There are old, I just randomly decided to post now because I found them in my photobucket account

But yeah, the story goes - I bought some crappy welder on eBay for $150. It's a 100amp Lincoln model called the "Handy Mig" lol. It's a REAL piece of crap, trust me. The gun is permanently affixed to the main unit and cannot be removed. And the entire gun assembly is crap; the gas valve beneath the trigger gets constantly stuck and doesn't release any gas, thus ****ing up my welds in the process.

So between the shitty welder and complete lack of experience, and going by the images I've seen in the "1st time welding" threads, I thought it was going to be a nightmare... But I was pleasantly surprised. It's actually quite easy. Here was my first weld - just getting started:



I actually did one complete pass all the way around, then did a second pass everywhere except where the bolt-hole is. That's why it's thinner by the hole.

And here's another similar union (mild steel flange to ss piping) after I learned that you can get away with dumping massive amounts of heat into the flange:



Here's the charge pipe:




And some random shots:


(uncleaned)

Like I said, these are old pics... I did an EXCELLENT job on the downpipe, I don't know why I didn't get any good shots of that. This is the best I have:



But yeah, overall, welding isn't that bad. Well okay, it was a nightmare, but only because the welder sucks so bad, and the wire likes to get caught in the gun and tangle up into a gigantic cluster**** every two minutes. But the process itself wasn't that bad, especially once I figure out that I had done half the welding with the polarity reversed... Lol. But the pipe-to-flange welds were all a cake-walk. It was the pipe-to-pipe welds that were super difficult, because it's damn near impossible to MIG over even a 1/8" gap. And the SS is surprisingly hard to weld compared to mild (I kept burning holes everywhere and had to fill them).

But yeah, just posting for the hell of it. Here's some other random crap I made, out of sheet metal, after LOTS of welding/grinding. One is a throttle bracket for this manifold:



And the other is a bracket to hang my IAC valve on the firewall:







I guess that's about it. And yes, that BOV flange was for an RFL... Lol. I used to rice pretty hard. I quickly lopped off that flange and added a TiaL BOV to cut back on garnering unwanted LEO attention.

Oh, for those wondering, the engine is the original D16y8, with roughly $18,000 into the engine/drivetrain. I started building it to be the quickest y8 in existence, but unfortunately I dropped an exhaust valve a few months ago and smoked the motor. Haven't pulled the head yet to inspect the damage, but the spark plug is seized, so I'm imagining much carnage... It really sucks because I had over $3,000 of work done to that head. It was extensively modified first by J.G. Engine Dynamics, then I had portwork done by Portflow, then I had valve/C.C. work done by Joe Alaniz... And then I smoked the damn thing before ever tuning it. I got too old/busy to continue dicking with my Honda, so I just ran the 12psi WG spring pressure for like 2 years before it blew. I was in the process of building an extremely high-tech electronic boost/traction control system for it but I just never finished. Anyway, enjoy the random pics!

P.s., a few SUPER random pics, for the road. Here's the aftermath of racing around at 5am while detoxing off of speed and heroin... I hit a curb and my Rota slip shattered. Which I'm DAMN glad it did btw, because it saved my hubs. I'd rather be shot than have to bang off those hubs and press in new bearings/extended studs:




Funny side note... I kept driving after the curb tore off that wheel. It just felt like I bumped the curb. I slowly braked to a stop, then suddenly the car fell onto it's nose and I realized the wheel was gone.

And fyi, I prob won't be rebuilding the engine, as my new username implies. R.I.P. my poor Civie

 

Btw, the welder was $150 + $50 shipping, the 40cf tank (with 3-yr hydrostat) + regulator + flowmeter was another $100. The gas + stainless wire + gloves/tools was maybe another $50. So I did the entire exhaust system + charge piping for only $350... Not bad imo.

 

You sound like a dick who's super proud he wrecked his car while on speed/heroin.

 

+1...

 

I am SO CONFUSED!

 

Was this thread made while on speed/heroin?

 

Brah, you gotta slow down, get off the smack and clean up your workshop.

 

 

This thread...wow. Speed + heroin damage, obliterated rotas, $18k y8, $150 welder.

Seriously, I was gonna say good job, but man. Sometimes it's better to spread your spending a bit more evenly. Maybe a $10k b-series, $2k trans, a $4k backup motor, and a $2k tig welder? You'd be on the road again with better welds, and could potentially weld that rim back together too...

 

 

I would fail nearly all of those welds.

 

This


I'd like to see a pic of the penetration of those welds.

 

fairly easy to make crappy welds. Practice more and 'race' less.

 

LOL at this thread... Same ol' h-t I remember from 5 years ago. Good stuff. And funny that the only thing you guys noticed in a 2-page post were the words "speed and heroin."

*sigh*

Maybe you should have also picked up on the word "detoxing." It meant I was clean. In fact, 7 days clean at the time. Currently 6 months clean.

Oh and thanks for telling me my 1st time welds wouldn't pass inspection... And here I thought I'd pick up a welder for the first time and be a pro!! Rofl.

You guys are exactly why no one respects the import scene, and it's exactly why the entire Honda scene collapsed. Go on an adult car forum and see the user dynamic - it's all positive, supportive, friendly, etc. Making fun of someone who posts... benefits no one. But thanks for reminding me why I'm no longer an active h-t member. Good luck with the builds.

 

No, your attitude in your initial post is what drew the negative responses. Saying welding is "much easier than anticipated" will surely draw fire from the guys in this forum. Many of them have worked years to get where they are today and there are some welders on here that I can safely say are some of the best I've ever seen.

 

Lol, THAT'S your gripe?! Oh my lord, talk about insecurity. I never mentioned anything at all about the welding ability of anyone on this forum. I used to drool over Engloid's fab skills just as much as anyone else. The thread title is in reference to the welds that used to run rampant on this forum, and especially HMT, which everyone colloquially referred to as "birdshit" welds. You know, the "welds" that are simply discontinuous spatters/blobs of metal that don't even seal the pipes, that have to be given a liberal coating of JB weld just to seal in the exhaust gases. I figured my first time I'd be producing similar "birdshit" welds, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get a solid bead going. For a first time project, I actually made better welds than I've seen come from your typical exhaust/muffler shop. And the penetration is fantastic btw. Maybe a TINY bit under in some places, but that's exactly what I wanted, because I didn't want to have anything inside the pipes impeding the exhaust flow. Any weld that had over-penetration I went back on and meticulously ground away the inside weld/slag with a carbide bit (no need to lecture me about grinding welds).

The fact is, it was my first time welding, and the welds were 100% effective. They're aesthetically pleasing where you can see them (from under the hood), and after maybe 3 years of driving, there are zero leaks and zero cracks. You can't ask for more than that from a weld. And I've actually bottomed out severely several times and whacked the wg dumptube, and instead of cracking at the weld, the actual pipe cracked and broke away. The weld held firm.

Stop being butthurt . And don't bother responding, I'm not coming back. Good luck with the whole... Honda scene.