Gents:

I have a 69 convertible in the middle of a very thorough body paint resto. The car was stripped down to bare metal throughout. The car is a CA car and as was expected – no rust was found. Your usual dings and dents were found that a 12-year-old paint job can cover rather well. All that was left to strip was the driver side QTR panel. THEN MURPHY SHOWED UP!!! :mad: There was no rust mind you, but one heck of a dent. Evidently, as with all these cars, sometime long ago, there was a collision and LOTS OF FILLER (1.5 inches deep in some spots) kept this little secret hidden. I caveat my question with this: the body shop doing the project is an extremely good body shop, very reputable, and very trustworthy. As a matter of fact, it has nothing to do with $$$ as the shop has said its pretty much a wash on the two options being equal in fees. I put that out there just for the naysayers thinking PRICE gouging. They phoned me and discussed the situation in great detail, as this is a long distance project. One of their concerns is that even after the pulling of the dent and tin hammering, there will still be some spots that require mud perhaps, an inch thick in some small areas. So, we talked and they posed to me to think about my options: A. Try to salvage the original panel, or B, find a repo and try a “skin job” or a patch of the lower QTR panel. :confused: I’ve asked a few “experts”, and I’ve gotten mixed reviews. Please, for those who have “been there, done that” what say you? Here are two pics (thanks - you know who ;) ) for those who want to view prior to making a judgement. Thanks in advance.

http://www.chevelles.com/working/weber1.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/working/weber2.jpg

I'm no expert, but you should replace that quarter
panel. If your doing this car "right" then don't skimp here. 1" of bondo is way to much for a car that your restoring and it will come back to haunt ya. Now you have to figure out who's quarter panel to get. I don't know who makes the best except for the General.
Good luck,
Roger

I used quarter skins from Goodmark and they worked great. I could not find anyone that made full convertible quarters.

An inch of paste sounds like a lot, but your body man would be the expert. A quarter panel patch panel may cost you the same as a full skin since the labor may be more.

just my $.02

Mike

Hello Lee,I have been doing body and paint work for 16 years and would love to see your pics.You can email me at Debderenzo@shaw.ca(thats my wifes name mine is Jayson)I have a few Ideas up my sleeve but I need to see the pics.If the damage is in one area it is possible to section a piece instead of changing the whole quarter. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I'm with crazy, It may NOW have an inch of filler, that doesn't mean that is what you would have if the quarter was straightened properly. I couldn't see much in the photos to tell me anything in particular. But All I know is, I have taken some pretty messed up panels and returned them to near perfect and then just a thin coat of filler (say an eigth inch) and saved the panel. Replacing is always an option and that may make more sense on your car. It is pretty hard to say over a computer monitor.

Agree with Crazy & MARTINSR. Have the shop repair the panel. Maybe if you suggest that you would rather share the cost and pay them to spend a little more time on panel, it will keep the filler thickness down.
Quite frankly the expense of this problem is not their responsibility. Repair shops can only estimate initial cost based on what is visible.
Would also like to see photos. Been in collision business over 30 years. Even if filler is a little deep in some areas, if proper materials are used, it will pose no long term problems.
Karl

I have just got through a very simular situation on the right side. My 69 convertible hade the quarter replaced once before. the welded seam was a really poor job, so I made the decision to replace. Well that Murphy sure gets around. You will not find at this time any Repro convertible quarters. The coupe pieces that are available are not the same(I have one for sale cheap). the shape at the upper edge is completely different. the repops can be used to replace LOWER sections buts thats about it.
To make a long story short we stepped back, carefully repaired the quarter and used a small (1/8 - 1/4) layer of filler to finish. Like Martinsr says the quarter can be fixed, and unless you find a NOS piece thats your only option. I know how you feel, on a quality resto "bondo" is a no no, do a good job and you'll be fine. I would like to see the pictures.......Good luck. :cool:

Can you please post a link to the pics or post them so they show up on the screen? I too would like to see the pics. Having filler work done on a car and done right is no problem, but when its 1inch thick its not done right. Without seeing pics I would suggest having them straighting the panel first, then go from there. Many times a panel that looks wasted, once you start beating it around it comes out looking great...Eric

Here are the pictures - by request.

http://www.chevelles.com/working/weber1.jpg

and

http://www.chevelles.com/working/weber2.jpg

Thanks for the pics. Both on this site and the ones Lee e-mailed me.
Strip 1/4 all the way, then do as others have said, take a looong look at it!
Not sure, but it looks like there is a weld line in middle, over wheel. Are you sure that this panel has not already been sectioned in that area?
Panel does look really grim in front lower wheel well area where it meets the wheelhouse. This area and the possible section line present the greatest challenge.
While it is not pretty elsewhere, if I am wrong, and the panel has not already been sectioned, it may still be worth a shot.
Good Luck
Karl

I agree with Karl, you got to strip the entire quarter, only then will you find out the true extant of damage. The front lower area is by far the worst area. The door jam right above the lower body line is pretty tweaked. Cant see in pics but is that damage just on the outer skin or carry into the jam area. Maybe am wrong and seeing more then whats there but to me that jam looks like it needs to be pulled out by a frame machine or buske type machine. Once you pull that jam back square it will bring back some of the surrounding metal.

I do think the best thing you should do is respect the shops final descision on repair or replace. Those guys are dealing with the real deal, we are just seeing pics on a computer. Eventho most have said repair they are seeing things we are not and its those things we dont see that make the difference

Someone said once a full replacement quarter, if you go that way, is ultimately cheaper, even though the sheet metal is more expensive. It's a question of time the body guy puts into it. A half-replacement might taken 3x as long to get right and end up costing yuou more. Who knows what a body guy with a set of dollies can do to bring that panel back, but I'm no expert. Listen to what Sevt said "respect the shops final decision".