I'd like to say yes, ni rod, or ni-cad rod, but I did'nt buy the rod myself, or do the welding. But I was a good helper! Probably safest to get a welding supplier to answer that question.
The new opening was added behind the stock one on my '54 car-but boy there is a lot of stuff to miss. Clutch , and column shift linkages (both move), carb linkages, steering column-you'll wear out a tee shirt crawling under, fitting, and comming back out sawing/fabbing the dual side head pipe, but once you get below the floorboard you're home free!
