Unlike some other makes, full replacement quarter panels are not (yet) available for Mopars.  This leaves you two options - find rust-free original panels on a junk car, or use the currently-available patch panels (lower skins).  Due to the difficulty and cost in locating rust-free full original quarter panels, lower skins were selected for this project.

There are dozens of ways to attach lower skins, including some new adhesive bonding techniques.  And you'll hear many people brag about using "all metal, no bondo".  But take a close look at cars done with these techniques, and you'll find some dirty little secrets.  Look inside the trunk, at the quarter panel.  Look up underneath the edge.  If you can see a flange joint or overlapping metal panels, RUN AWAY!  

All of these types of joints result in varying thickness of metal and excess filler that will eventually show up as waviness or blisters when exposed to hot summer heat and sun and humidity.  The best way to patch a panel is with a butt-weld, ground smooth, and metal-worked to a smooth seamless joint.  When done properly, you will need, at most, a thin skim coat of filler to smooth the metal.  Often, you will only need a thick, high-build primer to bring everything to perfection.  And the repair will be undetectable.

Start by trimming the old, rusted metal away.  Be sure not to trim too much, as the lower skins are not meant to cover the full quarter panel.  The lip stamped at the top of the panel is only meant to give strength during shipping.  It is not as crisp as the original body line. 

To repair his Roadrunner, Mark trimmed off the old metal, then the new skins are aligned on the body, and clamped them in place.  Then, both the skin and original metal are cut through at once with a body saw, leaving a perfect (sawblade thickness) 1/16" gap around the patch panel.  Butt-weld clamps are inserted and the panel is tack-welded in place. From there, you go back through the seam and fill in the gap between tach welds, alternating location and cooling each weld to prevent warping.  The welds are then ground smooth and metal worked (like a small dent), filled as appropriate, and primed.

This process is labor intensive, but the results are well worth it.  The panel will hold it's smooth appearance for decades and even bodywork experts will be hard-pressed to locate the repair.  Which do you want on your classic -- cheap shortcuts like flange or lap joints, or a butt-welded seamless repair?

If you are interested in learning advanced metal-working techniques like these, we highly recommend Ron Covell's metal working workshops.  Ron is a guru of metal working.  Visit www.covell.biz for details on workshops, videos, tools, etc. 

Let's look at some progress pictures:

The patch panel has been hung, the weld bead ground smooth, and metalwork has started.  Let's take a closer look at the repair.

Here's a close-up of the repair.  Can you see any joint in the metal?  If this was a flange or overlap repair, you would see a joint, which would then need to be filled with plastic.  Because the panels were cut to 1/16" gap and butt-welded, there is no gap.  The weld bead has been ground smooth and metal work began, to remove any highs or lows.

Here's another photo of the same joint, taken from inside the trunk.  Notice the weld bead about an inch down from the top of the quarter.  This bead is so small, you could cover it with primer, paint, and rust-proofing and most people would never be able to find it.  But for perfection, this bead will be ground down on the inside too, not just the outside, to make the repair undetectable.

Notice the black phosphate coating on the doors.  We have multiple stripping options available, including dipping panels in chemical solution to remove rust then coated in phosphate to seal the metal.  

Here's the passenger side, with bodywork completed and shot in rough primer.

Follow this link to more pictures of window channel repair.

©2001-2004 Basik Street Rods & Muscle Cars, LLC. All rights reserved.