Made some big steps on the car this past weekend. I got the remaining part of the rocker (under the tulip panel) cut off and got the new one fit and plug welded in place.
Old:
New:
On top of that I was able to make a patch panel for the lower inner quarter section out of sheet steel; I think it actually turned out pretty decent:
Old:
New:
Finally, since the rocker was in and the inner quarter anchored down, I was able to fit and tack the mini tub (in the pic the outer wheelhouse is attached as well, it's just clamped in place). The pictures don't do it justice, that wheelwell is pretty deep...
So finally some real progress. It feels great to finally start ADDING back to the car instead of always cutting stuff off.