Xterra Reborn as Frankenstein

I was out wheeling with my buddy Daniel. The trails were flooded, and unknown to me there was ice under the water. It wasn't a problem until we decided to head back to the highway, I slipped and hit a tree:

Damage from the Tree

I took my Xterra to a shop and they quoted me 2500 for fixing inner fender and radiator support, so I did not feel it would be worth it as I would still need body parts. I purchased a parts vehicle for $500:

It looks a bit different but this will do

I am incredibly grateful I got this. The previous owner drove it without oil so the engine is toast.
Parts I'm going to take for the repair:

• passenger inner fender
• radiator support
• radiator
• AC condenser
• AC condenser aux fan
• fuse box tray
• hood
• passenger fender
• headlights and signal lights
• grill
• bumper

Parts I'm going to take for upgrades

• helper leaf spring (3 pack)
• radio(comes with aftermarket radio!)
• battery(for dual battery setup)
• starter solenoid?(for dual battery) I found a left over solenoid I can use
• seat belts (mine are warn out) Even more worn out on this car

Parts I'll keep for spare

• hubs
• alternator  The bearing on my alternator started to grumble so I grabbed this one already
• starter motor Burnt to a crisp on the donor car

upper and lower control arms

and if I get time:

• exhaust system
• transmission

So here's the damage under the sheet metal:

The bottom bracket on my Xterra was rotted out

Here it is with all damaged parts removed:

Worked into the night taking off parts and cutting the welds:

Does any body know where I can get better spot weld bits than Princess Auto? I ended up finishing with a step bit after breaking all 4 of the bits I bought.

And here is the parts car early the next morning:

The donated bone marrow:

The bottom bracket on the Xterras are notorious for rot, I'll clean it up a bit after I finish the repair.

After cutting the welds I cleaned up the holes and surfaces with an angle grinder and sprayed the bare metal with zinc paint:

Its possible that this could be the weld surface as I used a step bit on my other car, meaning there are holes on both sides.

Just dropping this into place was very satisfying.

Starting to look like a vehicle again.

Getting ready to weld:

I decided to go with an overlap as the spot welds were all covered in protective surface making them very hard to locate, This was easier and I do not have to punch through the firewall as I was using a step bit at this point.

Not my proudest welding job. Welding thin metal upside down with flux core was a mistake, I should have used CO2.

Spot Welds were much easier.

Skeletal transplant successful! It was getting late so that was day 2.

Wiring for the signal lights was too short on the 2002 loom. Instead of messing with the loom I extended the wires on the lamps themselves.

Starting to come together!

2002 fender is nearly identical to the 2000 fender so I kept the original.

Home Stretch!

Ugly Rust on the hood. A job for another time.

Fin! (kind of a few things to button up) but again its late so day 3 is at a close.

Day 4 Transformation! The alternator started to grumble, lucky timing as I have a parts truck 15 ft away, I also swapped the radio and did some trimming to the "new" fender to clear my tires. I also grabbed the hubs for spare. I still have to get the wind-shield washer fluid working; I'm not sure what's wrong. It wasn't a full day but its back on the road so I'm calling this swap complete.