New Project, need some advice!

[BradE]

Hi to all,

Here she is, the new money pit! PO started most of the metal work on this blazer and left the rocker panels. He then sold this blazer to another guy who basically took it off the trailer and left it parked outside for a couple of years. I don't know if you can see from the pics, but he cut the rockers out higher on the A and B pillar than the new rocker goes. Soooooo, how would you go about fixing this? I haven't yet taken it to a body shop to get pricing and I'm not a welder. My little bro is a good welder, but has never attempted sheet metal body work. Also wondering if there is a patch panel for this area?

This is going to be a sloooooowwwww build due to finances but all the basics are there. 1972 CST, 350 crate motor with few miles, 4" lift, two tailgates, 2 sets of doors, new gas tank, new instrument panel with tach, tilt steering original, etc. I'm pretty fired up about it, but also realistic that this may take me a while! Thanks for any and all replies!

BTW, I'm in the Nashville area, so any leads on body guys, painters, etc would be appreciated.