Once everything was positioned and shimmed into place, I doubled checked the alignment.... because I was getting ready to weld this baby in for good.
For you MIG lovers, welding out of position upside down. (TIP: reduce wire speed 25% and increase heat to the next level above the metal that is being welded. On the up-right start at top and go down and pause every 2 beads just enough time to let the red fade before starting next 2 beads down. On the over head, use a skip back pattern after burning in each bead. On the over head you will need to speed up and keep an eye on the melted pool so it does not get to big and sag or drip). This shot of the weld shows it after it was just been wiped down, I used an Anti-Spatter spray prior to welding. As a side note, Dave and I made a game plan to try and meet a race deadline... and one of the areas to save time was to use the MIG process as much as possible. It can be 3 to 5 times faster to MIG over TIG for some welding projects.