Evaluate my first welds, please (Page 1 of 2)

I'd drive on that.  TIG or stick, I assume.  I also assume that those are not your first welds - they are your first tube joint welds.

As an aside, that's not the hard part.  You basically had ideal conditions - on a workbench and were able to move the piece around to get to where the weld needed to go.  Your next assignment will be to get the welds behind the dashbar...

Actually, it's mig with gas. I've welded body panels using flux core, but after trying to run a few beads (about 4 inches total) on some 3/16" plate and setting the wire speed, that is my first attempt at welding anything thicker than sheet metal (which incidentally has been plug welds).

Cutting them apart is a good idea-- I'll do that and post results.

Yea, welding upside down sucks. I got pretty good at stitch welding with the flux core on rusty metal, but this gas shielded mig makes it all a ton easier!

Keep the feedback coming and I'll post a few cut-apart pics when I can.

--Spank

edit: yea, the heat is a good point. That's why I posted the blue tube. Not sure how hot/cherry I am supposed to get the tube or not get the tube while welding. My understanding is that when doubling back (or looping back as I did) the weld needs to be hot. If it cools, you need to backtrack some before pushing on to the raw joint.

not my welder-- but as far as I can tell, it's a Weldmark 140 (Says made by hobart) 0.023 wire, 75% Argon 25% CO2 bottle, power is max at #4 position, wire speed is more or less 30 on the position dial. I've moved the wire speed setting a minute amount back and forth if it pops or I start getting hold molten balls running off of it and onto the floor.

Still practicing. Got a certified TIG welder (who also knows his way around a mig) coming by tomorrow to weld as many joints as he can for me in a short amount of time, and also give me some in-person pointers. I still want your feedback, though.

--Spank

Lack of penetration is the biggest problem with home built cages in my non-certified opinion.  It looks like you did a pretty good job by the look of the inside.  A 120vac welder is borderline on welding .120 tubing to .120 tubing so I suggest you buy, borrow, or steal a 220v welder and try again.

I agree, penetration is a major issue....I'm not certified either, but I was trained that proper joint preparation makes the difference...you can weld a battleship with a 110V welder, but you'd need properly vee'd joints grinding between passes and lots of time! Vee out the joints properly and the weld will penetrate through. The beauty of big power is tolerance for poor fit up and one pass welding....in theory if you used sleeved joints and did the prep work right you could braze a strong cage

No shit, what the hell weighs 1300 lbs?

Oh, it's the Mini. I shoulda guessed.

Without destructive testing or scads of x-ray and ultrasonic  equipment, only the welder's (or inspector's) experience will tell.

Spank, if it's a Mini, watch the door latches....a relatively minor hit will cause them to pop..even Mk 2 latches are marginal..also check the floor pan. if you have time, think about reinforcing the "tunnel" and the cross car seat mount box...the shell is stiff...if you weld small gussets between the cage and the a-pillars you improve the hell out of the strength...if you're running a single SU, make sure there's an air cleaner or baffle between it and the instrument cutout...if it backfires through the carb you can ignite the wiring there...and the Smiths mechanical oil pressure gauge is great as a leak source...if it rains, remember to bring a latex glove as a distributor cap cover...good luck out there

You might have to ditch the mechanical oil pressure gauge. We looked into putting one in our car and were told by Jay that they'd prefer that there not be oil lines, even the small one for a gauge, in the cockpit.

Spank, is the image inverted or is it a RHD car? If your seat isn't bolted down, check out the toeboard stamping and the steering rack....you can flip the rack and pedal assembly and go LHD....Issigonis designed the car with export in mind...the odd cowl plugs let you flip the wiper assembly too...If you're stuck with an early "magic wand" box, consider a hook or bungee to hold the stick in place in fourth gear...and the bushings in the "dog bone" are really important! The engine has to have minimal movement or it will jump out of gear for sure....if it's an early car try to get the MK2 twin leading shoe front brakes...Cooper discs are no better. If the brakes are badly rusted DON'T try to adjust the brakes the conventional way the first time...the adjustment bolt will snap...pull the drum, grab the cams with Vise-Grips and break if free first...the square adjusters are butter soft and will strip easily without the square spanner. Can't remember if I mentioned this but if the rear sub is shot, you can cut away the trunk floor and run a bar across the top shock mounts then add cheap coilovers between bar and lower shock mount. Then you cut away the whole sub except the front bar and trailing arm pivots. Also, if you don't have the "official" mixture spanner, think about grinding down a cheap wrench into an open-end stub...speeds adjustment anytime...and think about the viscosity of the carb damper oil....5W might be ideal....I owned four Minis over the years before I decided to bleed over two seater British crapcans...Good for you guys in running a Mini!