It felt good to get some progress on the tubs and closeout panels.
I also spent some time working the lip around the wheel opening. I know some people with experience don't event do this part, but I decided it would make the car a little stronger and I felt like it would make it easier for me to weld in the tubs.
The RH side went a little smoother because I knew the steps and what to expect.
I mocked up all the filler panels on the RH side and welded them together on the table.
I saved a little bit of time doing this but it really didn’t come out any nicer than the LH side. MIG welding thick pieces to thin pieces that are covered in zinc just isn’t my specialty.
In the end I was more of a grinder than a welder on this job.
I finished the closeout on the LH tub somewhere along the way.
Finally I cut the trunk floor for the cross-member. This was surprisingly more stressful than I thought it would be. I guess because the back of the car was starting to look like a disaster and I was wanting some things to be going back together by now.
I had been throwing all the bits and pieces in a tub and decided to lay them out to take a photo. I ended up drilling all the spots around the outer wheel house to take the old flange off. If I had to do it over again I would not have done that, too much work for almost no benefit. There was no rust or anything in there and it would have been a fine surface to weld to. But looking at all the pieces reminds me of all the time I spend in the trunk !
During the Christmas break I spent a few hours actually planning out what to do next. I decided what order I was going to work in and the best way to get started. I decided I was sick of burning paint and flaming seam sealer. Step 1 would be to get the car ready for media blasting, so that I would have a clean body to weld all the parts back to. I figured the cost was worth it, so I started getting the body, sub-frame and rear axle housing ready for media blasting.
I found a local wrecker company that was used to hauling cars to media blast. The cart came in handy for this part. He did a great job getting it there and back.
