hi lads, nice work on the mini, I have a sneaking suspicion its gonna be a tad faster than my 998 which only has around 50 fairly strong Shetland ponies under the bonnet . But what I'd love to know is what mig welder your using as I'm thinking of upgrading from my wee Clarke mig and I reckon your the boys to be asking on what to go for, so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Anyways, keep up the good work, it'll be a cracker wee car when it's finished.
I have a used Italian Made Harbor Freight Mig Welder. I'm in the US, it is a 220 V. Single Phase 180 Amp unit. It welds decent. Down side is the duty cycle is TINY, if you do any serious welding you'll hit the limits of the duty cycle pretty quick.
Whatever you buy, I'd definitely get one that puts out at least 180 Amps. The little 140 Amp units are great for sheet metal work but that's about it, don't believe the claims that they can weld 1/4" or 6mm in a single pass.
That being said, two friends have Miller 211 welders. They are a dream to weld with, they will weld 3/8 inch (10 mm) in a single pass, have a good duty cycle for the hobbyist and with modern electronics they start and arc very nicely. The really nice thing about being able to weld 10 mm in a single pass is that you can weld some really heavy material without preheating. If I had 1000 USD laying around I'd definitely buy one.
Thanks for your help guys, I decided to get rid of the pretty crappy torch on my Clarke welder and did a euro torch conversion, plus fitting a heavier earth cable which is way better than the shoestring that's fitted as standard. The result is a much improved welder, more stable consistent weld entirely, with a smoother wire feed as well, I'd recommend the conversion to anyone in the same position, bit of work involved to fit it properly but worth it in my opinion. Long term I'll be looking for a bigger welder, maybe an Oxford or something similar but I'll keep welding on my own mini with the Clarke 151 for a while longer.
By the way, I think it's great that everyone gets involved in the BOM forums, I think we all share the similar interests of seeing binky develop etc, and it definitely keeps me motivated to push on with my own projects
. But what I'd love to know is what mig welder your using as I'm thinking of upgrading from my wee Clarke mig and I reckon your the boys to be asking on what to go for, so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Anyways, keep up the good work, it'll be a cracker wee car when it's finished. 
