Made some progress this weekend – got the patch panel tacked in place and started welding it in.

Final adjustments for fitting:

All tacked in:

Started welding:

Bought a new work light from Menards – 500 Watt Halogen.Also removed the remaining wiring from the car.  Still need to put a few removed dash parts away.  I finally had to turn on the garage A/C as welding in a welding shirt, gloves, and hat tends to heat the body up a bit!!!

Received my magnetic plug weld tools from Eastwood – I have a 4×2 plate that I was using, but wanted something a little more versatile:

http://www.eastwood.com/magnetic-plug-welding-tool-horizontal.html and http://www.eastwood.com/magnetic-hole-plug-welding-tool-not-for-gas-welde.html

Also ordered a re-conditioned used AC dash off of eBay.  Didn’t want a re-popped one after reading about fitment issues, so I figured I had better grab a used one while I can!  I’ll take pictures when it arrives.

Did some more work on the floor pan:

Holding in place with some welding magnets:

Started tacking the pan in place – used a copper plate backing for the wider gaps:

Removed magnets and used some clamps to help hold in place:

Realized I needed to order some more copper plate backing tools from eastwood – they should arrive this next week.  They will help for the larger gaps to prevent burn through.  Also, the steering wheel was getting in my way (head kept banging into it) so I removed the steering column and remaining dash items along with the wiring:

Cleaned dash area – should be able to work easier without banging into anything.  These needed to be cleared out anyway for painting:  Need to finish tacking and welding in the floor patch, but the it looks like it is fitting well although it still needs a little massaging.

Finally got around to working on the driver’s side floor pan:

You can see some of the holes in the floor pan:

Cut out the bad area:

Used the cut out as a template for what to cut out of the half floor pan (which was included with the car)

At first, I cut out a larger area than what was needed:

Notice the bracket which is for the emergency brake cable.  I believe I will have to remove this and use on the new piece:

Checking the cut out piece:

Prepping the top side with 80 grit…  Checking for other rust and preparing the metal for welding:

Then ready to use some 36-grit to remove the last little but of metal:

This is a bad picture, but it does indeed fit.  Need to clean the metal on the patch piece and bottom of floor on car before welding.  Also have to change the welding wire in the welder for this sheet metal.  Once the metal is prepped, have to get a second pair of hands to help me get it in place for welding.

After this is welded, there are a couple of small areas that still need patching (smaller than a nickle).  The the welding should be complete!