quote:

Originally posted by Tom McGinnity:
Charley. please unscrew the wheel well moldings and show us the condition of the lip.

If I'm grasping what you want to accomplish... I think you might strongly consider just patch panels? This car has odd rust for the climate it has been in. IF the 1/4's are solid up high and in the area that covers the 1/4 windows and the trunk drops are ok you might well consider that. The benefit of this past the obvious cost savings is that the door jamb area and the trunk jamb area as well as where the 1/4 terminates to the tailpanel will all retain the factory look, stamping numbers, seam sealer etc.. once a good body man smooths the welds for the patches and sprays heavy undercoat from inside the trunk area just like Chevy did... you might well be way ahead..

This car is to be a driver-enjoyment car correct?

WOW- Tom, very impressive what you have done with the 1/4 repairs on your car. Thanks for the input & pictures. RE: driver enjoyment car, this is true, but still I've always wanted to get it done right if done at all (within practical limits).

I'm attaching additional pictures of my damaged area at lower w/w lip. Upper 1/4's, front of wheelhouse, and door jamb areas look rock solid. But because of rear damage, I've always been of impression my 1/4's needed to be replaced; and I've tended to pooh-pooh the idea of patch panels thinking they would very obviously look like a hack job. Having said that, until seeing your pictures I would not have believed that looking right could be accomplished without panel replacement. Note my rear tail panel is somewhat out of shape also, if that makes any difference.

LOWER LEFT REAR QUARTER--

LOWER RIGHT REAR QUARTER--

Charley..Thanks for that shot with the molding off.. gotta ask though: Is the rest of the radius of the wheel well lip solid all the way around to the front of the 1/4 panel? Mine was evenly corroded around the entire radius.. If your implying yours is only rotted in the areas you are showing in these pictures then I would very much green light a patch job..

I'd also like to say that time wise I spent way more time repairing my quarters than if I had chosen the Heartbeat quarters.. They would have been a day or two a piece to do but I really wanted to keep as much of the originals as I could.. Its a personal preference that depends on if there is wide spread rot or localized rot.. You seem to have localized rot

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tom McGinnity,

The cars looks very solid otherwise Charley.. is this so? Why not pull that trim off the bottom of the 1/4 panel and check inside the trunk and examine the 1/4 from the back side

Looks to me like you have some strange localized problem.. almost like the fender was attacked from INSIDE the trunk... the 1/4 drops loaded with dirt or pine needles or leaves or even some chemical-fertilizer initially?

How is the trunk floor?

The car can't hide its secrets well: that original paint and pinstripe right?

P.S. Not seeing a picture of your tail panel?

Attaching several pictures of tail panel from different angles. None of them really capture the out-of-shape condition very well. It is also misshapen low where the bumper attaches at bottom. Lower panel is close enough to gas tank bolts that they interfere with lower bumper bolts.

Also including pictures of trunk inner left & right sides:

Trunk Inner Right:

Trunk Inner Left:

Rear Tail Panel:

Tail Panel Right:

Center Tail Panel:

Right Center:

Almost forgot. Upper wheelwell lips and front side are solid. Also front side of wheelwells (as far as I can tell)... without disassembling from the inside (yet)...

Tail is a bit tweaked!Inside of trunk looks way better than I thought it would.Tough call at this point.

I would patch panel the qtr's to save the factory spot welds. These are very hard to reproduce. When I'm shopping for a car, these are the first things I'm looking for. If done right, it is very hard to spot a patch panel. A very good welder can make this almost imposible to spot if done correctly.

It looks like somebody is taking the resto seriously

More to come on this.. stay tuned

P.S... who wouldn't want to live there! Wow