help on fixing quarters.

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littleman66

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heres the story.

i took my car into the school autobody shop and i wanted to replace my quarter panels. I drilled out the spot welds and talked to our performace shop where to cut the quarters. they said under the top fin/line. When it was time to cut the car, my autobody teacher said cut it on top of the line, with confusion i told him the other shop told me to cut it under the fin. He then tells me "I been doing this for 30 years, i know what im doing". so i belived him and now it seems like im really screwed.

the top lip on the quarter looks like it would contour the body line if you push it down, but it doesnt, at all... the lip is there to keep it from flexing when it is shipped i here from 2 other supplers...

My question is what do i do now? i cant reweld the old top part of the quarter since my teacher threw it away. do i need to cut it off a different car, weld it to the body and my new quarter?

i couldnt just butt weld it togather since the lines will look out of wack. but if i over lap i the panels the panel will still look out of wack. im scared of heat warpage as well....

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Well, Ya wanted to learn body work, so nows the time :thumbup: I guess you'll need to make the replacement metal from scratch. Clamp the replacement 1/4 in place and use cardboard to draw yourself a template of what you need. Cut the metal a bit larger than what you traced onto the metal. Then a body hammer(s) to shape the metal. 1001 spot welds will keep the heat warpage to a minimum. Also, a flanging tool, used along the seams will keep the metal straight and level. Next, some lead to fill the major areas, then a quality filler. NOT Bondo. It will take time and effort but it can be done. Also another body to lay your fabricated parts on would help a lot to get the proper shape. Hope this helps...

P.S> If anybody had you cut the 1/4's BEFORE you had the new ones. Shame on them. They shouldn't be doing body work. Never EVER cut before you have the replacement parts. It's just so much easier to lay the new 1/4 over the old, trace a line, drop that line 3/8"(for the flange) and cut away!

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Now from what I understand is that your car is in the auto body school and you`ve cut the 1/4`s off where your teacher told you. What does your teacher say about the alignment of the body lines? How would he go about fixing it? He is your teacher and has taken you this far, what does he suggest next? He can`t lead you into battle and then retreat when the enemy appears. Ask your teacher for guidance, if he`s done body work for thirty years, he should be able to direct you in the correct way to install your 1/4 panel.
 
we had the quarters before we cut. they seemed to line up great, its very hard to explain. ill try and find more pictures.

as for my autobody teacher, after he knew i was screwed we stopped going into the shop, and doing ONLY book work. i wasent to mad but just disapointed. now summer is here and i graduated so i have nothing to do with him.
 
Here`s a photo of mine, cut just below the top/side body line then flanged to fit. I have heard of some body guys that attach panels on the top to maintain a smooth side and crisp top body line. Most I`ve seen done, whether in person or in books, are cut on the side and either flanged or butt welded. I suggest following your teachers instructions and see if you can persuade him to help you. Let us know how it works out.

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Wow littleman ,I posted right after you and didn`t get to read your predicament. Can you flange the upper panel and work the 1/4 with a hammer to fit it? Mopar Muscle magazine did an article some time back called "Major Surgery" where they showed you how to replace a 1/4 panel step by step. You can probably do a search on the web and find it,you may be able to glean some information from it to help you out. Good luck!
 
Longgone said:
Wow littleman ,I posted right after you and didn`t get to read your predicament. Can you flange the upper panel and work the 1/4 with a hammer to fit it?
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no, not at all. the fin will not be thier. it needs to be about 1/2inch higher on the right side and on the left quarter there is no fin at all.

plus front to back on the top is only one angle. right when the fin lifts up an inch or so the angle should change a larage amount....thats why it will not work. we never noticed that when measureing it up.

even if we make the angle the same. the quarters will not line up what so ever in anyway.

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You may end up doing what Eric suggested and have to fabricate a strip to fit, or cut the lip off the 1/4, fit it to the body, then fit the side panel to the lip. Whew , tires me out just writing about it! I don`t know what to tell you but don`t get too anxious, be patient and let this thread linger here a while, perhaps there`s a member out there who`s had a similar experience and can offer some sage advise.
 
Longgone said:
You may end up doing what Eric suggested and have to fabricate a strip to fit, or cut the lip off the 1/4, fit it to the body, then fit the side panel to the lip. Whew , tires me out just writing about it! I don`t know what to tell you but don`t get too anxious, be patient and let this thread linger here a while, perhaps there`s a member out there who`s had a similar experience and can offer some sage advise.
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thanks....i think cutting a peice off an 73 and up dart is probley the best idea.
 
If you have a donor car available that's great! Lay/clamp the new 1/4 on it. Draw a line with a marker. Remove 1/4 panel. Draw another line 3/8" below that. Cut on that line. For the top you'll have to cut wider (1"?) than you think you need.Then just trim and fit it. Good Luck!
 
wow that sucks he just kinda left you hanging. :sad1: i need to do this soon to my cuda and might do it in my autobody class or just at home so nobody screws with my stuff or dents my car. about all i can say is your probably gonna have to make a couple custom pieces to make this work, from what i found and what my dad told me is it is good to end a panel on a body line so you dont have to try and line it up on a straight surface, and it does sound way smarter and easier on the sanding. some kids in my body class did a pannel for a pickup and they went over the body line and into a curved surface they worked forever to get it to look decent. later on i asked em why not stop at the body line and then they were like 'o yeah, hey teacher' haha i think my question caught the teacher off guard cause he didnt have much to say :headbang: but for me when i do my cuda i'll replace as much as i can probably use the whole sheet and man will that be huge. good luck with it all :headbang:
 
here is a link to the excellent article that longgone was referring to http://tinyurl.com/jvno6 that is for part one of the article.Your best bet is to find a donor quarter to fab the piece you will need to perform the repair as in this article. It can be a piece of crap quarter as you only need a small piece of the uppermost area which is usually still good so it could be inexpensive.

I will be doing this soon and have gathered a multitude of resource articles as well as reference photos to help with my restoration. The method used here is great as both panels are cut at the same time in small increments so everything lines up and is very straight retaining the original body lines. You have to view the article to really understand the prcess.

Here is the link the the second part of the article http://tinyurl.com/zgcvq . Let us know how you make out, what are everybody's thoughts on this article?
 
I saw the first part of the article a few weeks ago..... but this... now I gots me an edgimication ...been looking for a real thourough step-by-step..now I can see what everyone has been saying
Thanks 70 :toothy7:
 
i dunno if i agree with the but-but weld cause i am gonna overlap my quarters when i do em so they are sronger, then apply fiberglass over the weld seams, thats how my dad does it
 
1966 dart wagon said:
i dunno if i agree with the but-but weld cause i am gonna overlap my quarters when i do em so they are sronger, then apply fiberglass over the weld seams, thats how my dad does it
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what do you mean you dont agree? because your dad does it one way doesnt make other ways wrong.

some people want to apply next to no fillers on there cars. also when over lapping there is a greater chance of moisture and dirt getting in between the pannels and giving you trouble down the road.
 
No problem player1up. I have alot of work to do on my project so I tend to save alot of articles and pictures to provide step by step how the pros do it. I figured it should make things go a little smoother!
 
1966 dart wagon said:
i dunno if i agree with the but-but weld cause i am gonna overlap my quarters when i do em so they are sronger, then apply fiberglass over the weld seams, thats how my dad does it
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"fiberglass over the weld seams" :wack:

As littleman66 mentioned, you dont want moisture in your overlap joint.

Try using a sheet metal flanging tool to make an overlap joint, weld, Use LEAD !!! (because it will fill in the nooks n crannies sealing out the moisture) Then quality body filler (not bondo). And you'll have a quality long lasting repair.

I use an overlap joint for 2 reasons: It's easier if you miscut (fill with lead later) and It's easier to weld (more material, less warping) :thumblef: :toothy7:
 
Eric_S68 said:
"fiberglass over the weld seams" :wack:

As littleman66 mentioned, you dont want moisture in your overlap joint.

Try using a sheet metal flanging tool to make an overlap joint, weld, Use LEAD !!! (because it will fill in the nooks n crannies sealing out the moisture) Then quality body filler (not bondo). And you'll have a quality long lasting repair.

I use an overlap joint for 2 reasons: It's easier if you miscut (fill with lead later) and It's easier to weld (more material, less warping) :thumblef: :toothy7:
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lead sounds like a great idea. thanks for sharing.
 
Fiberglass does not bond well with metal. Leave the fiberglass to Corvettes and boats. Lead is the preferred method but even some of the high quality body fillers will work over welds.
 
Littleman,
How has your 1/4's turned out? I hope to be replacing mine soon. My left 1/4 is damaged on the top all the way to the trunk lid, so i need a complete 1/4 but can't afford the price ($1500). Hope you got it fixed and good luck.
Jeff
 
Hemipar what kind of damage do you have. If it isn't rust damage in nature straighten and cut and fabricate if you have enough shape to work from. Then you can use a rear quarter skin and attach it to the new top repair.


I'm with you ls23h8b chuck fiberglass and bondo. Go to an autobody supply store and get Metal to Metal, much better bonding and nicer to work with. Fiberglass is for the riceburners
 
thanks you guys. i finally found a way to make the quarters work....some time early next month i will be posting pictures on how it turns out.
 
cant wait to see the pics

ok to clear up my explanation, this how i WAS gonna do my qt pannels, over lap, use the filange tool(spelling) then weld seams obviously ha, apply fiberglass over the weld seams then a slight coat of quality filler, this is how my dad his his qt pannels and this is how i was told in my auto body class also, but i do see less problems(with moisture) buy doing a but weld, what if the welds crack, wouldnt u have a bigger chance of burn threw? id love to tig weld my pannels on eventually but im running out of time in my class, and i dont have a tig welder at home. plus isnt lead really hard to apply and make it stick, i know u can buy lead that isnt toxic i dunno what its called but its not as bad for you as the old stuff was(it is bad to breath correct). Wouldnt using fiberglass(the tiger hair style filler) work to seal up the seams to not let moisture in?

i do have to say the way Mopar muscle did it does look good though, but joint, dont have to sand/weld the door seam and stuff, not as much filler.

hm lead does seam easier, stronger, i do have to agree the fiberglass way seemed weird, sorry its how i was showed, and my dads qt pannels turned out awesome

also im not saying other peoples ways are wrong, from what i see i should do the but weld way, im just making a statement of how i was told/taught. when you do a over lap how do you guys get lead to cover the seams in the inside of the car say in very hard to reach places(like in my cuda when the rear window mechanism is in the way?) just though id ask a couple questions, i dont mean to thread jack
 
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