G'day.

It occurred to me today that I could save myself a lot of grief by removing the spare tyre well from my van, and possibly fitting an inspection plate.

The mattress constantly disappears into it , even with something over teh top which invariably slips, and it prevents me from having a decent bash at a big dent in the rear quarter panel.
The well looks like it was plug or spot welded in place around the edge.

Can I just drill out the welds and pop the well out? Or is there more to it?

If I do this how on earth do I go about attaching a plate in place? I imagine it wouldn't be hard to cut a chunk of plate to size and drill holes in it to match the positions of the drilled out welds.

After I do that how on earth would I secure it? Something like captive nuts inside the engine bay would be nice, but I don't know how to go about it.

I'll just glue a ring of rubber in place to make it vapour tight. That should be ample.

How about rivets and a plate to go over the top? Could hinge it to make it a hidey hole.....

If you drill it out and removw it weld a plate over the hole.

Already drilled most of it out. That is the spot welds that haven't popped already or were dodgy in the first place.
Given that it was never really sealed in the first place, even a plate with a stack of nuts and bolts and RTV would be a better seal. Plus I can repair the gigantic gouge and dent in the side of the van, and it will come very handy if/when I do an engine conversion, because I would put a radiator there,