The rust was eating away more than my car. I had to take the afternoon off work and investigate. I hit it with a hammer, and it was almost all solid. Key word, almost. About a dime size of the spot was able to pop through.
Then I was forced to dig in. That A hole body man we have in here was right when he cursed me by saying, "I think you have a bigger problem in there Nick."
Thus, I must keep cutting. Accidentally cut into a good K member bolt brace.
Continued cutting, cleaning out Iowa gravel road dirt, until I was at good solid metal and, factory primer, and a teeny bit of very light surface rust.
I got in there with a wire brush, sand paper, spray bottle of soapy water, and hit it with compressed air. I got it cleaned out really well. Then shot it with rust inhibiting primer. Dont mind the runs on the outside, that will be cleaned up.
Then, I drove to Home Depot and bought a flux core welder kit. I started welding in my first piece, but I had to stop half way through. I cleaned, sanded, and primered the back side of the plate to keep it from rusting before welding it in place. I am using a series of spot welds until I can figure out the welder better. No pics of the plate yet, cause its ugly.
PS, my wife is royally pissed about the welder purchase. I tried telling her its a safety issue, and she says, "Yeah, for the car you dont even NEED!" I said....... biiiiiiiiitttttttccchhh.........