Patnic, try posting here http://mmb.maverick.to/forumdisplay.php?f=4 I believe you should get more answers, when you post in the correct catigory. At the top left you will see "Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet Forums", click thar for the different choices.
I moved you to a thread of your own. Best thing is a mig welder and somebody that know how to use it. You will need to cut out what is bad and weld in some new metal. You can buy a sheet of flat stock steel at any good hardware store and fabricate the metal your self. Since that is a spot on these cars that is normally OK ... you probably could find that section on a donor parts car to cut out and weld into place. Should be an easy transplant and a good learning experiance.
I'd do what acorrnridgeman suggested and find a donor car to cut that section from. It will sure save lots of fabricating time. Welding in place with a wire mig will come next. Take your time and don't try too much welding at once cause you'll warp the steel. If you can't lay down a good seam you might try tack welding all the way around gradually getting them closer to each other. After grinding down, some body filler might finish you up.
WOW ... definitely cut it from a donor ... shouldn't be hard to find that part since they don't generally rust there ... I assume the entire inside of the 1/4 panel and wheel well must be rotted out as well since it looks like lots of water was pouring through that hole. I noticed you are from Georgia ... where abouts?
I would be curious what the rest of the car looks like. I have seen cars up here rusted out in that area...but usually the rest of the car matches!
w/o a doubt, get a donor section and have it welded in. never seen one rust there before and i've had a couple from up north as well
I have a donor car and I'm located in Marietta GA and would be glad to help you out if you do decide to use a patch panel