Okay. Finished screwing in the rear panel today. I had some time to test out my welding technique too. I would remove a screw and plug the hole with the welder. Turns out this does not work put so well. Actually it's a worthless technique!! The welds are not penetrating enough to get a good hold. Hhmmmmmm. What to do? I guess I will sleep on it tonight.

P.S. I know my welds look ugly. I have NEVER welded before today. Any friendly pointers would be appreciated.

Cool thanks man

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This is a picture of the rear cargo panel after I had anchored it in with sheet metal screws. I ended up taking the panel out and drilling some medium sized holes in the panel in between each screw. These holes would expose the frame and give me more surface area to weld to. (see next pic)

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This picture is after I had welded it in. The grey spot that you see in the picture is some grey primer. I was testing it out on a small area. I know that my welds look awful to the trained welder, but this is my first time welding and I have had NO training.

starting to come together and for welding do your self a favor and sign up for a class it goes a long way. basically don't learn bad habits and learn skills on how to weld

You may have noticed that I have a few problem areas in the rear cargo area. The new panel that I have welded in does not cover the entire area that I had removed/cut out. I addressed one of those areas today.

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Here I used a peace of cardboard to trace out the problem area. The cardboard extends under the stock peace of metal and over the panel. This should fill in the hole that you saw in the first picture.

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Here it is after I welded it in. I know.....my welding stinks!!! Believe it or not...it is getting better.

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Here it is after I applied some sealant. This will button up the seams.
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New Exhaust
 

I went ahead and installed my new exhaust. I got it from Rusy's off road. I got the Flowmaster 40 with the 2 inch tail pipe. It sounds AWESOME!! And looks great.
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Rear Diff Fluid Change and Cover Painting
 

So I went ahead and changed out my rear diff fluid. While I was at it I repainted the rear cover. I saw someone else do this and I thought it was hilarious.......so.....I did it too.

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I'm loving this!

How'd ya do that? Did yea sand it first?

Yes. I sanded the rust and paint off and then gave it a once over with some acetone.

I admire your dedication. It looks like a lot of work. Keep plugging away at it and it will be done before you know it.

Like the punkin

This is very inspiring, and giving me new confidence in my 96. How does the bedliner do on plastic parts? My build thread will be labeled "The Titanic", I'm feelin your pain on the rust. Oh, yeah, what kind of welder did you get? Thinking of getting into it, but i've heard 110V "home depot" models are crap.

Thanks, and great work so far.

Thanks!

Thanks