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I wanted to share how I was able to rescue the rotted out lower hinge area in my 65 Monza. I made the mistake of storing my project in a shed with a dirt floor. The tin worms had a feast. The first time a poked a screwdriver through the lower door hinge mount my heart sank. It was really bad. Then I remembered what Jackie Howerton said about metal work; if you're really skilled, you can fab big pieces. If you're not so skilled, you have to fab smaller pieces.

Since I'm not so skilled, that's what I did. I figured out where the rot ended in the hinge area, drilled indexing holes to locate the piece, and cut it out. I used crude wood hammer forms to make shapes that I could handle and replaced rotted areas one by one. I fitted the rebuilt piece using the index holes and finished welding. Then welded the piece in where I cut out the spot welds. I have yet to mount the door, but i have no doubt that it will fit. The process was tedious, but not too difficult. The photos tell the story.

You are quite the metal man! your work is fantastic.

Rick,
I truly believe most of our members could do this repair if they have access to a welder. It's tedious, but it's not difficult.

In my younger years I used to love to try to weld rusty exhaust sytsems. I just put a reproduction exhaust system on my wife's '56 Bel Air. Without a torch it would have been difficult. Not sure I could have done the artwork that you just created! I am looking forward to your completed work of art!