The inside is always worse:
This side is not as bad as the left. I can see through the access hole that the damage on this side does not extend up so far:
This time I use the grinding disc to start, not the plasma cutter. Just to save myself from doing it twice, since I have a better idea about the extent of the damage that needs to be cut away:
Cutting the spot welds along the lower frame rail flange finally cuts this piece free:
Again, thankfully, very little rust on the inside:
Here I have trimmed away another 1/2 inch of the inner wheel house metal. Just to satisfy myself that there is only surface rust and scale between these pieces. Because of this, I do not have to cut the outer frame rail panel all the way to the top.
They are not welded together inside this structure, only on the engine bay side. This also gets the thin inner wheel house metal out of my way, so I can clean the frame rail pieces up for priming and welding:
Now, however, I have a hole on the right side, and not on the left. The simple answer is to weld a cover over this one:
Next, the frame rail repair piece is welded in:
Now to rebuild the outer structure:
Almost done:
Ready to do the last few welds:
Next episode; I’ll go back in time (a bit) to fill in some gaps.