I just wanted to be able to have someone look underneath there and say "How nice, someone tried to really fit a new floorboard in" vice saying "Ughhh, someone chucked a piece of scrap up there to fill a hole.
The worst thing is the rust damage was right near the rockers and there must have been 7 individual curves I had to meet in unison.
I spent like four days beating a piece of metal to death, trying to emulate the unique stamped ridges of a 300D floorboard. In disgust, I tossed the piece and I spent 3 more days making a new piece.
Then finally I got the guts to fire up the welder, which to me was about as nervewracking as shorting out a Utility Transformer. The ceremonies I went through to turn it on were almost comical, including filling three buckets of water, placing 3 extinguishers ceremoniously, memorizing and rereading the manual 6 times and then voila I hit the switch! I must have made some 50 welds before I felt comfortable. It took me two weeks to start making half decent welds.
Yesterday was the big dayI I spent all Saturday grinding the joints to bare metal. Except the neighbor had a Super Bowl party and there were kids up and down the street and I called it off. The gaping hole is still there, four weeks later after I started this project, but I just want it done right.
Whats the rush anyway.