For everyone following along here is the next update...The replacement metal for the area with the rust shown above is finished. To my eye it doesn't even look like a repair.
And because this is my car...and consistent with my motto "Nothing is Ever Easy"...We found a problem when addressing the aftermarket A/C holes in the firewall. We knew the firewall had some filler in it - but thought it was just smoothing the factory dimples and such.
Instead it was hiding another hammered area...You can see some rough repairs in the upper portion. Another weird bit of damage since the cowl portion behind it is straight.
This is the garbage that got cut out...
And the new patch for the lower section. Cam will also make a patch to fix the hammered upper section.
At least we are getting to the point that nearly every part of the car has been down to bare metal...so damage is running out of places to hide.
Thanks for following along - as always your comments are appreciated.