mot due..

[doyle]

bit of advice from the spanners please,

mot due and need to adjust headlamp alignment, parking in front of wall what hieght at what distance is needed

weld in battery weld, was as advisory on last mot, can weld or could weld some 20 odd years ago, what grade metal would be needed and best method of welding it if mig or tig should the earth be claped direct to the battery well and is any precaution needed such as disconnecting battery and what about the device that sets the timming ect?


parking brake, self adjustor tends to let me down and the car at mot, have adjusted previously at parking brake end and at rear end adjustor not sure whether theirs any more slack but the lot mot garage manage somehow to get the self adjustor on wheel end to operate.

lever is around six clicks up so which is the best way to get it to self tighten.

thanks

 

[Ron Gamma]

headlights: place front of car against wall during evening with lights on, make chalk mark in line with centre of headlamp, roll car back about 15 feet and adjust headlamps so that the centre of the light pattern is now about 1" below and 1" left of the original mark. This will give you a good starting point. A decent MOT centre will charge you a small amount to make the final tweaks if needed whislt they have the measuring unit in front of the car.

make sure that any manual height adjusters are set to zero first and that tyres are pumped up and vehicle is not overloaded.

welding: 18 or 20 gauge I think should do it for general panelwork. MIG or TIG is open for debate. I use a single sided spot welder and arc welding as necessary. ALWAYS disconnect the battery and remove it from the car. Remove the connnector block from the alternator to avoid damaging the diodes as a precaution.

handbrake: number of notches depends on vehicle. Old Triumphs work better with more movement to activate the cam on the self-adjusters. Others work with little movement. If you're not sure then try to book a pre-test on the brakes as it will show the efficiency of the system rather than the "feel" of it. If you're not sure then change it beforehand rather than risk the £45 fee for a failure.

 

[doyle]

thanks,
i thought arc might be a bit to strong and burn existing body away rather than it welding it.

any idea on what type of business would sell it in small amounts... i take it it would be mild steel to be used.
thanks
terry

 

[Trazor]

If you go to sheetmetal stockist, they will charge a fortune.
You need to find a local sheetmetal engineering company, they would have what you are looking for in the scrap bin.

If you are repairing the battery tray, use Mild steel..... 2.0 m/m minimum.

Beg / borrow a mig welder, so much easier than arc.

 

[hyscore]

Does'nt matter how many clicks on the parking brake lever as long as you have reserve travel.

 

[^neo^]

Might be worth just getting a new battery tray and welding it in, they're not that expensive. Saves all the cutting / folding and shaping it will probably take doing it out of plate.
I'd go for 2mm as stated above if you go down the route of patching, will be alot easier to weld on. MIG welder is a must unless you're spot on at stick welding

 

[doyle]

thanks guys. will start works on it this week.

 

[al-yeti]

side of old fride nice metal

 

[Trazor]

side of old fride nice metal

The side of your fridge will be too thin, and will probably be zintec, which you do not want to weld, due to the fumes....

 

[doyle]

yes would agree with that, doesnt the fumes contain or produce arsenic or some other highly toxic potion