Ahhh, this will be fun..
Easiest way I can suggest is use a piece of sheet steel and mark out the hole but maybe 5mm larger for errors , this circle will be where you fold back for the countersink, using the wood plank with hole in it.. The plate needs to be screwed down goodly and maybe have about 10mm lip of which some will get cut back to your desired cap height, once that donut is done cut another circle to weld it to the lip. weld the back as it'll be easier to clean up later, then cut your filler cap hole and screw holes. If it distorts a little, use it to your advantage with the curve of the panel. What your doing is making a paint tin lid in a way 😎

Hi Guys been offline for a while for various reasons.
Health is good. So looking forward to getting back on with the track car and the boat.
 
Just trying to catch up on whats been going on.
Not that you want to buy one just for this one job. Cause you would probably never use it again.
But a dimple die would work. I'm not sure what increment diameters they are available in?
Maybe borrow/hire one?
Then you can weld your flat plate with pre drilled filler hole and mounting screw holes to the dimpled edge just as Marty has said.

Good to see you back Mark.
Definitely boat weather soon.
I hope mine is where I left it, given the wind fronts and rain we have had.
 
Anyhow, I will give the die a crack, and Marty's idea of the flange then welding the flat backing on. When I deleted the roof vent, I used the air compressor for the first time to cool down between tacks, and ended up getting more warping than every before.
 
Bathurst this weekend, so should be an excuse for everyone to get some shed time in. :)
 

Hey Deano, The highlight of my weekend was taken away. No top 10 shootout  (The rain we have been having here is unbelievable.)
Funny, but I can't really get into the main race anymore. Maybe its the commentary or the sterile nes (new word)
of the cars. Its like formula racing now, just pour in the dollars. Sure the skill of the driving is awesome and Bathurst will forever be the pinnacle of road circuits in Australia. Perhaps I'm just becoming a boring old fart
 
Yeh I'm not too sure with the warping, I've got a fabricator friend and so tig when I've wanted that sort of patch up. Done a couple of blanking jobs of the the side fillers on the MK2 Escorts with mig and not a problem. Maybe its a smaller area and its fairly solid in the pressing there? I know when I fabricate tunnels/pans it does warp slightly but obviously a slight warp there is not a problem.

Your right Mark, v8 racing is a bore, the commentary is a big turn off as is the 1 make race cars with different skin to loosely reasonable a production car. I don't understand how they are called supercars tho, that amazes me lol

Well Bathurst wash a wash out!.
Yep, time Skaify hangs up the mike too I think, so many times he was just wrong and Neil Crompton had to correct him. Plus just yelling does not make commentary exciting. Good to see a Capri come 3rd in one of the support races.
Not the same without Lowndes, The Enforcer etc going at it back in their old cars. Plus the Subway ads gave me the poo's as well.
 
Anyhow, a bit of time in the garage:
still needs more tidying, but a bit of paint on the floor

 
 and etch prime of a few bits:

 
made up a new headlight closing panel on the passenger side
 
 

and patched a section in the drivers footwell which will need redoing again (not showing the pics :)) , the old floor was too thin in spots to weld nice and it ended up not satisfactory. One step forward and 3 back. I agree Mark, it is a pity we are spread out so far, sometimes it would be nice to have another pair of eyes to critique/guide. 
 
On that, the next challenge: lining up the front lower guard to front apron.
Looks like when I dressed the wheel arch over on the bench, it ended up puckering the lower front edge up, as below.
 
 In the pic, there's no clamps holding the front returns together, so there is some scope for aligning, but the front apron return  doesnt really want to curve up as far as needed. Without having much to go by, it's a bit hard to tell where the correct line is: should the guard edge go down, the apron up, or maybe a bit of both? I suppose a bit of both in the end, so long as each side ends up symmetrical from the front...?
How do you even get the welder in to tack it together? There is b*gger all space. May even be worth drilling and fixing together with metal threads along this lip?
Fun and frustrating in equal measures.

You did a top job on the wing closing panel, you could've used the shrinker stretcher on the return edge if wanted but it looks a tight corner.
Front guard needs to come down by the looks, there is some flexing to do to get the front panel right. As for welding, I notch the lip and weld it or if both panels are not accessible I just blast the seams together then finish of with seam sealer . Alternative idea is weld tabs and bolt the guard on 🤔

I did try the shrinker Marty (for the first time :(), but it did not look like it was going to even touch it, did not want to grip the panel much. I frigged with it for a few minutes then went old school and bashed things until it started to look remotely similar.
 
The inner guard does have flanges, so I might end up blasting the edge as suggested, and bolting closer to the inner seam if it still feels like it needs keeping closed.
I found a new 1 lt tin of 1k  PPG spray filler bought for the 4 door this morning, so that was a bonus.
Any updates from you Marty?

Haha, yeah I found out the handle doesn't do it , that's why I rigged up the foot operated method, next I'll be using an air cylinder with regulator to further easy up the device.
At least you got there and made a decent copy panel..

Nah nothing on my coup for months, a mates van has been taking up most of my weekend time when I'm the shed, and the mk1 Focus .
I did buy a pair of falcon GT teardrop mirrors from that guy in Sydney, $80pr !!
Last weekend I was on hols down at Keith, nearly 300k from adel, almost on your doorstep mate 😆