I decided to replace the rear panel in it's entirety, based partly on a recommendation from Dan - who pretty much knows about these things! I had another way to go , and I had panels for either choice....
First choice was to simply cut off the bottom, rusty bits and replace them with a panel made for that repair, in hindsight it might have been easier than drilling out all the spot welds and cleaning up that mess, but like I said....I think replacing the whole panel will give a better final result. I hope so at least.
1st pic is of the three repair panels, next pic shows the whole a panel removed.....I need to clean up any left over seam sealer and I'll need to get the flap disc after the remaining bits so I have a smooth seam to weld to. I also need to clean the e-coat off the joining surfaces of the new panel, and spray a little weld thru primer, then I'll be ready to weld er up.
I left a little at the top on the c pillars, I'll clamp the panel up in place then slice that for a clean joint.
1st test fit of the new panel....still a little trimming and clean up to do before I drag out the welder. I had hoped to get it welded on today cause the weather's been perfect.....mid 70's and dry. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain!......I also need to make a thousand holes to plug weld thru!
I've been going slow on this project, mostly because I don't really know what I'm doing! 
Also, I don't want to weld something up only to have to tear it apart again, so I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this in a logical order that will all come together in the end.
So I marked where I need to drill holes to plug weld the rear panel on, basically everywhere there wasn't a spot weld from before.
Then I decided it would be a good idea to clamp up the valance panel to make sure everything was square and fit the rear panel and the rest of the body. Before I did that I decided to weld the boot floor edge on first, that stiffens up the valance panel and gives something solid to weld the back panel to.
So I drilled a million little holes to plug weld the two together, bolted them up using the bumper attachment holes and filled in the holes with plug welds. So far so good, it still fits up nicely.
Next I needed to weld in the closing panels, but first I had to modify them as they no longer can go where they did originally - I had to make room for the subframe to be able to go in and out. Once this stuff is all welded together on the car I'll build some bolt-in brackets for the lower part of the subframe to attach to these panels. One end is done and I'll get started on the other later today.
This sheet metal is pretty thin so I have to be careful welding it together that I don't blow holes in it....so far I've been lucky. Once everything is welded up on the valance I'll clean up all the welds and give it a coat of weld thru primer before I attach it to the rear panel. I also need to cut out the left side wheel opening and remove the inner wheel well.
Then the next thing will be to weld those inner wheel wells in and tie it all back to the rear panel.
From there I'll move forward to repairing the floors and sills. I've got a really long way to go on this project so I just need to get on with it!
You're doing great so far. Sheet metal replacement scares me for some reason but I think it's one of those things that takes patience and a well thought out plan to get a good result.
Thanks! I know I'm going to screw it up at some point, but I'm hopeful that it's something I can easily fix! 
The main things I'm after are to make it solid, strong and keep it square - at least as good as the factory did - maybe better? 
Surprise! Today I got a note from MiniTec that my axles are on their way to me......they even sent a tracking number. I was told turnaround time was 1 week and it's been 7, but who's counting?
I have been working on the body, lots of cleanup, fitting, measuring, adjusting, more adjusting, thousands of holes drilled and swarf cleaned off but now it's all welded on again.
The back panel is done except for the c panel joint which is just tacked for now. The inner wheel wells are fitted and welded in too.
I've got the valance panel all ready to weld on but I'm not sure I can get the subframe in and out with it in place. I'm going to bolt it back on now that the back panel is solid and see what happens. I do still need to add a bracket for the inner fender brace between the wheel well and the parcel shelf panel. That will be pretty easy to weld in once I make them.
If the subframe will clear the rear valance then I can go ahead and weld it in place then build the brackets for the lower subframe mounts. Then I'll need to grind all the nibs off and give those spots a little primer. Oh and fill the fuel filler hole.....
Next project after all this - floors and sills. before I can tackle those I need to clean all the sound deadening off the floors. I have a tool for that.....
Today I'm grinding all the nubs off from my welds, it takes a while as I want to be careful not to damage the adjoining panel or grind thru the lip I just welded.
Like my buddy Dan the bodyman says, 40 grit rolocs work pretty fast on them, but I just ran out so I need to find some more. I wonder if HF carries them? (Edit: Yes, they do - $4.50 for 3 in 36, 60 80 or 100 grit.)
I also got my axles today....another piece of the puzzle
I spent way too long trying to figure out why you weren't using the big blue jig. 😅
I'm going to need to go back and see if I can figure out how those axles are supposed to work. (Edit: Right... The other CV joint just isn't installed. It's past my bedtime)
Big blue jig? I wish I had one.....
I have to do a lot of scraping of undercoat off the bottom of the car, I may just roll it on its side like they do in England, just lay a couple of tires on the floor......
Yes, the inner end of the axles are those tripod bearing dealies like most FWD cars use.....I'd stick those on but right now they're sealed up in plastic bags, I may leave them there till I need them.
Still don't have the parts for my air punch,, tho they show them shipped out via USPS on March 27th......
Today I cut a chunk out of the old back panel to fill in the hole for the fuel filler. The panel is curved in two directions so there was no way I thought I could make a piece that would fit correctly.....my buddy Dan suggested cutting it out of the other side on the old panel and it fit beautifully!
A 3/8" finger sander is AMAZING for point-accurate grinding. I buy the heavy duty 60 grit sanding bands from McMaster-Carr, way longer life than the HF ones and they are under a buck each in quantities of 25.
Yes, I have two of those, one air powered and one electric......thanks for the tip on the bands tho, I do tend to go thru them.....along with the 2" rolocs for my air powered little angle drill/grinder. Those were really good for rounding out this patch. Once I got the metal laid over the hole so that it fit the curve nicely I drew around the inside of the hole and used the 2" rolocs to shape the patch to fit the hole perfectly.
Consumables can start to be a significant expense in a big project!
Whoa, First i find the thread on the Mid engine Prelude now this! Def gonna be following this one as well.
Darkrider, can you post a link to the Prelude thread?
MiniDave said:Darkrider, can you post a link to the Prelude thread?
Got the fuel filler hole all welded in, much more to do yet.....
So, out of frustration I called Astro again today about my missing parts....they still maintained they had mailed the parts out but I noticed they hadn't charged my CC for them. So I asked them if I could just buy a new tool from them, and they said they don't sell direct, but given the problems I'd had they would go ahead and do that, quoted me a price and took my CC again. They also waived shipping costs!
5 min ago a neighbor came to my door holding an envelope that had been delivered to his address by mistake - a week ago. Guess what was in that envelope?
Yep!
So I'll call tomorrow and see if they have already processed the order - if so then I'll have two of these punch/flange tools!
Once again - Astro did everything right - so did I - but we were both victims of the postal carrier and a neighbor who was a bit lazy about getting my envelope to me.
So, I never doubted they had sent them, I only wondered why it had taken so long, and as it turned out, it sure wasn't Astro's fault! Once again kudos to Astro for great customer handling!
I put the one part in but it didn't fix it, so if they've already sent it I'll just keep the new one and get on with the project.
I had ordered everything I thought could give trouble the first time I called, so just as an exercise I may go ahead and take it all apart and see if I can figure out what's wrong. It sorta works, it clamps down hard, but they the jaws won't release all the way unless I disconnect the air hose......
The tool owes me nothing at this point, I bought it about 35 years ago and used it steadily for about 4 years building my Jag and intermittently ever since, so if I have to replace it now I can't complain.
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