Old Clarke 165. Any Good For Car Repairs

[£20 clarke 165]

Hi, I have just joined, and am very new to the world of welding, I have done various bits and pieces over the years.

A few years back I bought a used Clarke 165 from a local farmer who upgraded to a sip 250? Ok, it cost £20 to buy but by the time that i bought a new torch? regulator, earth cable and clamp and got a gas bottle (pub gas) it really wasn't that cheap!

I am just about to teach my self to weld better with a mini cooper project and some of the work will be fairly involved. will this welder be suitable for welding automotive thickness panels or am I going to need something different?

Also what size of wire is best for this? I have 0.6mm and 0.8mm lying going rusty so i need to buy some more anway.

Since the mini will be for the wife, that should allow me a welding budget!!

Any help would be very appreciated

Andy

 

[shenion]

For bodywork, 0.6mm will be best. The 165 should do fine. probably better that the SIP that replaced it.

 

[£20 clarke 165]

Thanks, I have only really used this welder to botch up exhaust pipes and similar, I have never needed to do anything neat that will be seen.

So when i try to cut out the A post on a 1994 mini and weld in a new one I can't blame the welder for it being squint or falling off when I go over a bump? lol

Cheers

Andy