Yes, doors are on, although you can see I put a little bracing in before hoisting it up (sort of an I-brace across the door openings, but in a way where I can leave the doors on and open and close while working). Passenger door fit was OK but driver’s side had a twist out at the back bottom so will probably re-align that before cutting and pasting in the sills. I’m probably more of a welder than a bonder but would agree its important to use the weld-through (like SEM copperweld) — nothign against bonding, just more of a period choice for me. The VIN tag appears to be in place with original rivets, so I’ll be leaving it alone but by it’s nature that precludes a dip and phosphate for the whole mess as the VIN plate would then self-destruct – so probably as much blasting as I can manage once repairs are done. One other anomaly is that the prior owner burned or punched hood pin holes and one of those is precariously close to the VIN plate, so will think on how to weld that up without creating a worse problem. Not TAC’d. X-member seems solid except for the exhaust pass-throughs. Biggest question in my mind now is do I need to remove wings or not to repair inner fenders, as I hadn’t really planned to pull the wings off. I’m not so worried about sills and outer wing patches as I am the shroud or other areas where I have no idea what a correct one would look like. I’d be happier to buy replacement panels than to make them, but sources seem few and incomplete. Anyhow, ought to be worth an hour or two as the days pass by.
