quarter skin vs full or.... kind of a combination?

[68GTXNH]

so, im sure the skin vs full quarter conversation has been beaten to death. thats not what this post is. i was reading the "mopar b body restoration" book which im sure most of you also have and it brought up a great point that i never considered before, and i can't find ANYTHING online about doing it this way.

they say they like to remove as little of the original metal as possible. almost all of our cars need new quarters at somepoint. but theres no nice way to just patch the lower quarters and have it not be obvious when you look at it from inside the trunk.

so what they do, is get a patch panel or a skin, cut out the damage, trim down the skin or patch to fit and line it up and tack it in. just like most of us would do. but then they drill out all the spot welds and melt out the lead and pull off the whole quarter. then they can body work both sides completely. butt weld and grind smooth inside and out and for the detail oriented people, even simulate the dip primer line and spray in the sound deadening.

then they reinstall it like a replacement full quarter, but it doesn't need any fitting because it came off the car to begin with. i think its a great idea. maybe a lot of work, but not more work if you want to install a full quarter anyways. gives you a chance to clean and prime all the metal underneath. and saves you on ridiculous truck freight charges for full size quarters. i think this is the route im going with, especially because i have a nasty dent across the body lines on the drivers side just behind the door, where itll be impossible to get it perfect without a hammer on the back side. . what are everyone elses thoughts?

 

[eldubb440]

you can spend 100 hours, 1,000 hours, or 10,000 hours ........ there are several ways to skin the cat

I have a friend who I fear may NEVER drive his car because he is way too caught up in things that don't matter in the long run and no one will ever care about

in general, I would do a full quarter if available...... fitting is minimal compared to the all the welding, grinding, and filling on a lower skin

and for what it's worth, the lower skins usually aren't that nice to work with

 

[eldubb440]

also........ most of these cars in need of quarters also need drops, outer wheel houses, trunk pan, and dutchman....... it all kind of works in tandem

of course there are exceptions to the rule, but cars needing only minimum patch work are getting very scarce

 

['73bird]

i think this is the route im going with, especially because i have a nasty dent across the body lines on the drivers side just behind the door, where itll be impossible to get it perfect without a hammer on the back side. . what are everyone elses thoughts?

I don't know I have seen them do wonders with a stud welder

 

[Mike67]

Talk about skinning a cat, check out threewoods thread...1969 GTX....T is for tetanus...
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/1969-gtx-the-t-stands-for-tetanus.111018/

 

[flypaper]

i could see doing it for a high dollar car
most of us don't own such a animal..

 

[68GTXNH]

Ya I've been following the t stands for tetanus. Great build. Shows that you can be patient and work a piece at a time. He really hauled butt on that car.

Yes I agree with the high dollar car thing as well. With a concourse judging on one of those million dollar hemi cuda's they'll definitely look for a primer dip line.
I will certainly have to tap into the outerwheel houses and trunk drop offs too. Full quarter removal gives me plenty of space and given the vinyl top it'd be nice to see what's lurking up high. However, t stands for tetanus is one of those great inpurational threads that leans me towards screw it, patch it up and work through it piece by piece and it'll get there faster. There is always the risk of digging too deep and it becomes just slightly more of anew intimidating project and it sits that way forever and never gets done. His approach is a good one to keep things moving.