[Spridgets] You can't go home again

[andrewpayne at intrex.net]

Some of you may recall my introductory tale of buying back the Midget of my youth, some 15 years later.  Well, today has been a sobering day.   I have very slowly been stripping my '76.  I have not had much time to work because my WRX has been taking most of my time, requiring a new transmission, radiator, and shocks this calendar year alone.  For some reason working on a daily driver is less satisfying than working on the MG.  But today I set into the paint, HF angle-grinder in hand.  It was not long before prepping the metal became looking for metal. Some panels have a half inch of filler over seemingly sound steel, while some areas were all bondo. Eventually, I started grinding through filler simply looking for boundaries for patch panels.  I was pleased to find that my patch panel was still very clean some fifteen years on.  The most offensive item was the left rear quarter where some dpo had cut out the lower two inch portion of steel from door to mid wheel arch and replaced it with bondo over great stuff foam insulation!  Yes, my car has more plastic than Joan Rivers.  
I am dumbfounded, who could possibly think this is ok? I will admit, I have been looking for cost cutting solutions to the wheel arches, but still involving steel.  You know flat steel bondo'd to shape or with racing style arch flares.  I just don't know.  Anyone have a good cheap arch solution? 
Lastly, what are the ideal grinding wheels for paint and bondo? I have been using a wheel from HF that looks like a grill scrubbing pad.  It seems to work well and faster than the hard grinding wheels.  The problem is that I think it will take about ten, and at six bones a pop, they will add up.  If there is a better wheel I'd like to try before stocking up.
Cheers,
Drew
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