55 degrees today and most of the day to myself! Before I can prime the body I have to complete the bodywork...the sticking point is the driver side rocker panel which needs to be replaced. I have a Tabco replacement ready but I wasn't sure how easy it would be, despite advice from members who had done it.
I had tried drilling out the factory spot welds but they were too hard to find and I was too impatient. So I drilled a slot and used a Sawzall to cut the seams all the way down. Check out the hidden rust!
All I had to do to find the bottom spot welds was bend the sill down. I then used a die grinder with 3" cut-off wheel to weaken them. Twisting it back and forth a few times and the welds all broke free.
I just continued all the way forward, cutting around the hinge area. I did have to drill out the spot welds there to remove the old sill from underneath.
It was way easier to use the Sawzall to get the seams close and simply grind the remaining bits down. This is after using an angle-grinder to clean everything up.I'm going to try and drill out the top of the door sill though, its too thin to grind. I decided the rear dogleg didn't need replacing despite the inner rust.
Gee, that's scary! I have seen your car up close and never imagined there could be hidden places like that anywhere on the car ("What's a place like you doing in a car like this?").
