should I patch or replace the sheet metal - 72 Roadrunner

[plymouthman72]

As most of you on here have gone through, I am finding more and more issues with my mopar. I am going through the delimma of patching what I have or putting all new sheet metal in the areas of question. The two main areas I'm focusing on now are passenger side. The door and back quarter/fender well. I just realized the well over the fender is out of line and not sure I can fix without a new whole quarter so I am asking for opinions. I think the door is going to have to be replaced given the damage but maybe it can be fixed? Thanks for any input, you guys are great.

 

[Bruzilla]

Personally, I would replace the door as it'll cost about the same to get a door as what a body shop will charge to fix it, maybe even less. Get some quotes and see which is more cost effective.

As for the quarter, my experience has been if the rust is coming through like that, there's probably a lot more that you aren't seeing, and fixing that one area will help for a while but then you'll have problems developing elsewhere. That's a place you might want to bite the bullet and replace the quarter so you're not getting nickle and dimed to death by rust issues.

 

[YY1]

Agree about the door.

The quarter looks like it might have been a ding and scratch that surface rusted.

Get a fiber wheel and some primer and a can of rust bulllet and dig a bit deeper.

 

[rrTor-Red]

I think your only option is to fix the door. When my car was in the shop, I called around for good doors. I was told they wasn't any new ones back then but maybe there are now.

As far as the 1/4, I'd do what was posted above. Never know what might be lurking behind.

BTW-Mine is same color

 

[plymouthman72]

Tor-Red - I love your car - I hope one day mine will look like yours. I just wished it wasn't such an expensive habit. I keep wrestling between whether I should try and fix it as best I can or completely disassemble and start from scratch. I just hate doing all the double work.

 

[Homstead]

Very cool car! If that door is rust free I would save it. It looks fixable to me. Hard to say about the rust without seeing it in person but from the pics it looks fixable to me. After cutting some of the rust out you could take a boroscope and do some further investigation in suspect areas. Just my 2 cents....

 

[flypaper]

that quarter looks like a can full of worms
that will explode once you open it up.
i suspect there is rust in the rear part of the outer rocker underneath it
in the area where it has rusted thru
my guess is you will be replacing the whole thing
by the time you add up all the splicing it will need.

 

[YY1]

A good body man (or really even a half decent one) could get that wrinkle out of the door, although it looks like it's encroahing on the body line, which will add difficulty and $$$.

In 2005 I got quoted $900 to fix a fender that was about twice to work you're looking at.

This was from a shop that I knew would do the work right.

I ended up buying a clean straight used fender for $300. Not happy to pay retail, but it was the best I could find, and better than the repair price.

 

[dangina]

you can get full quarters from amd- nice pieces, doors you can't get or seem to find in nice shape..

 

[plymouthman72]

Flypaper, I am afraid you are right and the other side looks just as bad. The problem with the doors is they have the rust in the bottom back corner as well so I am probably going to try and find a nice pair somewhere. So this brings me to my next question. Since I am most likely going to have to replace the full quarters, how hard of a job is that really. I see the pictures of what you guys do and it looks easy but I know it can not really be that easy. At this point, would I be better off taking everything off the car and just doing it rotisserie style? I was really trying to avoid that and fix it in sections because of money and space but I am not sure I am going to be able to do that now. I already have most of the interior in again and don't want to pull it back out . I have considered starting a restoration thread but not so sure in my confidence of work and know that my unorthodox method will come under scrutiny haha!

 

[Bruzilla]

I think the next question is one you should ask yourself, which is what are you hoping to get out of this car? The days of doing restos to sell for big $$$ are over (thank God), so why are you working this project?

If it is because you want a 100% correctly-restored car, that you're going to keep for a long time, then make the investment and get a good P&B guy to replace the quarters and look for a good set of doors.

If it is because you want a good-looking driver to cruise around in and have fun, then just patch up the holes with fiberglass and filler and paint it. The repair may last a few years or a few decades depending on how much rust there is and how good a job you do, but it's a lot less time and money expended to get what you actually need.

 

[plymouthman72]

Bruzilla, that is a very good question! The car has strong sentimental value to me as it has been in my family for the past 20 years. It was my brothers first car and he the last 10 years outside has not been kind to it. As far as what I want, I waffle back and forth on what exactly I want. I am definitely not looking to make this a show car but I do not want to skimp on the important things either. God willing, I will keep it for many more years to come and maybe one day give it back to my brother as a gift (MAYBE ). I am not a stickler for original everything but that is the path I am taking more because the engineering is already done and probably the cheaper route. I am not afraid of reproduction items so in a sense I kind of want the best of both worlds. My main goal is to have something that I can enjoy and that will last along time. I want a durable classic that I can enjoy the hell out of but still looks great and can take to shows. My biggest dilemma is that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I feel if I can not do it right, why do it all BUT doing it right has a massive price tag. UGH The things we go through for our cars!

 

[rrTor-Red]

Tor-Red - I love your car - I hope one day mine will look like yours. I just wished it wasn't such an expensive habit. I keep wrestling between whether I should try and fix it as best I can or completely disassemble and start from scratch. I just hate doing all the double work.

I hear ya so with that, do her right the first time is what I wanted. Just make sure croos your "T's" and dot the "I's"

- - - Updated - - -

Bruzilla, that is a very good question! The car has strong sentimental value to me as it has been in my family for the past 20 years. It was my brothers first car and he the last 10 years outside has not been kind to it. As far as what I want, I waffle back and forth on what exactly I want. I am definitely not looking to make this a show car but I do not want to skimp on the important things either. God willing, I will keep it for many more years to come and maybe one day give it back to my brother as a gift (MAYBE ). I am not a stickler for original everything but that is the path I am taking more because the engineering is already done and probably the cheaper route. I am not afraid of reproduction items so in a sense I kind of want the best of both worlds. My main goal is to have something that I can enjoy and that will last along time. I want a durable classic that I can enjoy the hell out of but still looks great and can take to shows. My biggest dilemma is that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I feel if I can not do it right, why do it all BUT doing it right has a massive price tag. UGH The things we go through for our cars!

I hear ya on that one too, plymouthman72 and Bruzilla. My dad bought my car over thirty years ago for the same thing, restore it. He gave it to me because "I'm getting too old, hear you take it and run with it". He knew the original owners. Their son bought it new in 70 but was killed in Nam. Mom and dad drove it to church and store. The old man dies of a heart attack in '83. My dad had the opportunity to buy it but instead of waiting, she sold it to another guy. He had it 1 year. Then my dad bought it.

More sentimental value to me

 

[djais1801]

I have a pair of lower quarters patch panels from AMD that were intended for my 71, they are still in the box in my basement. PM me if you're interested.

 

[rrTor-Red]

Plymouthman72 when things start to get to me when I'm working on my car, stop. If I don't stop, the deficit money will go up. I stop, get my thoughts together, and have a beer. Just saying

 

[Bruzilla]

Bruzilla, that is a very good question! The car has strong sentimental value to me as it has been in my family for the past 20 years. It was my brothers first car and he the last 10 years outside has not been kind to it. As far as what I want, I waffle back and forth on what exactly I want. I am definitely not looking to make this a show car but I do not want to skimp on the important things either. God willing, I will keep it for many more years to come and maybe one day give it back to my brother as a gift (MAYBE ). I am not a stickler for original everything but that is the path I am taking more because the engineering is already done and probably the cheaper route. I am not afraid of reproduction items so in a sense I kind of want the best of both worlds. My main goal is to have something that I can enjoy and that will last along time. I want a durable classic that I can enjoy the hell out of but still looks great and can take to shows. My biggest dilemma is that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I feel if I can not do it right, why do it all BUT doing it right has a massive price tag. UGH The things we go through for our cars!

I would just urge caution with the "do it right" thought process as that's killed a LOT of projects. A whole lot. A lot of things some folks think are not right was "doing it right" 20-30 years ago. I always snicker when the "Done Right!" guys find Bondo repairs that they thought were sheet metal for years and years, but still think using Bondo is bad. What's right is what meets your needs, aesthetically, performance wise, spousal support wise, and financial wise, so don't feel like you have to spend $$$ to do something that's right for someone else but not for you.

 

[plymouthman72]

Thank you both, both are very true and excellent words of advice. Actually Bruzilla, I think you told me that exact same thing when I was working on my firewall last year and I agreed with you then too! What I think it comes down to is that I want to drive this car and enjoy it. I want it to be perfect but honestly it never will be and if it was I would not want to drive it. I am still undecided as to how I am going to go about it, I am just going to take it one step at a time and enjoy the process!

 

[SlinktRR]

Thank you both, both are very true and excellent words of advice. Actually Bruzilla, I think you told me that exact same thing when I was working on my firewall last year and I agreed with you then too! What I think it comes down to is that I want to drive this car and enjoy it. I want it to be perfect but honestly it never will be and if it was I would not want to drive it. I am still undecided as to how I am going to go about it, I am just going to take it one step at a time and enjoy the process!

The pictures aren't very clear but I don't see much issue. Some surface rust on the quarter. The door has a dent, that can be fixed. Is the rocker panel rusted through? That is best done with a patch panel. Use a strong magnet and check for bad bondo repairs or rust. If the paint is bubbling that usually means there is serious rust beneath. I don't see that in the pictures.

I wouldn't assume you need to replace the quarters. Aftermarket panels don't always fit and can be a headache. With the state of those panels I would just get a quote for any seriously bad rust that is spreading and fix the rest as budget allows. Do it a little bit at a time so your car doesn't end up in a shop that takes a year to finish.

 

[YY1]

Yep, give us a straight on pic, not at an odd angle.

7 dollar fiber wheel and a 7 dollar can of primer will tell you a LOT more

 

[plymouthman72]

Here are some more straight on shots, sorry about the bad angles. I did that to try and show the issues on the fender well. The scratch is superficial and not bad, its the area right underneath it where the line looks like it is pull out. I am not positive about the rocker panel but I am pretty sure there is some rust there as well but I don't believe it that bad. It also shows the rust in the corner of the door. My brother fiberglassed that about 15 years ago so considering it has been outside that whole time, didn't hold up to bad in my opinion.





UPDATE:

Okay, so when in doubt check right? I sanded off around the fender well and this is what I found:



The area is small in nature but I believe this is the deciding factor in what I am going to do going forward. There is no telling what else may be underneath this 30 year old paint. Even though I have put most of the interior back in, I am going to take it all back out (except maybe the dash but even then I dont't want to damage it). I am going to completely dissemble the car and go through the whole thing. Whether I use fiber glass or actually replace metal I want to have a clean slate and it needs to be done anyways. The whole reason I started backwards was because I only had a 1 car garage in an apartment complex but now I have space in a house and a decent 2 car garage. I always wanted to do it this ways anyways. Truly, this method excites me and I want to get started. This will allow me to go through all the parts as they are out one by one and can have the whole car painted at 1 time and it won't really change my budget. It will take longer to get her on the road but once it is done, it is done! I will start a thread in the resto area to help keep me motivated as well as ask for advice during the body work as this is my first time doing this. Thank you all for your advice and support, this has been a great site!