i am currently in the middle of replacing inner and outer rocker panels on a 1988 cadillac deville.

Backstory (fast)
bought for $300 and would love to learn bodywork. figure if i screw it up i lose 300 dollars. if i do a good job then right on.

Issues
previous owner did poor patch job with slip on rocker overtop of original rusty rocker.

upon closer inspection it seems to have been sideswiped on the passenger side and alot of bondo was on the rear quarter infront of the rear wheel well.

The Big Question
My biggest question and concern is the unibody frame. My question is did the previous owner chop this piece short? (Highlighted In picture)) should it be the full length of the pinch weld?

another angle below

^im wondeeing if this should extend to the front near the front fender


at this point i notice it seems damaged and want to replace the whole inner rocker from the rear wheel well to the front. anyone have any suggestions on if i could buy them? or should i find an old truck bed with some good sheet metal and just make some? any suggestions or tips are much appreciated.

It'* a little tough to tell from the pictures. I don't think GM would point an open piece of structure like that forward without covering it etc.

Close the door and give us a few more shots including a straight side shot with the camera about a foot above the ground.

What you are looking at are the frame rails. They do not run the entire length. If you were to put a big power plant in a unibody you weld in frame rails connectors which fills in the missing area. This keeps the frame from twisting under the torque of the engine. Similar to boxing a ladder frame for strength.