Spot Welder & Door Pillar explore

 I wasn't pleased with the look & integrity of the welds and spent the past month debating about whether or not to purchase one. After some on-line research, I found that the Harbor Freight spot welder was a good option. I purchased one wired up a feed and tried it out.

 I was very pleased the welds!!

With the rocker panel weld conundrum resolved it was time to move on the door pillar....

 I began cutting away the rot to expose solid steel and began to formulate a plan of attack for the reconstruction.

Inner Rocker Panel Install

Passenger side prepped for inner rocker panel

 Replacement inner rocker panel trimmed to fit

 The top sections of the existing rocker panel components were still in very good condition. I decided to keep as much of it intact as I was doing the reconstruction.

 Had to cut the inner rocker panel to conform to the old shape

 Final test fit....

 ...and we begin tacking.

Passenger Side Rocker Panel Prep

After removing the outer rocker panels & exposing the inner parts of the fenders,  I found that the passenger side rocker panel assembly was not in as bad a shape as the driver's side.

Though not in great shape there is still enough metal in the rear component to allow the new parts to be spliced to them.

The door pillar area & heater channel will need extensive rebuild & patching.

I began by cutting off the remnents of the convertible reinforcement.

... then the inner rocker panel.

..the front inner fender/door pillar area....

...the rear inner fender area....

Nose Panel Arrives

So here's the front end as it sat after primer...

...here's the new nose panel. 

Test fitting the panel over the existing nose section. I had assumed the panel would be large enough to cover the whole nose from the lid to the bottom of the skirt, but I was wrong. 

There was a panel that was in the car when I bought it. After some research I found that the panel is the bottom panel of the nose section.
I clamped it up to the upper nose panel to make sure it fit.

I temp mounted the assembly over the existing nose.

Some more exploratory cutting to expose the structure of the body and the extent of the corrosion/rust.  

The inner skirt is shot and needs to replaced. I was going to repair it but I can buy a replacement panel for much less money than what time & effort ...so it goes on the list.  

Grinding Day(s) cont'd...

Day two of the exterior paint removal process. The remainder of the paint on the nose was removed.

I went over the bare metal with 80 grit to smooth it out.

I'd like to just clear coat it and leave it shiny!

I hit all of the small rust pit areas with rust converter...waited for it to dry and...

...then primed all of that beautiful steel w/ etching primer.

Ready for more de-contruction...passenger side rocker panel & nose rebuild are next.