Cutting out and replacing rusted metal on my E9

[E9inCostaRica]

Greetings from Costa Rica, after 1.5 years I have finally started to work on the 1971 E9, I have started by striping away all paint and bondo and have begun to find plenty of rot. I will be posting pictures of the before and after. I will begin from the rear all the way to the front. Steady as she goes. I will post pictures and if any of you fine people want to give me some pointers I would trully appreciate it.
I have started inside the trunk area.

 

[mulberryworks]

Congratulations on your start. I've been about to start my car's journey for 10 years longer than it took you, because... uh, well, reasons.

One thing I'd say is I'd try and preserve the original metal shapes as much as possible, at least in the visible areas, partly for beauty, but also for strength. You've used a straight bend on the almost vertical piece next to the wheel when instead of following the curve from above. Yes, it's harder to create such a curved piece and if you put back the 'elephant skin' covering it won't be shown, but it would be good practice and could possibly positively impact the ultimate value of the car. More visible panels are the floors, which have contours that add strength and will show when viewed from below, even through undercoating.
Go lightly with the welds, space them out initially to avoid warping and you'll have less to grind off to make the panel look factory again.

Lots to learn here, the search function is your friend, but sometimes I do better using Google to search the site.

 

[E9inCostaRica]

Yes, good advise thank you. Lots of grinding to do still.

 

[Barry.b]

Good luck with the car !!!
This club is really really helpful . As you go along and need more advice, I have asked many questions and have overcome many obstacles with the help and advice of everyone on the e9 forum
My car isn’t finished yet and I have been working on it since the Covid 19 lockdowns started.
So you will need a lot of patience and time to get her across the finish line.
One other site I would recommend you could look at for visual help is Miklos meszaros facebook page.
He posts many photos and it can help you know what is behind the panel you are just about to cut open with your grinder.
( I never asked him any questions as he’s not that guy , but definitely browse his photos)
Anyway good luck again and it’s great to hear that another e9 might be making its way back to the roads soon .

 

[E9inCostaRica]

Thank you Barry, for sure will be checking out Miklos FB. Great advise