I have gathered the materials to complete such a project in about the same area on my car. The welding on the car's skin is limited to spot welding in one location then welding on another area to allow the previous spot weld to cool before the area next to it is welded.

There is no continuous welding because that would distort the metal and create a lot of body work.

I'm not trying to make it sound easy. I'm trying to point out that the welding done on the metal which will be painted isn't really that difficult. I have a donor car that I will cut and patch until I get the feel of temperature and wire feed.

Anyone who works for a living might be better off paying someone to do this. The problem I have is finding someone I trust. Most body shops spend resources on insurance work and even the best of them refuse to do anything right because of the opportunity cost of throwing something together and selling it to rubes who just want the car to drive and trade in sometime in the near future.

No disrespect to the many fine craftsmen and shops across America. They don't have to advertise, the wait to get them to do anything is long and the price they ask, while being fair, is outrageous, imo.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic