Thanks Dave
OK so I did a thing..... No turning back now
I couldn't keep a straight line to save my life using the cut off wheel and the sawzall but I got it done! I think I'm going to cut back just a bit more to make the rearmost butt weld seam land on top of the torsion bar crossmember. I will overlap the sides and forward joint 3/4" and stitch and rosette weld the new patch panel in. Too time consuming and I'm not comfortable trying to butt weld the entire panel besides it's just the floor , the only one that will see it is whoever I run over lol.
Copper