This was a needed confidence builder. Up till now most repairs are where they won't be seen but now time to jump into the deep end and see if I sink or swim.
end of horizontal closing panel replaced and connected to the rear wing attachment flange. This establishes the bottom corner. some of the rust damage has been removed.
Starting to form the repair panel. slow going continuing to plan how the repair goes.
Remaining rust damage has been removed.
2 piece repair panel before tacking in place
inside of repair showing 2 pieces welded together. I welded the two together now because it is easier to weld and planish the weld.
Repair panel in place ready to tack in place. It took longer to tack the repair in place carefully making sure the panel and repair were flush, than it did to weld it up. One thing to note that the repair is not a straight line horizontally. The curved weld line was done to help prevent warpage and it worked as planned.
This is the repair after welding and planishing. The weld shrank a little and that can not be avoided but as long as it is not warped the weld can easily be planished and will need only minor sanding.Doing the repair this way is slow but in the end very rewarding. The bumperette tube will be located after the back end is on the chassis. I plan to level the raised plinths on the rear of the valance with the laser and then use the driver side for the reference to locate the passenger side. one step at a time. Frank