With the rear inner patch done and out of the way it was time to work on the front inner fender. The first job to do is cut the old one out. Since the engine was still in the car it was covered with plastic and paper sheets I had laying around to protect it.

I started by drilling out the spot welds with the 3/8" spot weld drill from Eastwood's that I could reach. Doing this basically freed up the top area of the panel from the shock tower and radiator support. I couldn't fit the drill in the lower areas due to the engine and other parts in the way. The 3 forward bolts for the outer shock cover were removed too.

The spot welds have been drilled out on the top allowing the panel to break free from the shock tower. You only drill through the top panel, not the bottom. This will leave material underneath to weld the new panel to.

The spot welds are also drilled out from the radiator support.

The spot welds weren't evenly spaced out. It just depends on where the person assembling the car happened to put them originally.

Now it was time to start cutting the panel out. I would leave the lower overlapped areas with the spot welds I couldn't reach for now. I began cutting with the air nibbler but it made a bit of a mess with the metal bits. I switched to the air shears and the air reciprocating saw to remove the bulk of the panel. I wound up cutting it out in several pieces.

This shows the lower remains of the panel still attached to the radiator support. I was able to reach the spot welds on top. With the bulk of the panel removed I could get in there easier to work. The remainder was removed with the air chisel.

The remainder piece of the panel will also be removed from the shock tower with the air chisel.

This is the original panel removed. It will be saved for a template to locate holes later. It's usually a good idea to save the old parts until the job is done. You never know if you may need them for a reference.

Here's a side shot with the inner fender removed. Like I said before, the motor is covered with plastic to protect it while the work is done.

The side of the cowl will be cleaned up too. They'll be a finished photo of it later.

With the panel now completely gone with the remainder pieces removed with the air chisel I ground and sanded off the surface rust where the panel had been overlapping the others. This is the same procedure I did with the rear patch. The bare areas were covered with a weld through primer.

Next I filled the 3 small screw holes from the alarm siren on the front of the passenger shock tower with the MIG welder. The welds were then ground smooth and primered also.

The inside edge has been cleaned up and primered with a weld through primer. It is ready for the new panel.

The 3 repaired screw holes on the shock are also visible. They were filled with the MIG welder then the welds were dressed. They came out so good only one required spot putty.

PAGE 4 (inner fender replacement)

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