Here I have decided to save as much of the original outer rocker section as I can. It looks simple to make, but it is not. The bend radii, distances, and curvature have to be just right or it will not fit.
Only the bottom part was rusted out; repairing this segment is much easier than re-making the whole panel section:
Now I am starting to rough in this larger repair panel:
Here I am making the flange on this repair panel where it mates up with JW’s piece:
Starting to take some measurements. This sits out too far:
This curve needs to be sharper, to make this panel sit back farther:
Not so easy to do. I hate to cut into Johnny’s fine panel, but I have no choice:
With that lower corner segment removed, I can use the shrinker & stretcher on the flanges that remain, and massage this piece to fit my car:
I used the old door to check the alignment of the guide:
Sketching the cut out for the guide:
Getting there:
The mounts for the guide had to be pulled forward and angled up a bit. This was a pain in the butt to do. This pic only shows it partly done, I finished it up better than this.
Now I’m finally fitting up both panels:
I’m welding on some backer strips. The gaps are there to allow for some panel clamps to hold the panel on flush while I weld it back on the car:
The set back of JW’s panel flange was just a bit too deep, so I cut the whole thing off and made a new one:
Here is the slightly modified panel ready to install. I added a small tab inside, above the guide cut out, to push the panel out slightly and make it fit up to the guide better. Below the guide cut out, I added another to prevent the screws from being dropped down inside the rocker panel:
Finally ready to weld it in place:
Followed by the big one:
Again, I am missing a picture of this area finished metal working. I’ll add it later.