how to cure this problem with quarter?

[willard]

hi gang
Yesterday I visited the shop to discuss what sheet metal must be replaced. My biggest concern is not the cost of some pars but the cost+shipping as I live in Poland...
Anyway, please take a look at the photos, it seems the car had a hard life.

The body guy insists on me to buy full right quarter panel as it is easy to replace ("just a few welds and it's done") but from what I have read it can be tricky and sometimes it's better to patch than to replace. The problem with right quarter is the old bodywork which damaged the side line and was hidden under lots of bondo...

How would you tackle this?

The minimum list of sheet metal is d/s nd p/s front floor pans, upper cowl (thats bulky... and pricey), right quarter skin, front valance.
I wont replace the rad support, only grind the welds.

[willard]

any input?   

what you suggest?

[farmboy70]

If you were here in the states I would say replace it, but if your body tech is very good with hammer and dolley and that is the only rust it could be repaired.
If he is not good at metal repair I would go with the full quarter or you will have a lot of filler.
Take a good look at the right frame rail, from the buckle in the cowl you may have problem there.
Dave

[farmboy70]

After taking a better look at the pictures you need to look at both front frame rail there is definatly damage some where in the front.
Dave

[torredcuda]

All pretty easily fixed but you do you need to make sure the inner fenders and frame rails are where they should be from what looks like accident damage.

[willard]

You're right. The car was hit in the front and front frame rails partially replaced, also radiator support has welds... I guess someone omitted replacing upper cowl as damaged sides are covered by fenders and it has VIN.
Regarding quarter - full quarter is a pain to be shipped and high cost itself. The only bad spot is the edge and rust hole in the lower quarter. I dont think anyone here is gonna try to dolley&hammer it. We have cheaper bodywork then in US but they always use some filler in the end.
I'm no expert in bodywork, but at c-c.com I've seen many succesful replacements of body sheetmetal in parts, so it can be done and then looks great.

Regarding upper cowl - I'm considering patching rust spots in the windshield channel and maybe just weld in reinforcement plates in the corners where cowl meets hood hinges and inner fenders? And then smoothen the damaged places with filler/lead? Or maybe it's a bad idea due to tensions in this area?

Torredcuda - can you give some more details - I need some arguments to talk with the bodyman

[wally426ci]

Quarter wise: I think you could get close with dolley - all cars have a little filler somewhere....  Much cheaper than a full replacement. 

[IMNCARN82]

Maybe check on the lower rear quarter patches. They go high,Up over that body line if I'm not mistaken. Much cheaper and way easier to ship. Just a thought. R/T

[Topcat]

If you can, get a hold of a stud weld on, puller kit to pull these dents out. Then lead if your bodyman knows how.

[elitecustombody]

if it's hard to ship full quarters,AMD makes nice patches and shouldn't be much to ship ,use hammer and dolly followed by shrinking disk ,spend enough time,you can make it so smooth that you won't even need filler,it just take alot of time and practice

[Alaskan_TA]

 The first step would be to put it on a frame machine to true the frame. When that is done some of the cowl damage should pop out.

[ambitions2]

Yeah I agree with Alaskan..get the measurements and get the frame straight again.  I would even say doing that before the metal work. 

We just finished a GTO Convert whose frame was a little off.  We took it down to the shop - put it on the frame machine and straightened it right out.  A little different because we are working on uni-bodies, however I would think that is your starting point. 

As for the quarter replacements, I bought a set for my '72 - both sides last year and they go above the body line.  My eyes could be playing tricks on me, but the ones that we had put on the '70 that we did a few years back - the body line seemed more "rounded" now they seem to be more sharp. 

You look like you have a solid project on your hands - better than other ones I have seen. Good luck with it

[willard]

Thanks a lot for your advice. If Poland was closer to US it'd be a lot easier
I think I'm gonna let my bodyman fix the cowl, as it shouldnt exceed the cost o new one (roughly $400) and shipping to poland (next $150 or so). Plus I avoid restamping VIN on the nw one.
When I look at the bodywork done with hammer and dolly I'm really impressed and I wish we had such masters here...

[Topcat]

When I look at the bodywork done with hammer and dolly I'm really impressed and I wish we had such masters here...

If you have a place to work on your own car, you can master alot of the work yourself. I have watched many videos on You Tube in the past of people doing work on their cars.

Not all are professionals. (Caveat Emptor applies) After a while, you'll get the hang of what to do and save alot of money in labor. Doing it yourself ensures no short cuts were ever attempted.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=auto+body+dolly+and+hammer&search_type=&aq=f

[willard]

That would be great but: I live in a city, the garage barely lets me open driver side door and get in I have no time and tools and here you can't just rent a place in a worshop and repair your car as in the states. Everything forces me to pay someone to do the job. I have to relay on their experience, feed them with my and this forum knowledge and then pay... and pray