It turned out that the car was a little worst than I originally planned....or maybe hoped.
Once all of the rust was cut out, reconstruction could begin. The biggest issue was the condition of the lower hinge attachment points on both sides. Not only where they torches out at one point, but completely rusted. This allowed the door to drop as much as an 1" on the driver's side.
Along with the lower hinge, the entire substructure was gone. Up front, this is what provides the adequate stiffness to carry the door's weight.
Behind the door, the lower skin attached to the substructure to close it off from the outside...
Once the doors were swinging again and the substructure was replaced, the outer panels could begin to be welded back in place. The were all fitted and then butt-welded using the Tig. I welded for about an 1" at a time and then hammered the weld back out. Once everything was welded, the long process of grinding began....
The floor still need to be installed, but that should be easy compared to what has been done already....
