After dismantling the right front and studying the damage I made a list of parts needed and repairs that needed to be done. Besides replacement of the damaged front inner fender I found rust starting under the rear inner fender where it overlaps the shock tower, a common rust area for these Mustangs as Ford never primed the metal plus the overlap would trap moisture and dirt. The rust was minor and with the fender off now was the time to address this area too. The inner bumper bracket was bent sideways slightly plus the hood latch support was twisted towards the passenger side. The radiator support was wrinkled where it attached to the inner fender. The side of the cowl was dirty but it was solid with no rust. Some of the seam sealer was letting go though so that would have to be addressed also. The shock tower had no damage or the common holes you see cut for access to the grease fittings. The only thing I would do to the passenger shock tower is weld closed 3 small holes where an alarm siren was screwed to it. The car had an aftermarket alarm on it when I bought it and removing it was one of the first things I did to the car. The base of the repro antennae was broken and would be replaced, the reason why I left it on the fender when I removed the fender instead of taking it off before hand. The last surprise I found was that the main wiring harness was damaged near where it connects to the starter solenoid. The insulation was melted and missing in areas. I'm lucky it never shorted out on me. The complete harness will be replaced.

These are the main air tools I used in this job and will be referencing them at times. From left, DA sander, air shears, air nibbler, 3" cut off wheel, 90 degree die grinder, air body saw (reciprocating), and air chisel. Not pictured are two other die grinders and the air flange/punch tool. When I realized I would be doing the bodywork myself I started investing in them. With some jobs they're a requirement. Air tools are generally more powerful than their electric counter parts. The only problem I had is my compressor is undersized (not enough CFM) and will be upgraded if funds allow. I had to wait for it to "catch up" at times.

The first repair I decided on was the minor rust with the rear inner fender. The pictures below tell the story.

This is the front top section of the rear inner fender where it overlaps the shock tower. There was a blister and I knew that meant rust was forming underneath. I dilled out the spot welds with a 3/8" spot weld drill from Eastwoods. I then cut the damaged area with the air body saw and cut off wheel. This photo was taken as I was popping the damaged area free.

I wound up cutting the area out more due to rust. The shock tower is solid, luckily it's only got surface rust on it. The silver circles are from the spot weld drill bit.

I bought a repro rear inner fender panel but there's no reason to go through the trouble of replacing this whole panel. I traced the cut out area and will cut out the corresponding area from the repro. The patch will then be butt welded to the existing panel and spot welded to the shock tower to appear original.

All rust on the shock tower was cleaned up. It was grinded and sanded until bare metal showed.

After this it was sprayed with a weld through primer to help prevent rust from reforming in the future. Ford never did this during the assembly of these cars. The back of the patch I cut from the repro panel was also coated with the primer.

This is the patch after being welded in and the welds dressed. Vice grips were used to hold it in place for welding. The welds were also dressed on the back side where they were visible. Although not really visible unless you look up under the fender doing so makes for a better looking repair, one where you wouldn't know it had been repaired.

Where I welded the new piece to the old it wasn't done with one bead. I had to jump around so the heat wouldn't warp it.

The patch has now been primed with an epoxy primer. The repair is almost invisible. The spot welds were ground down so they look like the factory welds. The butt weld between the old and new panels will take a little spot putty to fix minor imperfections.

I'm really happy with how this repair came out. No one will know about this except you and me.

PAGE 3 (inner fender replacement)

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