[cab]

All - I have the typical rust holes in the driver's quarter on my 67 Firebird convertible (i.e. one spot around the wheel lip and right behind the wheel down low). The vast majority of the metal on the quarter is just fine. I am planning to urchase a new quarter skin, but am not sure where the weld "seem" should be. I have seen folks do them close to the top, but the flipside is people say not to replace any more metal than necessary. Any suggestions?


Thanks,

Chris

 

[Rupe]

Whats under the existing finish? If there is a lot of old body work (or rust/pitting on the inside of the quarter) then you might want to replace the whole thing.

 

[adtkart]

Here's what I would do. Before ordering anything, determine exactly what you need. Strip the whole quarter panel to bare metal. If the damage is only confined to a small area, find out if you can get a patch panel for that area. The reason I say that is simple. Most quarter panel skins are actually made to fit over the existing quarter panel. In my opinion, only a butcher would apply one that way, but they fit that way. That means that the body lines and such are actually in the wrong place, if you remove the old panel and try to install them. They take a lot of work to get everything lined up properly. If you can get a patch panel for that area, you will have a better fit. Then just cut out what is necessary to have good solid metal to weld to.

Aaron