I need to weld in body panels over the rear wheels on my 78. How far outside of the rusted area would you suggest I cut? The panels I have extend half way up the dent. I don't need to go up that high and would prefer not to. The rusted area is about 2 inches from the lip of the wheel opening. I was guessing I would cut another inch beyond that and trim the panel down.
Any suggestions?

 

1" of lap would be plenty to work with.
I would match up to the new panel and not cut it.

 

Thanks for the reply torkum. Why would I use the whole panel when I only need a portion of it?
Greg

 

If you cut it just below the dent , the body line will help keep it straight while you are welding . If you use the entire panel , you will have to do body work in the dent (PITA)..

 

only cut as much as you need to get rid of the rust,the more of the patch panel you use,makes it harder to blend in the area near the dent,keep your cut square and cut your patch panel down to fit.if you can get your hands on a panel flanger I would suggest using one,if not take your time to make sure you make your new panel fit exact and but weld them,if you just overlap the new panle over old you will have fill half way down the front and rear of your repair trying to make it blend.

 

Specific to this repair, he could cut the rust out 1/2" above, thus needing only 3" of the patch panel, including enough for a 1/2" overlap. If he lapped the patch panel UNDER the original panel, then tried to keep the weld on the lower edge, plus grinding/hammering the upper (original) panel, he would only need to fill on the patch panel side - and feather it out above that. The fill could be taken to the lip (2 1/2") and ended there.
Hope that makes sense!