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Suggestions on Bodywork

JimKueneman

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After stripping the rear quarter panels on my new '68 Coronet I found a 1970's fender bender repair. This repair had a lot of bondo and a few brazes from the era. The area between the wheel well and the bolt hole to the left (this is a 500 so it has the chrome trim around the recessed areas of the panel) is about 1/4" low. I think it is because the area right next to the wheel is still caved in putting pressure back into that area causing it to "pop in". I think I need to draw that area out and get more angle to the lip where the well chrome goes.

It is REALLY hard to get to that area from behind through the inner quarter access and reach around to hit it with a hammer. What is the best thing to do with this damage? I would really like to minimize the filler. Oh and I tried to weld a nut to the lip and pull it with a slide hammer. It pulled the hole in the metal in the photo. That lip is VERY stiff.

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Thanks,
Jim
 
Order a new patch panel from Sherman and cut out the old section and but weld a new piece in it's place. Brazing is ok under lead, but bondo is another story.
 
Brazing is ok under lead, but bondo is another story
But it did seem to last for 40 years...

Jim, as you found out a localized pull isn't too helpful. But spread out over a larger area, such as a 3 or 4 inch J hook that reaches around the lip will work better with your slide hammer. You can also try blocking some wood behind it and jacking it out against the frame rail. And all those small dents can be pulled out by welding pins to the sheet metal and pulling them out, such as this gas tank example.

pins.jpg
 
I don't think the inner finder needs to come out, they did a fair job at getting the basic shape back. It think it just needs the outer skin reshaped at the well lip, but like I said it is very very stiff due to the think steel and multiple tight angles. I think I may buy some metal shaping tools today. If I get the right dolly I may be able to get it in that area buy taking the quarter window out and reaching in from the window opening. I was going to buy a Harbor Freight stud welder but after watching a few videos with people struggling to get the studs to stick enough to pull a modern tin can car panel out I will save my 100 dollars. That seems to be a tool that you need to buy quality.

I guess the worse thing I could do is screw it up so bad I have to buy new quarter skin and cut out a patch :)

[Update]
I made some templates of the area from the other side. You are correct, it is caved in about 1/4" in this area on the inner fender and does need to be pulled out. I will try the jacking against the frame. That seems like it could work.

Jim
 
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It it crazy to think about cutting out a section to gain access, reshape the cutout piece out where you can work on it and then weld it back in? I know the butt joint won't be tight but a there is access to put a backer piece on the joint.

Jim
 
See if you can maybe borrow a stud gun or even offer a few bucks to use one? I've borrowed a friends a couple times and will absolutely be buying one, they work miracles and save so much time.
 
It it crazy to think about cutting out a section to gain access, reshape the cutout piece out where you can work on it and then weld it back in? I know the butt joint won't be tight but a there is access to put a backer piece on the joint.

Jim
If that panel is rust free I wouldn't go cutting it up either, you'll likely be fighting warpage from welding just as much as your fighting the dent.
 
That braze needs to come out, grind it out of the panel just a little at a time till its out.
If you have access to a shrink / stretch press you can make a patch to fit or like posted above get a patch panel and cut out just what you need.
turn your welder down & mig it in a spot at a time letting it cool after each couple spots , grind to flush and skim with tiger hair just to fill any pin holes you cant see then DA the excess off.
Looks like a nice solid panel it should repair nice.
 
That braze needs to come out, grind it out of the panel just a little at a time till its out.
If you have access to a shrink / stretch press you can make a patch to fit or like posted above get a patch panel and cut out just what you need.
turn your welder down & mig it in a spot at a time letting it cool after each couple spots , grind to flush and skim with tiger hair just to fill any pin holes you cant see then DA the excess off.
Looks like a nice solid panel it should repair nice.

I am not sure I am that good at metal work. Spent a few hours with the right tools (stud welder, body hammers/dollies) and have it looking much better. It now matches my cardboard templates from the other side. The very bottom of the rocker in front the wheel does have a few small holes from rust (1/16" or so) at the corner so the panel is very solid but does have a few thin spots around the seams here and there.

I plan to spend a few more hours tomorrow on it and see what I think.

Jim
 
Jim, one thing to keep in mind is the more you work with that qt as far as hammer and dollie the more it will grow, each thump that steel gets bigger and it has to go someplace.
Its been worked in the past also. That's the only reason I lean to replacement of that small section. If the rest of your 68 is that solid you have a nice project car to work with.
 
Jim, one thing to keep in mind is the more you work with that qt as far as hammer and dollie the more it will grow, each thump that steel gets bigger and it has to go someplace.
Its been worked in the past also. That's the only reason I lean to replacement of that small section. If the rest of your 68 is that solid you have a nice project car to work with.

I know. I have it looking much better. It did pull the braze joints apart getting it back into shape. As for the rest of the car, it is in better shape than the quarter panels (I think, we will see when we strip the doors and fenders). It is a PA car that has been stored in Arizona since '85.

I am not sure I am qualified to say if this panel is in good shape or not. Below is a few spots on the right and left quarter panels that have rusted through in the corners. I finished stripping the trunk today as well so you can see the shape that is in..

Jim

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So here it he result. It is very, very close to being the correct shape based on my template and measurement with a T-Square from to concrete up to the wheel well. Also the trim fits nice and flush all the way around the opening.

Based on the rust that is making in roads to the panels I am on the fence as to what to do. Is it worth the effort cutting out the small areas where the metal is thin and butt welding in small patches or do I just use some fiberglass patches from behind since I need to fill it with filler anyway to get the final shape?

This is _much_ better than it was, you can actually see the lip for the wheel well all the way around now. I don't plan on this being a show car, just a very nice weekend driver.

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Oh by the way it has been a LONG, LONG time since I had a car with left handed lug nuts…. Took a bit to figure that one out :)
 
Jim from what I see the body is pretty good , cant see the bottom ect but what you have shown is very repairable.
Most of these old b bodies that have set long you can toss a cat through the qts. :thumbsup:
 
You guys guilted my into it and I am meeting you half way. I bought the cheap stud welder at harbor freight. Took a bit to get the knack of it but I can now use it well and the above is the first result. I have also cut out some of the really bad areas in the wheel lip and made patterns from the other side and have started to weld in small patches. I just finished replacing about 3" of the wheel well lip and will finish it up tomorrow. For not having a clue what the hell I am doing it is turning out better than expected (other than my welding of sheet metal needs infinitely more practice, I end up with more to grind off than is in the weld itself). I will post some photos of the finished result soon.

Jim
 
But it did seem to last for 40 years...

A big 10-4 there. :) These guys who whine about Bondo repairs they find on their cars that have been on there for 20-30 years and saying "that's not right" kill me. :) There's bad Bondo repairs just like there's bad sheet metal repairs, but Bondo repairs are not universally bad.
 
I am no where close to good enough to not have some filler. I am only closing the gaping holes and replacing a bit of the lip that was so crumpled it was not possible to straighten it (it had a big braze blob in the middle of it).
 
Replacing some of the lip is not a problem, sometimes you just can't save what's there.

Just a tip on welding in new pieces, don't do it all at once. Start with little spot welds spaced out a couple of inches to avoid putting too much heat into the sheet metal and causing more warping. Once it's tacked in, continue with more spots in between and keep going until the whole joint is fused with individual spots. Running a long pass like this may look nice but will cause problems with all that heat.
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Instead, you should look for something that looks like this when you're done.
but weld spot.jpg

(not my welding, I just used the pictures for examples).
 
You mentioned fiberglass. It expands and contracts at different rates than steel. It will always fail. Make sure to weld up all the little holes. Otherwise moisture will get into there and rust out.
 
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