I quoted myself because I realized I had edited my post, but it wouldn't update the thread. Thought of all that yesterday, but got tired of hunting and pecking on my phone!
I say buy a cheap welder. A problem like this will come up again in the future, and its just extremely nice to have around. I got a flux core from Harbor Freight for $90 and its done everything I've asked of it so far. I'm not gonna go cutting and welding frame rails with it or anything, but for patch work its been quite nice to have.
Here are my two cents.. grind it all off smooth , then rivet a small square light steel plate over the holes , then get the lube kit for the inside of the shock towers .. so it looks good painted up and you still solve the lube problem..cheaper too..good luck.
