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Rust repair / patching on lower radiator support only
I'm a decent wrench turner but an abysmal body man, but this truck's budget calls for me to do some learning vs. me paying someone who already knows.
I just picked up this 03 and it has very little rust anywhere but the lower corners of the radiator support which look like the photos below.
Whole radiator supports are available but it doesn't seem like it should be necessary to replace the entire radiator support for this lower section. Has anyone seen weld-in lower sections or corners available? Or how would you approach fixing this?
Yes I know the A/C condenser needs to be addressed, just got this thing for a few hundred dollars it's getting the whole biz
For reference this is what the rest of the truck looks like, rust-wise.
I could make this $500 truck a $50,000 truck real quick by just putting brand new everything in it, this is the only rust so I was hoping maybe somebody knew of cut-and-weld patch panels like these, but for the lower radiator mount:
Maybe I'll just spend the $250+ on a new radiator support.. seems a lot of perfectly good steel to replace for those isolated spots of rust.
If parts were available to patch the radiator support, you would probably need to pull it out anyway. Then spend all that time cutting, fitting, grinding, welding, etc., then reinstall.
Much easier to bolt a new one in. Prime, undercoat, rustproof, and in a few hours its done.