[Mach1460]

I sold one of my old mustangs and now that I have some $$ and some room in my garage its time to start fixing up my daily driver 92 bronco. Im going to start with the hood which just needs paint ( clear coat flaked off ) so im going to strip the hood and lay down some fresh paint. Ill be using SPI epoxy, with a PPG black ( have not purchased yet) and ill probobly use SPI's universal clear coat because Ive heard so many good things on this site about them. The hood I can handle fine, the rear quarters are a new venture for me sorta, I did a patch panel on a 92 miata and it was a major pain but a great learning expierence. I butt welded the patch on the miata and even though i stitch welded very slowly i still had a lot of warpage and a few burn throughs that the fought me to the end. Id like to bypass all that crap this time doing both rear quarters on my bronco. I have two replacement quarters that I am using. Im only going to remove whats rusty till i find good solid metal which shouldint be too much (see pics) and cut the new panel to fit. Im thinking I want to get a panel flanger to have a stronger joint with less chance of burn thru and have the flanged side be the exisiting metal so that theres no pocket for moisture to sit.

My only concern is using the flanger on the existing metal because it has a contour to it, what would you all reccomend?

 

[mike the painter]

First off its easier , faster and better to replace the whole 1/4 You dont really need a flanger for this job ,I'm assuming your using used 1/4's...anyways you make your splice where the glass is and weld it where the factory welded it be sure to make a splice in the jamb and not on the outside of the 1/4....

 

[Chevymon]

Depending on how much of the replacement quarters you have, you might be able to use bonding adhesive and only have to weld the door post somewhere above the bed.

Ill be using SPI epoxy, with a PPG black ( have not purchased yet) and ill probobly use SPI's universal clear coat because Ive heard so many good things on this site about them.

And in a week or two you will be able to get SPI Black also, if you want it.

 

[Mach1460]

here are my patch panels, they are new, they cover a pretty large part of the rear quarter. I would like to replace the entire panel and looking the truck over today I dont think it would be very hard, im a little worried about the door jam area wouldnt want the striker to move... My only rusty area is at the top of the wheel well and the edges of the inner fender. I can get inner fenders for 55.00 each which is no big deal but im not sure how they are attatched right now.. they dont look spot welded like the quarter does, in one small corner it looks like they used maybe a panel adheasive. Im still a ways away from ordering my paints/primers ect so ill have to look into the black epoxy. That would cover all too well!

from what I expierenced on my last fender (miata in my pics) it was all crunched in and i had to cut out and butt weld the whole panel back in. To me this bronco looks like a cake walk replacing the whole fender. Id like to go that route but that would add another 500.00 to the bill for the fenders.. decisions decisions

* i know the panel is not "straight" its just for demonstration purpouses

 

[mike the painter]

In this case I'd put the flange about 1" below the body line, about where the pinstripe is. A used 1/4 would be easiest though.

 

[Mach1460]

I don't think I can find a good used quarter here in south Dakota, way to much salt going on here! I double checked prices and the cheapest I could find are 230.00 per panel plus 120 to ship... So basically thats another 700 bucks and I don't think I want to go that route.
So I should go with a flange? Or butt weld? I've been doing some reading, a lot of people say a flange will rust because it will collect water, I don't see how if the existing metal id flanged and the panel fits into the flange... So the lip its facing down. Hopefully you understand what I mean. of course I'll use some weld thru primer, then a shot of epoxy and some undercoat after to seal it..

 

[mike the painter]

Theres nothing wrong with a flange joint what so ever.(if its done right) if you flange the replacement panel the flange will be upside down and it'll hold water like a cup even if its seam sealed it'll fail sooner or later. If you flange the the bed side (the right way) theopen end will point down and it wont hold water then a little seam sealer and it'll last as longer than that replacement patch ...
I would flange the top only just to help keep the seam from warping. the strength from the body line combined with the added strength from the flange will give you a nice straight seam. then I would butt the sides and back it up with a strip of copper to keep the metal from blowing out when you weld The sides will warp but you can work them fairly EZ...Thats me,for you,I'd say go ahead and flange it on all three sides and use some drill screws in the flange to hold the new panel on that way you test fit it pull it of and work the flange until its perfect use a straight edge to make sure the joint is flush everywhere BEFORE you start welding. I'd also put the screws every two inches all the way around..When your sure everything is right and you start welding just pull one screw and make a plug weld then go to the next one and repete,when all the screws are removed and a plug weld has replaced them ,then you start on the flange edge,That has to be welded like a butt joint ,all the way around..if you take your time you should have a warp free job that needs very little filler...

 

[Mach1460]

Thanks for the advice, the last panel i did was a warping nightmare. I do not want to do that again. I ended up getting a lead/tin kit and filled most of the warpage from my buttweld. Then did a very thin coat of filler. Probobly not the perfect way but it was a practice car anyway and had very thin sheetmetal. I only had a few blowthru's and I bought a nice copper backing kit with a handle and interchangeable shaped copper ends and finished it up.

I think ill do it the way you told me to do it and use some weld thru primer on all the "to be welded" areas and between the flanges. Then when its done ill hit it with some epoxy primer, then finish the backsides with paint just as I would the front but also apply an undercoating or herculiner of some sort.

 

[Mach1460]

looking into the SPI black... since a black base will cover anything easy, is there any benefit to using the black epoxy? Since ill be shooting a high build primer over the epoxy (which maybe they make in black also) whats the point??

 

[mike the painter]

The epoxy sticks like crazy and it seals everything up .you really dont need anything else on the inside ,you can paint it if you want to, but use a SS paint not a base coat...The 2k is for getting your body work straight ,thats basiclly about it. You would want to epoxy before you used the 2k but the SPI epoxy can also be used as a building primer but it takes days to cure ,so if you have the time to wait you can eliminate the cost of a 2k primer and just use the SPI epoxy all by itself....I belive it comes in black, white and gray...
be sure to post pics as you progress....

 

[Mach1460]

Hey that's good news, so a guy can just do say 3 costs of the spi epoxy, block it just like 2k then base coat it? I hope i'm understanding that correctly I will post pics. Im going to stay mid next week. I think i'm going to do my hood and fenders first, should I leave them on, or take them of? I suppose leaving them on is easier, but id kinda like to see what's going on behind the fenders anyway...

 

[Chevymon]

Then when its done ill hit it with some epoxy primer, then finish the backsides with paint just as I would the front but also apply an undercoating or herculiner of some sort.

Since you live in South Dakota I would go ahead and use the bedliner or undercoating after epoxy like you planned.