glad your not painting the bumpers.. too 80's so it looks like your going with a black interior huh? you painting the floor too? i bet you can't wait to finish! either way
Dan, the answer to your question is yes, but with a twist. I'm going to put a piece of 1" to 2" copper behind the two adjoing pieces of sheetmetal. This will do two to things for me. First, it will have the sides to be welded flush with each another and not require the two sides be a perfect match. Second, the copper will help remove some of the heat. Because the weld will not stick to the copper, that will allow a weld, of sorts, to form on the backside of the joint. I.e., the weld will be all the way through and more blended in with the sheetmetal pieces. Another alternative is to weld a 1" wide piece of sheetmetal onto and behind the sheetmetal on the car. Next, is to put the patch panel in place and weld the joint right on the sheetmetal strip. Then, you weld the strip to the patch from behind. That would be the strongest joint and can only work in places where you have easy access to both sides of the patch panel. Of course, there is always the option of cutting the patch panel piece long and flanging it. For it not to become a rust harbor, it would need to be welded up completely on the backside as well. Derrick, the previous owner made some repairs to the floor and when he was finished, he sprayed it with bedliner. It is already black. The orange you see by the door entry will be painted bopdy color. When finished, there will no evidence that the car was ever Orange from the factory.
