Oxy-acetylene welding is kind of a lost art. I'm willing to bet there are some guys out there that don't even know you can oxy-acet. weld.
I had a teacher in high school that drilled us on it. He made us practice on 20 guage sheet metal. I was one of the few that was actuall good at it.
My uncle used to weld exhaust pipes on with oxy-acet. in his shop. No mig or stick welder to be found.
Anyway, to answer the original posters question. I'm partial to the old Lincoln AC 225 stick weld units. They've been tried and trued over the years.
I've used a Hobart 140 mig in the past, which is the same as the Lincoln 140. They worked amazingly well. For heavier steel welding, they lack a little. The 180 and above is what you would need for any king of frame/chassis welding.
At work they recently bought a Miller Maxstar 150. It's a portable stick welder that can use a 120 or 240 volt source. It does a pretty good job welding uni-strut to I beams. Which surprised me the first time I used it. It works best on a 20 amp circuit, and even better on a 240 ciruit. It's a pricey unit though over $1000. If you need a stick welder that you can carry over your shoulder, it's worth it.
