This is what I am dealing with. Yes, I tried to fix the area here with some brass rod a couple years ago. It looked like crap and it wasn't a very good fix, I wasn't happy with it...so I gave up! So I took a piece of soda box and cut it to a shape I was happy with and marked it with a pencil. This is where I would cut it out! I made the cut far back enough so I would be welding to some good metal.
I then transferred the soda box cutout to the trusty old fender and cut a piece out and formed the front piece.
I then clammed that piece into place and with a sharp pencil I retraced the part onto the bulkhead to make sure that it was going to be a good mark to cut on.
Another view of the front piece to be traced. There will be another piece I will weld to this piece so hold on!
Next I went in to the inside and made a line where I was going to cut... no template here as I was going to cut out the piece and make the template from that! Makes more sense in a bit... read on!
Ok so I cut out the rusted area with my Dremel tool. I went along the lines and went underneath. I then went to the inside of the car and cut along the line I made. The piece came out in one piece. But it had some metal missing where it had rusted away, so I would have to do some guess work on the shape!
This is the inside of the car at the line I cut along. I then had the piece out and I made templates to the inside and the very bottom piece. So actually it will be 2 pieces formed and welded together, then I will fit it in and clamp it and weld it all in as one piece. You'll see...!
Here is the piece I made. Note the welds along the one side. That is what hols the two pieces together.
New piece on the left. Old rusted piece on the right.
There is some of the old piece that the metal was rusted away and I had to guess on some of the shape. I left one small piece out as I kind of cut the replacement piece wrong. But that's ok I will cut another piece and close up the bulkhead after this piece is in.