Hi
Recently bought an original 1974 2.0 with low miles. I’m the 3rd owner. Previous owner had it painted but never addressed the ‘hell hole”. Any recommendations for repair in California?

Where in SoCal? Different shops in San Diego than, say, North of LA.

Los Angeles...... Santa Clarita to be exacty

I live in Santa Clarita. There's a German auto shop off Newhall Ave: German Autohaus, 22510 9th St, Newhall, CA Phone: (661) 254-2158

I need to take my car in to have them weld in a new battery tray. They needed to keep my car for a few days so I didn't stay.

For comparison, I had an auto guy in Simi Valley repair my hell hole in another car for $325.

Keep in touch and let me know what they tell you. I'll do the same.

BTW, waddya drive? I've got a gray '72 with a gray top.

Hell hole repair is best done with the motor out of the car. You can replace a battery tray with the motor in, but the metal fabrication depending on the extent of your hell hole's hellish state is what is challenging. I just finished buttoning up the hell hole on my 71. PM me and send me your email and I will send you a photos so you can see what it takes. Mine was surface extensive, meaning the longs were solid, only the sheet metal had deteriorated, but my engine shelf on the passenger side was bad, so we had to do that too. I have a welder and enough tools to trim the sheet metal etc...

Rob