lol … yeah, I’d pass on that method too. But a rivet/glue method might be nearly as good as a weld for sheet metal. Common commercial jet airplanes, 737’s and the like, their panels aren’t welded. Glue provides the main bond, rivets provide some add’l strength and hold the two overlapping panels together while the glue sets.
Yes the welder is more difficult then expected, I will practice with it when I have more time.
In the mean time I have been pressuring washing the dirt off the undercarriage, wire-brushing rust and coating with landolin (fluid film). I have been paint brushing it on all the major rust areas, I purchased a spray gun as well but I cant get it to spray out (too thick) so a brush will have to do which is unfortunate.
For a current fix I intend to use some thinner metal sheeting (think tin roof type metal) to cover the hole, I ordered some metal glue and rivet gun to attach the metal sheeting.
Lastly the damage is not as bad as I initially thought, I had the impression that the bracket I mentioned earlier on was critical to support the bay that holds the axle, but from what I could gain its mostly to provide support to the rocker panel.
I’ll shut up but if you ordered a rocker panel patch panel that would give you a pre formed patch half of what you need. Then you can glue it, pop rivet, it or whatever. Save a lot of aggravation. And you need to treat the rust first. You’ll need to over lap on the dog leg and the wheel well. You can use that welder at least for the spot welds on the pinch welds. If you are just going to do the skin, you have a chance but this is a heck of a first project to learn on.
Rocker panels are readily available for under $100. You can cut the section you need and add the lager piece to it. Now I did butt weld sheet metal with an arc welder. Low heat and careful. You can fit everything on the ground and weld the pieces together, then attach. Roofing sheet metal is too thin.
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Many years ago, we had a neighbor who “repaired” the rust damage to his '56 Oldsmobile’s rear fenders by bolting sheet metal scraps onto the car. He claimed that, after hitting it with a rattle can a few times, “you couldn’t see the repairs”. Yeah… maybe from 300 feet away…
How hard is it to start the arc with that thing? Down at 30 Amps on an AC stick welder it takes many tries.
You would have to take multiple passes to build up enough metal on the parts to be welded first before attempting to join them. A full cleaning of slag with the chipping hammer and wire brush is needed each time. The slag will not form in a smooth layer as it does with higher current stick welds, so it will not chip off properly. The next pass will be a slag inclusion.
This is why no slag welding such as MIG or TIG or brazing is used on these types of things.
I tried different amps on it, a lot of the times I tried it the rod would stick to the metal and Id have to unclamp the rod. Ive been so busy I havent had time to play with it, ill need to set aside time to read all the reviews of others experiences getting it to work good, and do some tests.
I also want to verify the amps I got at the house, and if the cables I am using are sufficient. Many are mentioning 20 amp’s are necessary, we got 20 amp outlets but im not sure if the wiring is actually 20 amp or 15 amp and the 20 amp outlet just being installed because thats what we had avaible … also the extension cord I have may be rated for only 15 and not 20 amps. I ordered a 20 amp cable but the connector is not compatible.
Either way priority is fixing up the car, will play around with welder later for future projects. Metal glue / Rivets should be fine for the car siding
You can’t weld sheet metal with a stick/arc welder.
Period!
Tester
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My buddy had a 1969 Fiat 850 sedan. It was rusted so badly the body would flex and the doors would fly open. He jacked it up and fiberglassed 2x4’s in where the rocker panels used to be. From then on we didn’t have to hold on to the doors, to keep them from flying open, while going down the highway.
Stupid? YES!!!
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Not sure why there is so much discussion about welding fuel tanks. This car has a plastic tank.
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Well, now I know why it’s so hard to strike a spark… L 
L
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In the woods, a few miles from my home, there is a 70s-era Fiat forever trapped in the woods. Apparently, the farm owners abandoned it in back of their farmhouse just before their property became part of a State Park. Then, the trees began to grow around it, and it is now forever a part of that park.
But–inexplicably–the body of that Fiat is not badly rusted, even though it has been exposed to the elements for many decades. The windows succumbed to target practice long ago, but–somehow–the body survives without significant rust. This is the best pic that I could find.
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Plastic fuel tank, plastic fuel lines, arc welding and beer. Independance Day weekend part II.
Plastic fuel line quick connect.
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This is how that repair is done. You need a TIG to do it properly, it would probably be cheaper to have it done at a good body shop.
If the rear axle mount is not structurally safe due to rust, then the car is a total, it is not safe nor will ever be safe to drive. But if it is good, then the repair can be done.
Or a MIG.
Tester
Learning curve on a MIG for thin sheet metal is a lot longer than for a TIG.
No it’s not.
You just need to know how to adjust the welder.
Everybody I’ve taught has had a harder time learning how to TIG weld than MIG weld.
Tester
At my last job, we made distribution transformers like the round gray ones on the poles and the small to large green boxes use where poles are not desired. Just about every welder we had took a much longer time mastering Mig over TIG.
Transformers have to be water (oil) tight, the seams cannot leak and must last for 30 years. It was actually easier for the welders doing the large three phase boxes because the metal was thicker (7ga) vs the 14 ga on the smaller pole transformers. Actually the poles were welded with machines but often needed a touch up by a human.
The welders had to learn MIG because TIG simply took too long to weld a seam though repairs were often done with TIG because it was easier to make it look good.
That is my experience.
Edit: we also found out that is was far easier to teach a person to MIG weld the seams on the single phase pad mount (10ga) than a million dollar robot.
Unlike MIG welding where you just point the gun and pull the trigger and the wire feeds out and creates an arc, I told the people I trained that TIG welding is like playing the drums.
Your two hands and your foot are going to be doing three different things at the same time.
One hand guides the torch, the other hand feeds the filler rod, and your foot regulates the control pedal.
Some people just can’t play the drums!
Tester
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Heat is your enemy. With a mig you do spots about one inch apart and cooling them as you go to avoid warping the metal. I don’t know how you would do this with tig torch. Maybe but most home owners are not going to have tig or a plasma cutter that would be nice too. I suppose a spot welder would be nice too.
As far as body shops, everyone is short on staff and far behind these days. I talked to one shop about maybe doing the rocker cutting and tacking and I’d finish it up. No way Charlie would they even consider rocker work. And I pay cash cash. He referred his neighbor to another shop that would do rockers on his pick up truck, and the bill was over $5000 for the short rockers.
So in reality, ya either do it yourself or with friends and relatives, or trade cars. My experience anyway.