The problem was with the mounting point for the left front torsion bar. It seems that acid from the battery had eaten away the undercoating and then over the years the Pacific Northwest water had eaten away at the metal. It was in pretty tough shape as you can see. To remove the pan I drilled out each of the spot welds and then cut the panel away. I was able to leave the cross member in place which served to keep the front end aligned. To see a larger picture, click on these pics.

Here is the front shot with the panel removed.

This is the right hand side of the old and new piece.

Here is what was left of the left-hand mounting point.

This is a shot from inside the trunk looking at the right-hand

corner with the cross member still in place.