As usual, this board rocks. Tim's solution was the best because what I did not show previously is that the flap has a small bracket on the back that attaches linkage to the other flaps and is under minor stress. Minor but enough to make the "smush it together" or epoxy fix a probable (quick) failure. I knew that it needed to be welded, just wasn't sure the smartest way. It also needed to be repaired with the whole thing assembled.
Here are the holes:
Here are the linkage rods:
Took it to my guys @ Hollywood Welding. This is where James Dean would have taken any welding work on his bikes or cars, not to mention McQueen, hell, Errol Flynn for that matter. Look at the year on sign:
And done! A good day so far. I managed to also fix the other one which was really mangled. Pretty sure that they will both work. New repros are available but pricy, ~$600 for a set.
