A quick update in my journal.... I got some garage time today and think I'm making progress. Following suggestions from the internet, I switched out the welding wire that came with my welder and went with a national name brand of wire. It is not hyperbole to say that it was a night and day difference! The new wire seems to burn hotter than the old wire, while using the same settings, and the weld spot actually looks like a real weld spot! I'm also flanging down on how long to hold the trigger down to achieve that nice weld spot. If in fact, I've figured out how to do that, it seems like it should be nothing more than lots of practice to develop the muscle memory and become consistent. I'm couching all of this as a future, potential, because I haven't had time to weld one whole seam and then put it in the vise and beat on it to test the strength of my welds. That'll be my next project. However, family commitments will keep me from the garage for a couple of days.
Additionally, I've decided that the passenger side rocker panel is my first part to remove and replace. I spent some time finding all of the spot welds and marking them with a paint pen. Made circling back with the spot weld drill bit fast and easy. I've gotten all of them drilled out, except for one (or more) that are at the rear of the piece. I'm guessing that they are around or on the inner cab corner. When I get time, I'll crawl under the truck to look for those last remaining spot welds. On a good note, even with the other spot welds cut out, the door opening did not move any. I ran a tape measure on it and then on the door itself and it seems like it will still be a perfect fit. I'll chalk this up to "it's better to be lucky than good."
Anyway, that's all for now. If anyone can shed some light on where those rear spot welds are located, I'd appreciate it!
