the arch enemy - rust ; )

Now that the rear of the car has been de-rusted and I have still not found a solution to my welding problems - so cannot complete the repairs to the sills and rear valance - I have decided to take the plunge and cut out the rusted wheelarches ready for repair sections. This job is not a big deal from a structural point of view (like the sills) but errors here would be difficult to disguise with paint and filler so I'm going to take my time and measure 10 times then cut. As you can see in the pics I marked out a line where the new panel goes but removing the rusted outer section means the new panel sits closer to the inner wing and therefore the line becomes hidden under the repair panel. When the spotweld pips are removed from the inner wheelarch it will move again. You would be forgiven for not taking this into account before rushing into cutting panels but it re-inforces the measure several times cut once approach. Plan now is the clean area up then cut for inner repair section.

new outer wheelarch repair panel offered-up over original bodywork and marked with yellow pen to establish cut point. panel is only about £15 and dimensions very accurate. restorers of rarer cars don't have these luxuries

from another angle

detail where repair panel meets bottom of rear wing. panel does not include lower part with captive nut. original will need to be retained as welding in a nut not always successful as heat hardens and distorts thread apparently

spot welds drilled out to separate outer wing from inner. this is rear of wheelarch

unable to do this at front of wheelarch as this was flapping lose and nothing to push against

inner wheelarch rot exposed after removal of outer section

same area from above with old parts sitting on axle below