Update:

The bodyparts that I got (rocker panels, rear quarter panels etc) were bought online from http://www.raybuck.com. Right now they do not have the Ramcharger pages online, but them give a call.

Description:

Below are a bunch of pictures I took while cutting away and welding in metal in preparation for the Ramcharger to get its annual safety inspection here in New Hampshire

The truck is a 1987 Ramcharger LE with 170,000 miles on it.

I had it for two years before starting the work.

The tools I used were a air-cut off wheel, jig saw to cut the new metal in, a 4" grinder with a wire brush, a 6" air sander, a Hobart Handler 120 MIG welder, various size ViceGrips, a caulking gun to apply seam sealer, a wax pencil, some stiff cardboard to make paterns for the metal - and safety glasses :-)

	This was the hole that started off as the support for the driver's side mirror
One thing I learned from my newgroup reading was the best method of patching a hole like this was not to "run a bead" along the seams, but to apply many tack welds. The result of this technique is a very strong patched piece of metal, with little warping due to heat expansion of the surrounding metal.  The piece to be welded in should be fitted as tight as possible.  It is that part of the job that took the most time (fitting the metal).  The welding, grinding and bondo took very little time compared to that.
	Here is the replacement metal (I have been using old computer cases) still being held in place by a magnet.
	Here is the "ready for a little bondo" result.  One thing to note is I failed to deal with the contour in the metal which appears right along the upper seam.  With later welds I tried to avoid the contours.
	A view from the rear shows the distortion caused by  failure to deal with the contour.
Staying on the driver's side, I checked under the carpeting and found some nasty stuff that was grinded, cut out (only two spots were through (where your heal lays)) primed and painted then a new pad was installed.  The padding material was found at Pep Boys.
The driver's side rear quarter had some rust areas around the lamp assembly, and a rusted out area a bit lower.  You will notice some little grinded off spots on the lower section.  These were where the metal pins that held on the plastic retaining clips for the wide black trim - which caused lots of rust - so the pins were grinded off, and the trim is sitting in my basement (any takers?)
The rear end section needed some major rebuilding - something I had not planed on.  I ended up heading to Home Depot and picking up square steel stock to give me something to weld new pieces onto. The rust-out extended up some of the inner panels. Not pictured here, are the rusted out drip edges around the opening of the rear gate.  I think its that rusted out area that let water get in and begin the rust out of both interior sections.
Rounding the rear and starting up the pass. side meant I was ready to put in some of the panels I bought (including the rear-corner you see above).
	As you can see, this truck needed a little work.  That is why for this section, I ordered prefab replacement parts from Raybucks.
	Already cut-out, but sadly, the corner and lower quarter (ordered from the same company) did NOT meet.  The lips on both pieces had to be pulled out and hammed flat.  It was either this or add another piece of metal to make up the difference. I also used the complete quarter, I should have cut it a bit lower to keep the original contour of the area.
	Here are the pieces welded in place (using the tack welding technique described above).
	After final grinding and ready for some bondo.  This side had a similar rust-out near the lamp assembly.
Moving toward the front of the truck, I next tackled front of the rear-wheel well, the rocker panel and the door.
As you can see, from the door shot, lots of rust from the trim pieces had made it a mess but I didn't want to spend the 200+ dollars on a replacement door (I didn't expect it to fit).
	This was a bit more involved than I expected.  The support  behind the corner and the rocker panel  needed to be cut out and a new one tacked on (from the front fender to the rear).
	The door was taken off so I could deal with the new rocker panel.  I also cut the replacement panel so it fit in below the contour on the rear section.  This shot is after the sections have been welded in.
Some things to note about this:  I don't own a spot welder, so I drilled 1/4" holes in the supporting sections and MIG'ed the parts together The painting was done via spray cans (which didn't match exactly) The section directly above needed very little Bondo (ie I got better as I went along) Having said all that - it didn't come out too bad

So there's the anti-rust story of my Ramcharger.

The entire project took about 5 weeks - working about 5-6 hours on weekends and, if possible, 2-4 hours after my normal work.