I hit the ground runin' today so lots of pics!
This is another two-part episode, and relatively dramatic so go freshen your beverage first. I'll wait... yes you have time to go to the bathroom too lol.
I thought about it during the blown Pontiac commute, and decided I might want sit-down labor later in the week. So I bit off a big one for Monday-
Take one last look at the great valleys. I flattened out the lid some more with both knees, a Durablock and a piece of wood. Needed the cinder block to climb up safely. Also checked the centering of the lid (its not quite centered, suprise!) and evened out the side to side gaps. Shuts fine.
Without further hesitation, CHOP!
What happened there was I plug welded the gutter to the quarter so it would all hold still first. Then I made the cut. Then I used a light slapping spoon and small hammer to roll the jamb inward to an acceptable gap. Then I fitted a new strip and tacked it on top only. It laid nicely on top of the jamb at the right level on this side. The plan is to weld the top then trim the edge back to meet the jamb and weld that seam for the finish.
While cooling that, the other side was the natural thing to get going next. It took a 3lb sledge to move, and some duck bill vise grips and dolly, block of wood, etc. Pretty darn stiff but I coaxed it roughly into place. There were close calls but no bad new dents.
As you can see, this side had significant height issues that I've leveled out best I could. More of that will come later, during welding of the inner seam. A tack or two may get cut loose and moved as I go.
Keeping the timeline intact lets skip back and forth for a few-
Stay tuned for the sparky conclusion!