Thanks guys,
In answer to your question David/Mahony that piece was rescued from Phil's rusty old 1300 that fell to pieces as we took various parts off it. A club panel would be good for others in the same position but I don't think one exists (yet).
I cut that piece out a lot larger than you see it there. The underside of it was completely missing but the top piece survived intact
. I think the water ran down inside the cavity and rotted out the bottom.
On my car the top piece was holed but the underside had only small surface corrosion and was 100% solid
Oh and yes it was my anonymous mate that did the welding.
Got some more pics of first lining up of the outer panels now.
A few tweaks and some more prep to the panels themselves and I'll weld them back on.
It will take me a few weekends to do them though. I've only really got 4 hours a weekend spare at the moment
The swage lines don't line up at the moment but that is because the front doors have no hinges on them. Also I've not decided where to cut the front panel (on the nose) to blend the new metal in with the existing. I think lower rather than higher is the answer.
All in all I think if I spent enough time making sure everything lines up well then it will be hard to spot even from close up
Oh and for the observant amongst you....Yes that's an orange bonnet. No rust anywhere, completely straight and cost £5 off ebay
Note the new parts delivery vehicle now...Man it's sloooow and very boring:snooze: