The passenger side fender was in a bit better shape. I got them both cleaned up as much as practical and gave them a dousing with lanolin for storage.
With the fenders off, I was able to see the extent of the rust around the base of the roll bar. I was initially very concerned about how to fix this, and I think it'll be one of the more complicated parts, but I now have a plan.
I took the 7" wire wheel to all the undercoating and rock guard on the inner fenders, treated with Ospho, removed any remaining surface rust and coated for later work. I also welded in some bracing for the roll bar before pulling off the fenders.
While stripping away all the various layers of paint, adhesive, rock guard, and sound deadening, I found some more brazing, fiberglass and bondo. I was already planning to replace that whole section, but it is amazing to see what can be hidden and how critical it is to strip everything away.
The real sense of accomplishment came from finally removing the piece that lead down this road. It turns out that one end was so rusted that it was no longer attached at all to the outer layer of steel - where the reinforcements and connection to spring plates are! I'm glad I test drove it on the old tires, so that I wasn't attempting any serious cornering.
Next step will be to strip the rear seats and engine bay. I'm hoping at that point I'll be confident enough in my sheet metal shopping cart to place the (massive) order.