There were several holes from the trim script, trunk handle, bumper mounts, etc. remaining to patch, now's a good time.

Lacking a welding paddle to back the hole to be welded, I improvised with heavy copper contacts I got for free at an industrial electrician shop.

A patch was made to back the holes for the trunk handle and the remaining cutout for the fuel filler tube in the trunk.

The small holes went quickly, requiring only the backing paddle...

For the larger ones I made small patches, attached them yo a welding magnet...

which then held them in place to be welded from the front.

The patch was tacked, stitched, and the recess filled.

Once ground it virtually disappeared.

Here's the larger patch on the fuel filler hole from inside the trunk...

and again from underneath.

I needed to paint the inside of the wheel wells before going on to the replacement panels, once they're on...

the area will be unaccessible. Where I could reach, POR15 and where I couldn't, spray primer.

Here's the drivers side fender patch panel and the arch doubler, stripped and ready for work.

I marked the doubler for holes where the welds would be, then drilled it.

Next, the doubler had the flange removed. The other side's doubler (black) with the flange still in place is shown for comparison.

The doubler is positioned, calamped, and tack welded.

The doubler is then stitch welded, this might seem like overkill, but in my mind, it can't hurt.

If done properly, the welds will show up on the outside of the panel.

I next clamped and weighted the panel so that the 'corners' were touching the work bench.

This positioned the arch parallel to the work bench.

I measured to see how much clearance there was in the 'stock' panel. I'll try to add clearance without significantly altering the stock appearance.

Slits were cut using a grinder, more in the curved areas, less in the straights.

The 'tabs were then bent over using a body hammer.

Here, all the tabs have been folded and flattened.

Measurements were taken again; 1/2" to 3/4" had been gained. This was the target.

I then welded each tab and...

finally ground them smooth.

The result was an arch, three layers thick, and quite rigid.

I then clamped the panel and went to work with the body hammer and a 3 lb. hammer, enhancing the flare.

An occasional trial fit llet me know how I was doing.

It was obvious that the inner wheel tub would need additional trimming and widening to match the fender.

I marked the fender with the present inner tub...

and went to the bench with the fender.

More work on the flare with the hammers on the fender...

a quick measurement of the tub, then hammer work on it...

until I reached what I thought to be a reasonable width.

I then marked the tub for trimming...

which I did with a grinder and cut-off wheel.

The tub is now wider and not as deep...

and fits the fender much better.

The leading edge and trailing edge of the arch still show a gap...

but that disappears when drawn in tight using clamps.

I assembled several types of clamps for the next task.

I marked the inner fender clearance dimensions for reference.

Then I began levering out the inner fender with the welding clamp and a wood block to gain clearance.

The outer half of the inner fender also had to be stripped; I had done the inner part earlier.

I then painted the inside of the new fender and...

the inside of the inner fender with POR15.

I prepped the join lines of the fender for welding...

then cut some backing strips...

one warge on for the rear angle and three smaller tabs for the top edge. These should help in locating the fender patch panel.

I added one more curved strip to the round portion of the fender.

I then welded the fender patch panel in place, going slow and skipping around with the welds to avoid warping.

I clamped the front dogleg tight...

checked the rear gap again...

and the match of the inner fender to the outer fender patch panel.

Here you can better see the slightly pronounced flare.

I checked to be sure that the target clearance was still there.

I'll leave the forward edge clamped for now and weld it later.

I filled the gap between the top of the outer sill and the dogleg skin with steel...

welded it...

then sanded it flush. This should add strength and make for a cleaner, smoother look.

The inside of the arch was welded and smoothed making the transition out of steel instead of body filler.

I checked for the alighnment of the rear portion of the fender arch.

The gap on the rear portion of the fender...

was pulled tight with a clamp...

then welded, ground, and finally sanded smooth. It came out pretty good.

The patch panel had some wrinkles along the bottom curved edge...

a few minutes with the hammer and dolly took care of them.

I still may need to do some cutting and patching to fix some rust on the lower corner of the original valence.

I then went back and welded the front flange of the fender patch panel to the B post.

There was a 1/2" gap between the inner fender and the lower fender/rear bulkhead...

I cut a piece of steel and covered it.

Next, I plug welded the inner and outer fender together and...

then ground down the welds.

I ground and sanded the plugs I had made in the rear valence.

Here is the fender after being primed...

and the rear valence.

One more look at the primed fender and valence...

and the modified flare.

Now to see if the wheel /tire will fit with the new flared fender. First job is to hang the rear suspension...

then mount the wheel. The fit is easy with the axle fully in the down position...lots of room.

The gap between the "B" pillar and tire is still about 1/2", that's with no weight on the rear axle and the max diameter of the tire.

Here you can see better the flare and tire clearance with the axle fully dropped.

I then began jacking up the wheel; there will not be enough weight to get it up all the way...

but I can begin to see how much clearance I have gained.

This photo is deceiving, where the flare lessens at the rear is beyond the tire itself, so, no rubbing.

Jacking a bit higher and the clearance is still good...

at the top...

and front and rear of the arch.

Here's a look at the inner fender with relationship to the tire.

The wheel and tire clear the suspension components without any sort of wheel spacer. The offset suggested by Hap was dead on.

I'm laying on the floor, shooting up...right to left... the wheel, the tire, the inner fender (gray), the outer fender; clearance is roughly 1".

Here's a good view of the wheel position when lifted. The flare is hardly noticeable.

Now to do the passenger side...at least I have good photos and notes...from this web site.

During June I decided against the high back seats and sourced some 'bombers'.

The passenger side rear fender was installed similarly to the driver side panel.

On to other bodywork...I needed to fill the gap between the boot floor pan and the outer fender...first, a template...

that was then traced onto a metal sheet...

that was cut, hammered, and formed...

into a patch panel...

shown welded in place here. Two are required, one for each side. Slooooooooow work!

Gaps between the inner fender well and outer fender skin were sealed...

more slooooooooow work!

There were also some places to seal where the rear bulkhead joins the trunk floor pan.

Both fender wells got the inner well and outer skin joints welded.

Holes for half elliptic spring mounts (this is a quarter elliptic car) were patched. Holes patched for the (deleted) rear valance braces.

Misc. factory floor pan holes patched. I used patches rather than rubber plugs...period correct for a race car.

Finally, I moved to the front and installed the plates over the front frame rails...

leaving only the bonnet pivot pin hole exposed. Tack welded for now...I'll finish it when it comes down from the rotisserie.