Classic Fiat 500 restoration - rear arch replacement

In this video we take a look at the first stage of the rear arch replacement, exploring the issues as they stand, then cutting out the original rear arch panel, cutting back and repairing the inner arch structure, then starting to butt weld in place the outer arch. The video finished before the welding on the arch is complete, simply because when welding any large flat panel it is important to not introduce too much heat either through welding or grinding (anything which causes the steel to 'blue' is going to cause warping) as we want to use minimal filler I want the metal finishing to be as good as possible. During the next video I will catch you up on the finished product and how we treat the back of the welded panel as well to prevent possible water ingress or rusting (which again is minimised by butt welding the panels rather than overlapping which is what had been done on some of the previous restoration attempts over its life in Italy)