one thing you can do in a fix like that is on the area to be welded to, and the hidden back of the new metal, coat with High Zinc weld-thru primer so there's some protection under the weld area, it does make a difference
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics