I Finally Got One!!!!!!

[Camaro Zach]

I've been looking at this machine too, and I'm wondering if it'll do all I want it to do....with 200 amps, and no water cooler could you do all the normal pro-touring mods on your car? I want to mini-tub, quadra-link, subframe connect, roll cage, and patch panel my 68 camaro....I've read tons of threads here on TIG vs MIG etc...read the entire MillerWelds web site, and I think I want to do TIG, but it seems like the kitten's mittens in TIG is always 250+ amps, and a water cooled torch, which doubles the cost of the machine. $2K is not real easy to swallow, and $4k is almost impossible....is it enough of a machine to do this work?

200 amp machine is plenty for what you want to do. I cannot see you using more than 150 amps max for any of the things you listed that you would like to do to your car. Also you will not have any problems with an air cooled torch on that size of a machine. The only thing that could possibly happen is if you are doing quite a bit of high amperage consistant welding.

Now with that said I think a mig welder would benefit you more than a tig welder. Tig welding is very slow and tedious work. Gaps need to be perfect, metal amazingly clean. I don't know what your welding background is but out of the 3 main welding processes tig welding is by far the difficult to master. Especially on thin sheetmetal IE your patch panels and minitub. The only thing you listed that the average person would want to tig weld would be the rollcage (assuming its mild steel mild steel) the only reason they would want to tig weld it is for the looks. It's not going to be stronger than a good mig weld, just smaller and more uniform.

I know it sounds like you have your heart set on a tig welder but i would really look into a Miller 175 or 210 or a comperable lincoln or hobart machine.

Sorry for the hijack Sicmonte.
Zach