Made progress on the inner fender. I’m waiting on a few parts I had laser cut to make a suspension pan jig so I figured I’d do this first.
I cut out the rusted area as well as the area that the bumper bracket mounted to. Grinding down those spot welds would have been an huge pain, so I just replaced the whole area. I tried to find the best spot for the cut to allow me to access/grind/finish the welded seam. It’s going to be a pain up top but seems like I have enough room. I didn’t remove the fender yet as I want to keep the front end together and rigid until I replace the suspension pan.
Drilling out the spot welds on the inner support was so much easier than the spot welds on the bumper mount. I was happy to see that the plate behind the inner fender looked new. I expect to find more rust as I dig in but not this time!
I lined up the cut piece with the new panel from Restoration Design and fixed it with a couple self tapping screws. I then scribed a line 1.5mm(ish) from the edge and cut. Somehow the panel is perfect top to bottom but too short front to back. The old ‘measure once and cut twice’ trick… It will take a little more work, but will be fine.
Lastly, I painted the hidden surfaces with weld through zinc primer and tacked it in place. Next up will be TIGing it all up, grinding/finishing the welds.
Feels good to finally get over cutting into the car. I little terrifying at first.
