This quarter-panel has been...
This quarter-panel has been patched before and is now rusting through inother areas. Patching it again would be a total waste of money since itwill eventually rust through somewhere else. It's vital to remove thepanel, and find out what's going on behind it.
Cancer, there are not many words that ring with pain and death as muchas this one. Whatever treatments are employed, they must have one endresult: all cancer must be removed, or it will eventually come back tohurt you again. A band-aid won't fix this.
The same is true for rust.There is no place for band-aids or patches in any real restoration. Rustmust go. Period.
A new panel from Year One...
A new panel from Year One is placed over the original to show you whatis traditionally removed from the car.
There isn't anyone who would argue with this, but youwill get disagreements about the best course of treatment. John Balow ofMuscle car Restorations has learned in his sixteen years of experiencedoing first class restorations to be absolutely merciless in dealingwith rust damage. The reality is rust works its evil deep in the nooks,crannies, and hidden crevices of your car. Even if you properly repairthe damaged part of a panel, you really don't know what other damage isoccurring behind seemingly solid areas. There is no form of CAT scan tosee what's lurking behind sheetmetal. The only true long-term solutionis major exploratory surgery--completely remove the panel and treat theentire area.
John and his talented craftsmen have raised the standardfor panel replacement. They are producing results that are practicallyindistinguishable from an original factory panel.
This is the first in amultiple-part article. We knew that you guys would want to knoweverything about how to do a job like this, so follow along as we getdirty.
In our first lesson, we're going to detail the right way toremove a diseased quarter-panel, so there will be no signs of rejectionwhen the new one is installed.
Plasma cutter . . . Plug cutter. . .Cutoff wheel . . .
Muscle Car Restorations insists...
Muscle Car Restorations insists on preserving the original compoundcorner at the top of the quarter-panel, the taillight extension area,the marker light position, and door jamb seams. That way, the usualtell-tail signs of quarter replacement are eliminated, and, moreimportantly, the original factory fit is completely maintained. Thepositions of the cuts are clearly marked out in advance. The cut linesare lower on the original panel than where the finished seam will be.
A plasma cutter is the easiest...
A plasma cutter is the easiest way to remove the panel, as there is nowarping or other heat damage. It also produces nice clean edges...
...In theareas where there...
...In theareas where there is body filler, you have no choice but to use a cutoffwheel.
With the old quarter removed,...
With the old quarter removed, you can see there is a lot of gunk thathas accumulated in the bottom seam on either side of the wheel opening.In fact, in the front corner of the wheel opening there is a good dealof old sandblasting sand from the previous patch job. All of this debristraps moisture, even right out of the air, not to mention each time thecar is washed. If this isn't cleaned out, rust will come back again andruin the restoration.
Preserving the original marker...
Preserving the original marker light opening not only maintains theoriginal factory fit and location of the marker light, but if this cargets the rear stripe, it will fit perfectly, as well. As good as thereproduction panels from Year One are, the marker light openings are notalways identical with the originals.
A 3/8-inch "plug cutter" is...
A 3/8-inch "plug cutter" is used to remove the spot welds around thewheelwell opening and the bottom of the quarter. Stubborn areas may needa little persuasion from an air chisel...
...The tools for removing...
...The tools for removing thefactory spot welds are a Century 1/8-inch double-ended drill bit and a3/8-inch Blair plug cutter. The bit works for marking the center of thespot weld and providing a guide for the point of the plug cutter.
This is the kind of hidden...
This is the kind of hidden rust damage that is commonly found after removing a quarter-panel. The only way to properly fix this kind of damage is to custom make a piece to replace it.
With the panel completely...
With the panel completely removed, this is a fairly straightforwardreplacement that will last as long as the new panel.
A little hammer and dolly...
A little hammer and dolly work is always necessary around the wheelopening after breaking and drilling out those sometimes stubbornspot-welds.
On the flat areas, John prefers...
On the flat areas, John prefers a 3M 8-inch, 24-grit grinding disc.Clean off all the crud and loose rust, but don't remove the rust down toshiny bare metal. The POR 15 product we'll be using later needs a littlesurface rust to form a tight bond with the metal.
The quarter has been removed,...
The quarter has been removed, leaving the upper bodyline, the door jamb,taillight attachment points, and the original marker light opening.
A 3M Clean and Strip Disc...
A 3M Clean and Strip Disc works great on the edges and in the grooves.clean up all the loose stuff, but don't polish it shiny.
Mask off the inner wheelwell...
Mask off the inner wheelwell lip to keep it clean for the Weld ThroughCoating that we will be applying a little later. Any POR 15 on this areacan potentially interfere with the plug welding you'll use to attach thepanel.
Using a throw-away brush,...
Using a throw-away brush, apply a good coat of POR 15 to all the rustyareas you've just cleaned. POR 15 is not like regular paint. It convertsthe rust into an inert material and bonds solidly to the metal. You'renot painting over rust. You are actually removing it by converting itinto something else. it is impossible to mechanically remove all therust from rust-pitted metal, and if you don't get it all, it willeventually come through whatever paint you apply over it. Unless you arehaving the entire car dipped and E-coated, POR 15 is the way to go.
Now you can remove the masking...
Now you can remove the masking tape and spray some 3M Weld ThroughCoating on the inner wheelwell lip. Weld Through Coating, as the nameimplies, allows you to weld to those areas, while providing good rustprotection in the wheel-opening seam.
Now comes the really fun part....
Now comes the really fun part. Grab a propane torch and a putty knifeand start scraping the old undercoating from around all the edges. Thelast thing you want is melted undercoating getting into your welds asyou are attaching the new panel. The heat from a standard propane torchis pretty safe here, but watch that you don't use any more heat than youreally need to soften the coating. Sorry, guys, there is just no otherway to do this than heating and scraping, heating and scraping, heatingand scraping.
There you have it--a body...
There you have it--a body ready for it's new quarter to be grafted inplace. It's as important to notice what was left behind as what wasremoved. Especially note the retention of the factory marker lightopening.