While removing a leaking power steering pump I discovered that the left core support/inner fender under the battery was rusted out all the way down to the frame mount. There was a large metal plate a previous owner had tacked into the original battery tray which hid most of the rust. After removing that and the grill this is what I saw: After searching for a used replacement and coming up empty I decided to cut out and replace the damaged metal. The hardest part was the structural section that the body mount connects to. I formed a piece of 16g steel into a channel that I attached to what was left of the original support channel: Note that I used a large turnbuckle to raise and hold the upper core support in position during the entire process. It took 2 months of Saturdays to hand form patch panels which are welded and riveted as needed to repair the damage and I used a 68-72 Cutlass battery tray which is bolted to the repaired inner fender: The repair is far from perfect but should outlast me. After full reassembly and cleaning the engine bay looks better than ever:
