Well, finished it. It a'int pretty but does seem functional. I want to thank all who submitted ideas and recommendations. They were all very helpful.
I ended up removing all the rust via grinder, acid and sandblaster (those $25 Harbor Freight dealies work surprisingly well). Got some blasting media at the local Home Despot (Lowe's out here).
So, continuing on from the previous pic's in this thread, I make a cardboard mockup of the sheet metal parts I was going to make:
[[See attachment "Mockup"]]
I then proceeded to transfer them to an old computer case:
[[See attachment "Template"]]
Cut them out with a hacksaw blade on my reciprocating saw:
[[See attachment "Parts" ]]
and using only a hammer, sheet metal pliers (vise-grip type) and a block of wood, I shaped the parts. I then painted all parts and surfaces with POR-15 and let dry for 5 hours (not quite dry but handleable -allows for good bond on second coat) before riveting parts in place:
[[See attachment "Rebuilt" ]]
Some advice should you try this yourselves:
Pay very close attention to where you need to make your bends. Allow for the change in dimensions that result. Plan ahead where you need tabs for attaching. Drill pilot holes at intersections of bends and cut to the holes-this makes for an easier cut and prevents sharp internal corners that can fatigue and eventually tear. De-burr all edges for same reason as above. Make sure to miss your thumb while shaping parts
Seem to have lost my other pics on further work but basically all I did was to apply the second coat of POR-15
along with adding fiberglass cloth during the second coat. This worked quite well as the POR-15 dries very solidly and the glass cloth covered the seams of the parts; creating a watertight surface. A third coat of paint, some caulk to make sure it was sealed and a coating of spray-on undercoating and this part of the job was done.
I ended up going with the POR-15 paint mostly due to the plethora of online recommendations and partly due to my need to use their glass fiber rich version of bondo which they guaranteed to bond to their paint. Tough stuff!! The other side of my car suffered the same problem as what you see here but the wheel arch was rotted away in one spot, hence my need for some serious filler. This stuff fit the bill and is super strong. You can even drill and tap it.
I have to say, I am now among the choir preaching the power of POR-15. This is serious stuff. I'm sure Rust-Bullet (heard good things) and a couple others are also likely good paints but I'm glad I went with this product. Amazing.
The job was only slightly less horrible than I had imagined it would be (I hate this sort of work!) but it had to be done and all-in-all went reasonably well. So for all of you too intimidated to try this (like I was!) it's not as bad as your imagination will make it out to be. I look at it this way, doing it myself saved me -literally- $3000 (yes, that's three
thousand dollars -that's what I was quoted). Worth every hour I spent on it.
Thanks again for everyones input!
Darkelf 
Hybrid Mode
