Technical Panel repair and body-filler help needed

I need some advice... I am working on a project with my dad and I welded in the drivers side steel engine bay panels and I don’t think it came out the best (I’m a beginner), so an experienced welder to do the other side was hired...MISTAKE! The guy hired to weld in the panel is a friend of mine and he is a very talented welder, but he had his kid do the work to “learn” and gain some experience. He ended up burning holes in the panel and therefore added a “patch” to the shock tower. The shock tower side and panel now has a lot of wave. I am tempted to cut out the panel and the side of the shock tower and weld in a patch from another tower and install a new panel myself. The question I have is about the panel seams and this repair. I have read several debates on forums regarding metal type fillers (all metal, metal to metal, etc) versus duragl*** type fillers. My fear is cracking and bubbling after painted (especially being in an engine bay). I am a bit of a perfectionist (it’s a curse!) and want to make sure this engine bay come out smooth with no waves, cracks, or bubbles. Any advice is welcomed. Pics attached. Note this has sat for a while and just getting back to it, so there is some surface rust that will be removed.

 

Don't know if you will get a lot of help here, mustangs are off topic.

 

Can you get behind the waves and hammer and dolly them out?
Same with some of the seams, I'd try working them. If you want to cover them with filler they will need to be welded completely. An alternative is using a good two part seam sealer that can be sanded.

 

I'd say if you felt you didn't do a good job on one side, you're not up to the task to fix the other side to your liking. Sometimes using a friend to save a few bucks, costs more in the long run.

You asked for suggestions/advice. Call around, ask around in your area on who can do what you want to your satisfaction. Get your checkbook out and be prepared to pay for quality work.

Whether it's an OT vehicle or a '36 Ford, quality work will cost the same.

PS Remove the OT car type, tell us it's a sprint car you're building

 

I'm not sure about the ethics of paying someone to do a job and then he subcontracts the job to another as a learning lesson. Did he say that he would be using that job as a training session?

In the trades I understand that when an apprentice does a job, his journeyman is responsible for that work, if it is not proper, then the journeyman corrects it.

 

All metal would work well to fill in the imperfections. Just make sure you mix it throughly. It’s not the easiest product to work down. Use 36 grit to shape it then skim over that with some good quality body filler and you shouldn’t have a problem.


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