Wayne.
You poor soul. Well, maybe it's not that bad. I am probably not your
ultimate resource, but I can answer most of your questions (just finished a
floor pan, LOTS of spot welds that you haven't spotted yet; have cut up a few
rockers and front lower fenders). Your source for all the sheet metal you
need is a guy named Rob Martel in Canada -- accept no substitutes -- you'll
probably get his address and number from others on the list, I don't have it
handy, but can get it if noone comes through (unlikely).
To be brutally honest, I don't have the hour it would take me (at least)
to type the answers to your questions, but I could tell you in ten minutes if
you want to call me. There are alot of things to consider, not least of which
is that, if you have longstanding water ingress through Rootes ridiculously
ineffective caulking, you can probably assume (if you're in a salt area, read
'be assured') that at least the lower third of your middle rocker, that's
right the structural one, is rotten or gone. This is a MUCH bigger deal than
replacing the outer panel.
And if you seal that fender gap with body filler, the same thing will
happen to your brand new rockers because the filer will crack. Feel what's
left of the Rootes stuff -- hard as rock, right (or body filler, hmm). The
inner and outer fender go quite a way with no attachment, which allows for
quite a bit of flex. So you need to fill that gap eventually with something
that cures with some pliability -- several good seam sealers at the auto paint
store. I just did this recently too, and am most pleased with the results,
though only time will tell.
Chris Hill
702-322-4368
mornings best
anhything after 8 - P.S.T.
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