the highest power you can find. I find duty cycle (how long you can weld before heat protection shut down) on happens occasionally as I am too busy with other tasks, and if you weld for that long panels start distorting. But high power means you can get better penetration on thicker metals if you (and you will) branch out to welding thicker pieces. This would include some of the structural pieces around the suspension mounts should they need it.

I got a change to try a much higher power welder from a friendly pro, and it made sooo much difference.

Also get a good trucolour auto darkening mask. They are becoming more readily available and again auto darkening makes learning much easier.
 
Mister said:
I got this $400 X wanting to learn how to weld with it in service of restoring it, but I don't know if I want to spend a ton of time doing that if ultimately the car will never be roadworthy; or if fixing this level of rust is way beyond a beginner's capabilities. Any thoughts? I'm wondering if just taking it apart, and that experience gained, is the most I should shoot for.

I have an '83 in storage in much better shape rust-wise, but it has a small dent in the front fender, and the driver's door doesn't close all the way, seems like some impact affected the frame. I was imagining I could get the frame stretched on that one, and then work on getting it running? I've got one bay in the garage to work in.
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Well......here is my 2 cents worth....

Sorry to say.....but that X looks pretty rough....

I reckon......and doubt that anyone here will argue with this advise.....is that you really need to do a more thorough appraisal of that X before making a decision.

Get it up SAFELY in the air...and crawl under it with a screwdriver in hand. Look carefully where all the suspension attaches. Poke hard with the screwdriver around all the attachment points. Is everything solid ? Look at that main lower chassis member that runs side to side behind the engine. Poke at the vertical part of that on the muffler side. Look -and poke hard - everywhere.

Then pop the rear trunk.....remove the mats/false floor/insulation....to check out the trunk floor.

If all okay so far....yank out the seats and the carpet. Check out the lower part of the spare tire well, and all the floors and inner rockers. Wire brush a bit.....and poke away with the screwdriver again......

Yeah......the rust in the doors and windshield surround and rear quarters can be dealt with - if you have enough time and ambition - that is mostly cosmetic. But.....if you find any serious structural rust with the screwdriver.....think long and hard before proceeding....

Be honest with yourself before diving in too deep on that X. Realize...that even if all goes well.....you will likely be a couple of years of your spare time...and a few $K after also doing brakes/hydraulics/cooling/engine work/clutch/etc/etc.....I would kinda question that if you already have another X in much better shape to start with......
 
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OK, thanks for all of this, I will certainly do those things! These cars are so seductive, so beautiful, it makes me want to go the distance to bring it back, but I do have to value my time. Either way, I'm looking forward to taking it apart; I have never done that, and poking around an X is new to me as well. It will be a couple of weeks until I have the time to really start. If this X ends up just being a parts car, and can be useful for other Exxes, that is a good outcome, too.
 
Good decision. Half the battle is knowing what you expect and being prepared to account for it in the end.
 
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