My name is Dalton and I am 13 years old- my father is "trackz man". I guess this is where I need to start a thread. I love working on cars and since I have 5 Oldsmobiles I thought this would be a great place to start.
My dad and I are constantly working on our "Olds". We are going to need to purchase a welder soon as we need some panels replaced. We have lots of time to learn welding. The question is.. we need to purchase a welder that is not too expensive to use for sheet metal work. I know that welding can be a art-but will learn Also, my dad and I are getting our 1963 Starfire ready for the OCA National meet in Reno this July. Is it okay to drive the Starfire down even tho the body needs lots of work?
I would rather be working on the cars than playing video games...Dalton

 

Dalton: WELCOME TO CO, YOUNGIN'! Boy, 13, and wanting to learn to weld, and work on Oldsmobile's! Glad to see your interest in the Hobby, and YES! Bring your '63 Starfire to the OCA Nationals in Reno in July. Enter it for judging, and hopefully you can learn the finer parts of things that need to be done to bring it closer to being a "Best of Class" winner! Once again, welcome to CO! Hope to get to meet you in Reno, we'll be driving the CCRider, a '92 Custom Cruiser, from Dallas. Look me up on the Show Field.
Aron C. Nance
Dallas, TX

 

Do you really think it will be okay to drive the 63 Starfire down to OCA and enter it even tho it needs lots of body work? I will get some pics posted after the snow melts off of it.

 

Its really cool that you like to work with your dad on cars. Beats video games any day. I'm with Arron on this one. Bring it on, works in progress are always interesting and you might just meet the guy who has the parts you need.

 

Your are right.... real life is much more fun. Welcome to the club kiddo.

When you buy a welder buy a quality one even if you have to buy used. Stay away from the elcheapo Harbor freight / Ebay made in China crap.

Once you get it practice practice practice.

 

Dalton, it's kids like you that give me hope! I know a lot of people are welding body panels with MIG welders+shielding gas. You can get a good one for $500 or so. TIG is the way to go with body work, but it's very expensive and more difficult to learn than MIG.

 

Welcome to the site. Bring the 63 and have fun.
If you buy quality tools now, you will save the need to replace them in a couple of years when you get better at cars. A MIG is a good all around welder.
I have a Miller DVI which I really like. It is 10X better than the cheap unit I had before. It is expensive and perhaps unthinkable to buy one new at 13, but maby if you keep your eyes on the used market you can find a quality welder for sale locally.
Perhaps you can talk your Dad into co-owning a welder, which of course, can help you stretch your welding dollars.
13 is also a good age to get out and earn some money to put toward your tools/car. Knock on some doors, cut some lawns, rake leaves, shovel snow, etc.

 

Thanks guys for all of the encouragement. This gives me a much stronger desire to get the Starfire drivable by OCA. My dad and I will co-own a welder and make our welding dollars stretch. Currently, I am selling fish fossils and Baltic Sea Amber jewelery to raise money for my Oldsmobile restorations. We are reading many other posts on welders and going to use the advise of classicolds posts to make a decision. I have never seen any pictures of projects at OCA nationals before. Any more recommendations before OCA???

 

Welcome aboard.

X2 I'm with Richard. Buy the best tools you can and they should last you a Long time.

Please post sum pics of your car.

 

Hello, again thank-you for all the inspiration! Please click on this link to view my facebook pictures of my Oldsmobile Starfire, and also my other projects. I have all of my cars uploaded and over 80 altogether pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id...8548&aid=15829
-Doug and Dalton
Looking forward to seeing you all at OCA in Reno!