Lower Rear Quarter Patch Repair

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Started removing some of the quarter. Trunk extension needs a patch.

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Some progress updates:

-Cleaned inside the drivers rear quarter, primed, 2 coats of rustoleum rubberized undercoating.
-Cleaned both inner rockers, primed, painted, edges hit with 3M Weld thru primer
-Cleaned outer rocker patches and sprayed with 3M Weld thru primer
-Sprayed eastwoods inner frame rail paint into remains of driver and passenger side rockers.
-rebuilt a small section of the rear corner where the tail panel and rear quarter meet out of some 16 guage steel
-built a new trunk floor extension patch out of 16g steel

Slow but steady.

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The part search continues. Found a new AMD outer wheel well on Craigslist for half the cost. A shame I only needed a small section. Mocked up pretty good though.

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Post holiday season chaos I got back to work. Been starting a few other projects like my floorpans but finally finished up some welding. Passenger outer rocker is next, then finally the rear quarter.

Sorry, pictures got jumbled.

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I left the passenger side inner rocker patch tall so I could trim to fit once I have the outer rocker in. Figured it would be easier to work with more material.
 
Went bigger on the inner wheel well patch, cleaner look and more stout. I can't wait till I finally stop cutting stuff off my car.
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You don't seem like the type that gets too frustrated. I get really irritated when dealing with this kind of thing.

I watched a video on youtube and this old school guy was showing how to do rust repair. Every time he would cut a rusty piece of metal off, there would be more rust behind it. It was never ending. Instead of getting frustrated he was just kind of like "Hey look, more ****. Lets keep going".

Was inspiring in a way lol
 
ESP47 said:
You don't seem like the type that gets too frustrated. I get really irritated when dealing with this kind of thing.

I watched a video on youtube and this old school guy was showing how to do rust repair. Every time he would cut a rusty piece of metal off, there would be more rust behind it. It was never ending. Instead of getting frustrated he was just kind of like "Hey look, more ****. Lets keep going".

Was inspiring in a way lol
Click to expand...
lol Look more crap I gotta fix.
 
Ha! Oh, I got a bit pissy, but realized I didn't have much choice. At this point I want to be ignorant and not explore other areas, looking for rust. But eventually I'll come to terms. Just hoping it ends soon!

Hell, when this thread started I thought I only had a few small holes in the rockers. Well, here we are now...
 
Finished the last couple spots on the passenger side rocker, so it was finally time to start tackling the quarter panel. I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous about this next part, and have spent months reading literature, forums, and watching just about every video YouTube offers on replacing rear quarters. I even bought the Craig Hopkins video where he does the dart quarter panel replacement.

I made the decision based on my skills and comfort level to trim the full quarter just above the top body line. Now I'm sure many of you will disagree, but it was not a decision I made lightly. Thank you in advance for understanding. The cost to have a shop do this is ridiculous (I got many quotes ranging from $2500-$6000), and what better way to learn than do it myself.

I took the plunge today and can't go back. Not bad of a fit in most areas, but I definitely have my work cut out for me to get the rocker lined up (seems about and 1" or 2" to tall), and it's a bit "twisted", but I'm sure that has to do with the age of the car and its lack of perfect squareness.

I'll keep researching on the fitment process, but any tips are greatly appreciated.
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A fair amount of massaging has yielded some decent results so far, however one area in particular I cant seem to get very close. It's where the rear quarter meets the rocker just in front of the rear wheel well. Pic attached.

It takes considerable (one arm) effort to push the quarter panel up so it sits flush with the rocker. In doing so, it appears to bow out the quarter away from the car, however I cant confirm as I haven't found a good way to keep it in place so I can step back and inspect.

All that being said, the new quarter sits perfect at the very lower front where it meets the rocker and door jamb, including the bottom of the rocker section where the quarter wraps under (front few inches only, then it gradually drifts down).

Now I dont think my rocker patch is very far off from when i cut out the original, as i had material on both sides to line up the patch quite accurately.

Any help on where to start looking? As expected, any adjustment makes other areas move out of alignment.

A couple thoughts:

-Could the new quarter be "flattened" a bit from hanging on my garage wall for a decent length of time, thus losing some curve and making it "taller"?

-The new quarter is for a 72-76 Duster so says the AMD box. I did check on their site that the same quarter is used for several models and years, but just triple checking here for sanity's sake.

-Is my car potentially that far out of spec from factory after 30+ years of hot roddin?

Any help is very much welcomed.
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Aftermarket parts fit like crap. Original parts fit like crap. Your chosen method of replacement is unorthodox.
At some point you just need to start tacking and beating things into submission. Be prepared to un-weld some tacks. I do admire your enthusiasm. This is a huge project. You will be using copious amounts of filler to make it look right. Nothing wrong with that if you use proper techniques.
 
What's the welding plan (flange or butt)? How close to the gutter is your top edge?
 
The Amd stuff is better then what we used to have but far from perfect. They usually need tweaking, and as Bodyperson said even on the collision side you end end up with factory line rejects that have been thrown in a box.
 
Ok I read back through this tread a bit, and have a suggested plan for you. The pros can feel free to correct me.

Taking into consideration the size of the weld, the area of the car, the curvature of the panel, and your admitted skill level I would suggest a different approach. Cut the panel about a half inch above the top style line and use an Eastwood panel perfect tool. It seems gimmicky, but works excellent. You don't want to be working out in that open field above that style line. That's a compound convex area. Right above that style line will be less prone to warpage as the style line adds some rigidity to the area. The panel perfect tool will also add rigidity and give you a recessed weld. Not only will this help you with welding/warpage, but will help you tremendously afterwards (little to no grinding, and minimal filler work).
 
Lap welds are generally easier for a novice. I would go above or below the bodyline,never directly at the bodyline itself. I would have tried to use the whole panel and put in at the roof seam. Easier in the end. Sometimes the shortcut takes a lot more time and effort and it not as quality a repair.
 
Bodyperson said:
Aftermarket parts fit like crap. Original parts fit like crap. Your chosen method of replacement is unorthodox.
At some point you just need to start tacking and beating things into submission. Be prepared to un-weld some tacks. I do admire your enthusiasm. This is a huge project. You will be using copious amounts of filler to make it look right. Nothing wrong with that if you use proper techniques.
Click to expand...

GeorgeH said:
Lap welds are generally easier for a novice. I would go above or below the bodyline,never directly at the bodyline itself. I would have tried to use the whole panel and put in at the roof seam. Easier in the end. Sometimes the shortcut takes a lot more time and effort and it not as quality a repair.
Click to expand...

Thank you both, I very much appreciate the feedback. I'll also elaborate further. My first cut is a rough cut so I could start the fitment. My plan is to make a final cut 2" above the top body and use a flange tool so I can lap weld the greater portion of the "skin". It looks funny now, but when ready to attach will look much like a quarter panel skin would. For the first several inches where it meets the door, I plan on butt welding. I read that this method helps considerably with accommodating the transition around the door jamb, and, I have less material between 2 body lines there and want to split the difference. Let me know if my thought process needs some adjustment.

I really didn't decide on this approach as a shortcut by any means, but that it was in my amateur opinion the process that would yield me, with my limited skills, the best results. I used the rockers as a mini test, the drivers side was all butt welds, the passenger was a lap weld. I found out quickly that lap welds were much easier for me to control.

Really good to know about tacking it in place as work on the fitment. I was thinking I needed to have it perfect before welding. Once I have the final cut I'll do this as needed.

Here is a pic to help with my description. Again, advice is greatly appreciated.
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Pascamp said:
Ok I read back through this tread a bit, and have a suggested plan for you. The pros can feel free to correct me.

Taking into consideration the size of the weld, the area of the car, the curvature of the panel, and your admitted skill level I would suggest a different approach. Cut the panel about a half inch above the top style line and use an Eastwood panel perfect tool. It seems gimmicky, but works excellent. You don't want to be working out in that open field above that style line. That's a compound convex area. Right above that style line will be less prone to warpage as the style line adds some rigidity to the area. The panel perfect tool will also add rigidity and give you a recessed weld. Not only will this help you with welding/warpage, but will help you tremendously afterwards (little to no grinding, and minimal filler work).
Click to expand...

Thank you as well, I'll check out the Eastwood tool tonight. I have not heard of it before.
 
You are on the right path for your chosen procedures. It is hard for me to give advice at this point but the best fitment you can get is best before welding. I can see you chasing your tail at some point and you just gotta get on with the welding.
 
To me, something looks seriously messed up with the way the rocker is sitting on that car.
 
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