All right, I was thinking I would need to cut off the rest of the outer house to get the new panel up 1/8", but figured I may as well beat on it first, to see if the skin would go up further and it DID !! I think it was pushed down slightly from the crease down the whole length of the original panel.
Finally, all the body lines are in alignment.
This bottom weld flange was a PITA. I had to keep moving it up with the hammer and dolly, but I got it.
The trunk drop even lines up now.
The new panel is inside the original, to retain the original body lines. It goes all the way to the top ridge. There is no seam visible in the trunk, unless you lay your head on the pan and look up. That, too, will get a thin swipe of seam sealer, to protect from moisture getting under it, but will help disguise it too.
The leading edge fits between the door jamb structure and the original q-p.
With the panel fitted, it was time to clean up the rust and be ready for the converter/encapsulator and then undercoating.
As long as I was already making a mess, I ground down the welds on the inner repair too.
