OK...spill the beans...who makes the battery area patch?

[kawahonda]

It's getting closer as we head into winter. I'm considering now to be on the lookout for a driver's inner fender in order to cut up and patch. Keep an eye out guys for a panel!

[tparker]

Ack. I just fabricated a piece. Wasn't too hard. It was the pieces directly under the tray about 4" by 8-10". It worked out well. Just drilled out the holes for the bolts about 2 weeks ago.

[7E-Bodies]

In full agreement here with buying the full panel. Do it once, do it right.

[RUNCHARGER]

I disagree with changing the whole panel. Destroying all the factory spot welds and removing all the left front sheetmetal and trim to repair a small 8" X 12" piece. It can easily be fabbed and butt welded into place then welds polished and you'll never know it was done.

[gzig5]

It's getting closer as we head into winter. I'm considering now to be on the lookout for a driver's inner fender in order to cut up and patch. Keep an eye out guys for a panel!

Here you go.  Less than $20
https://www.speedymetals.com/pc-2683-8244-00598-cold-rolled-steel-sheet.aspx
You can save on shipping if you look locally.

[DeathProofCuda]

I disagree with changing the whole panel. Destroying all the factory spot welds and removing all the left front sheetmetal and trim to repair a small 8" X 12" piece. It can easily be fabbed and butt welded into place then welds polished and you'll never know it was done.

 

[kawahonda]

Here's the area under discussion. I don't know if I trust my abilities to bend curvature in metal without having the proper tools?

[kawahonda]

If I patched it, I'd probably do something like this. First thing is first though, and that is the wire-wheel the dickens out of that zone and better assess the sheet metal.

[RUNCHARGER]

All you need to form metal is a claw hammer a 2x4 and some tin snips. You need a welder to weld it in though. If you have some time, before going forward mess around with some scrap sheetmetal. Make some patterns with light cardboard, then black marker those images onto some sheetmetal and see if you can form a patch from a single piece. I would start with forming that top edge where it transforms from horizontal to vertical. You can hammer the metal over a piece of about 1/2" pipe to get the right contour. Once you are happy with that then form the down curves that are inward.
You want to make the piece before you cut the old rust all out so you have a good idea what the shape is supposed to look like.

[gzig5]

You would be surprised what you can do with simple hand tools, time, and some determination.  This was my trunk when I got the car.  Not ready to do a proper pan, drops, and quarters but I need it whole so I can drive it as I worked on it.  Every piece was formed without a brake roller or anything fancy.  Clamps, bars, hammers, and a sturdy table did the work.  Yeah it looks like Frankenstein,  but it is solid and I did it myself.  Learned a few things too.  Like I should have kept the bottom flat closer to the frame rails so the exhaust hangers would bolt in flat, but I can adjust for that.
That area around the battery might take an hour or two to form, but is eminently doable.

[Cuda70-74]

@gzig5 Thats a nice patch similar to what i did.

[tparker]

Metal fab isn't terribly hard, or atleast a lot can be done fairly easily. You could try it and see. If it doesn't work you only loose a little bit of time and not much money. Another option if you don't mind spending some money is to buy the panel then cut out the piece you need so you don't have to replace the whole thing. To me that is too expensive and too much of a waste.

Not sure if you had welding experience, but sheet metal isn't the easiest thing to do if you haven't done it before. I made a mess of if and never got the hang of it.I made it work and became an expert grinder though. LOL.

[DeathProofCuda]

Metal fab isn't terribly hard, or atleast a lot can be done fairly easily. You could try it and see. If it doesn't work you only loose a little bit of time and not much money. Another option if you don't mind spending some money is to buy the panel then cut out the piece you need so you don't have to replace the whole thing. To me that is too expensive and too much of a waste.

Not sure if you had welding experience, but sheet metal isn't the easiest thing to do if you haven't done it before. I made a mess of if and never got the hang of it.I made it work and became an expert grinder though. LOL.

There are quite few contours in that area and the back end of that rust hole is awfully close to that access panel at the front of the shock tower.  I'd guess it would take some pretty advanced metal working skills to fab up a patch for that if you wanted to make it look invisible.  Personally, I'd probably buck up for the repro panel and cut out what I needed or use the whole thing if necessary.  Maybe sell what was left over to someone needing a hood hinge area patch.

[kawahonda]

Cut out a peice. I'm reading to start the "hacking" phase.

It is absolutely amazing how much spot welds Dodge used. I count nearly 20ish for just this small piece.

Is that overkill? Should I put 20 spot welds back in? That means drilling 20 holes. lol.

BTW, the Goodmark Inner fender seems 100% a perfect fit laying over the old crusty metal.

[anlauto]

Because the cars are unibodies, the inner aprons are an integral part of the structure, hence the large amounts of spot welds Patch panel looks good