Derek

I second most of what has been said. It boils down to what you what you want to (or can) spend. I would recommend you stay away from flux core machines or at least make sure you can convert it to gas shield. I did this with a small Lincoln 110v which I used and still keep for its portability. It works works quite well. While gas is one more variable, it is actually easier to make pretty welds with gas shielding. Welding with flux core means more swearing and more grinding. I did buy an older Millermatic 180 off of Craigslist a while ago and love it. It was a great find at $500. Please note that the operating amperage of welders has become more and more exaggerated. For example, my Miller 180 has an almost continuous duty cycle at 180 amps. Many newer welders may advertise 180 amps, but have a much shorter duty cycle, which means you can only weld for a brief period of time before stopping and letting the machine cool. This may not be much of a problem considering what you are doing. My old Miller, however, is a beast. It's heavy as hell and huge. The newer inverter based welders are reliable, small, and light. This allows them to be fairly portable. It's a a great plus to be able to bring your welder to the job instead of having to bring the job to your welder. I need my engine hoist and a pickup to bring my welder to another garage. If you can swing it, do 220. Many 220 models will run either 110 or 220, giving you great flexibility. It is true that the 110 will satisfy for most automotive work, especially for sheet metal/unibody cares like the '02. However, once you start using it a lot, you will find more and more uses. You will start scrounging for scrap steel an finding new projects. I keep a pile of bed frame angle iron in may garage that was all from the dump or the side of the road. Once you can cut and weld steel, a world of fabrication possibilities opens up. I would STRONGLY recommend you stick with the big name brands; Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, etc. . . I use Harbor Freight for a lot of stuff but would never buy a welder from them. If you do go used on an older machine do some quick research to make sure that parts and consumables are readily available. You will be replacing things like tips, nozzles, drive wheels and wire sleeves. If you are new to welding you will be going through quite a few tips and nozzles. If you can find someone with experience to bring along to look at a used machine, all the better. (It's common knowledge that welders will do almost anything for a case of beer, so bribe accordingly). Not to violate my 'big name rule' but you might want to check out Eastwood stuff. I cannot speak to their reliability at all of the price point looks to fit your bill. http://www.eastwood.com/welders.html Finally, give some thought to a MIG that is spool gun compatible (which allows you to use aluminum wire) or a TIG machine. While a TIG machine is certainly a bit tougher to learn, I would argue that it is no harder to learn to make a strong and PRETTY weld with a TIG than a MIG. As a teen i learned to weld with a TIG on aluminum. It's not as hard as some would suggest. TIGs are far more versatile. Basically, buy a small 110 gas MIG if it is only some occasional light metal work but look bigger if you might want to get into more and more fabrication.

Please: Share build info and pictures. Very nice work.

I posted the same question a while back. The main reason I want to do this is to use the rack from the e30 (or e36 or M). Also adds a bit of width to the track. The closest thing I have seen is this thread- which swaps front and rear subframes from an e36: http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,338579/ Are you swapping in an m20? I would be glad to here if you get any advice. Keep me posted if you tackle this project.

Thanks, JohnW: Point taken about the E36 rack. Thing is, if I mount the E30 front subframe, swapping to a E36 or even Z3 rack is easy. Installing these in the 2002 is impossible. It does pain me to drift farther and farther from the stock 2002, but the E30 is very similar in suspension geometry. The 2002 body style was my first car love as a kid. Call it a mid-life crisis, but I have never built a very fast car. This car may have been yours. I can count at least 3 colors- Charmonix, Malaga or Verona, and finally, Tundra. The rust is fairly light. The car has sat for about 10 years.

Thanks for the quick reply and remind me to talk to you about wide body options . . . but that's a ways away. I am open to advice from those that are better fabricators than me, but to mount the CABs I figured that I would weld up a jig that mounts to all the existing brackets, strut towers and the subframe cross (maybe the motor mounts?). Then when the front subframe is in the 2002, mount the jig and locate all brackets. It might make sense to weld up the control arms on the E30 with braces to the sub cross, cut around all mounting brackets and strut tower and just transfer everything to the 2002 and then weld in the brackets and strut tower with some reinforcement. Then grind away the brace welds or buy new wishbones. This should keep all geometry 'close enough' to adjust with camber/toe plates.

This is probably a dumb question. . . I am currently doing a M20 swap into my '73 tii (very unpristine car to start with so no great loss). I'm also installing the E30 rear subframe. Before I send my donor 325 to the scrap yard, is there any use in considering putting the front subframe, along with front steer rack, into the 2002? Obviously the track is wider (~1.5") and all mounts will have to be fabricated - but has anyone looked into this? I would like to do a rack and pinion conversion anyway and this provides a platform with the geometry already dialed in. If it works, it may not be that much more effort than fabricating motor mounts and other goodies to fit the M20 onto the 2002 subframe. Steering aside, is there any benefit/detriment to doing this (assuming it can be done with reasonable fabrication efforts)? Is the one piece control arm in the E30 superior to the control arm/radius rod of the 2002? I appreciate any thoughts and input, Derek

Well, I'm finally about to start stripping down and restoring my '73 tii. Everything is coming off and there is a bit of rust repair and strengthening to do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't too many ugly surprises under the paint. Since I really don't know how solid everything is until I start, I don't want to be stupid about supporting the body only to have it sag and misalign during the long period of time it will take me to clean, cut and weld it all together. . .At least until the rockers are made sound -and yes, I will be duplicating ToddK's square tube rocker job http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,298820/ Garage space rules out a rotisserie. Does any one have helpful advice about where to support the body and constructiong a support frame (perhaps on casters) that will allow some mobility and allow the front and rear sub frames to come in and out and not interfere with repeated fittings of M20 motor and big E30 5 speed? Also, any advice on checking alignment before, during and after sheetmetal restoration? Any suggestions and pictures would be appreciated. Thanks.

I may have posted this question previously. . . Since the resto of my '73 2002 will take many months and I will be stripping, banging, cutting and welding one small area at a time, what is the best way to seal bare metal a spot at a time? I can't see mixing epoxy every time I need to etch/seal a small area. Can I just hit bare metal with a spray can of etching primer and then when the body (or a significant portion) is done in this manner- scuff it and spray with epoxy? Will that impair the adhesion of the epoxy? Help. What's the best strategy to keep my work from rusting before I can complete the metal restoration? I want the excellent sealing and adhesion that epoxy provides. Thanks, Derek