Finally

Could this be the beginning of a serious push to finish Ringo? I hope so. Last evening I spent a couple hours in the garage removing the doors and cutting away some of the driver’s side rocker panel. Before removing the hinge bolts on the driver’s side (the door that’s getting reused), I drilled through both hinges from inside the body so I could be assured of reinstalling the door in exactly the same place when it’s time.

I’ve decided to use as much of the Clark’s rocker panel panels as possible. That meant, as you might be able to determine from the photos, the cut would be right where the sill plate screw holes are. Nice indicator. I laid out a piece of masking tape, marked some places ½ inch in from the edge, and then laid out another piece of tape with the edge aligned with the marks. That was my guide as used a cutoff wheel on my grinder to make the cut. Prior to making the cut, I made a measurement across the door opening that I’ll verify before welding in patches. This will ensure no twisting of the body. I’m also trying to keep what’s left of the vertical portion of the rocker in place to prevent movement. Next step is to the cut away the rest of the rustiness in that area, and then POR-15 what’s left.