thanks for all the positive comments guys. today i began to "shave" the bay and fix a few spots that were slightly rusty, i plan to smooth out some panel seems and other now useless body holes, but i won't be making it all one seamless panel, as nice as it could look it will just add way too much filler to the bay, and i really would prefer to not have body filler cracking on me after a year, this car will be daily driven in nice weather. i removed all the lines and steering box so i can prep and get paint on every square inch. then cut out the only rust spot and welded in a new patch, my goal is to do one or two spots every day i work on it, bay should be ready for paint by next sunday, or so i hope, wanted to get more done today but nascar has been distracting me. pics
"before shots"
rust and patch
welds are a little sub par, solid, but not pretty. doesn't help that my new metal is slightly thinner then the old