Check out these pictures. At some point in its life, my 71 had a portion of the right rear quarter panel replaced. The replacement section actually overlaps the original metal, with the bottom section overlapping the top. The body shop that did the work simply spot welded the the two sections together with a series of spot welds about 1 to 2 inches apart. The problem is, the body filler started cracking along the seam. I plan to weld it solid, but the overlapping joint poses a problem. How best to get it smooth once it's welded? I'm thinking of cutting along the seam with a jigsaw, just below the seam. Then I'd like to weld it as a butt joint. OR, cut out the old spot welds and cut below the seam, and weld it solid further down the panel. When they overlapped the two pieces, they left about an inch of metal on the inside of trunk. I'm primarily concerned about welding and grinding so close to the top corner of the quarter panel.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempbdy1.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempbdy2.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempbdy3.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempbdy4.jpg

Here's a shot from inside the trunk. You can see how much of an overlap there is. The arrows are pointing about an inch below the spot welded seam.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempbdy5.jpg

Randy,i would cut along the top of the 'new' panel and let it fall in flush with the old panel and butt weld them together.Check out the pics in my signature link in the 70 chevelle/%80 quarter panel folder,theres some detailed photos that may help.

------------------
http://photos.yahoo.com/ochrisl
Updated 4/30/02

[This message has been edited by 70isfine (edited 06-16-2002).]

Mine was done the same way.What I had planned to do was take my cut off grinder and barely make a mark on the old quarter but cut the spots but your spots are different.Maybe you could cut the new portion(metal) through below the spotswelds and not cut through the old quarter but leave a line that you can cut up to thus making a perfect butt seam to weld.I would rather weld closer to the top than much lower because of less warpage from the heat.Stitch weld it 1/2 in. here,1/2 in. somewhere else, keep moving around till it is all solid.Grind it smooth and use a little polyester filler to smooth it over.That's what I had planned to do but they started making the full quarter so I am going that route instead but I would have done it that way if they hadn't started to reproduce the full factory style quarters.

------------------
John 67ss
ACES #2887
Team Chevelle Gold #127

Randy that is a mess alright, no master craftsmen work there. Great photos by the way, they really show what you are talking about.
Listen, first of all you need to decide how far you are going to go with the car. If you were to just weld the seam that is there completely and apply filler, I sure wouldn't be looking down my nose at you. That particular seam is up so high, you would need to lay on your back in the trunk to get a look at it, as you know from taking that last photo. But I fully understand the want to make it really nice with a butt weld. To do that would be an easy job, just very time comsuming. Here is how you would do it as I see it. On the inside of the quarter you would grind each spot (those are actually "plug" welds) with a cut off wheel on a die grinder. Just act like you want to cut a slot through the middle of the weld but instead move the cut off wheel back and forth across the weld cutting down the thickness of the whole thing. This cutting will end up cutting a hole in the surrounding metal but NOT through the outer skin or weld. Then you could cut through the old quarter right ON the line that is at the top of the "new" quarter. Laying the 1/32" wide cut off wheel on the top of the "new" panels edge and cutting through the old panel right in that stepped area on the old panel. That step will help you because it leaves you metal to work with in closing up the gap created by the cut off wheels cut. Then you hammer it flat that metal is going to "lengthen" out as it flattens and leave you with no gap. Then you can weld it up a LITTLE at a time skiping from one side to the other. DO NOT weld the next weld unless you can lay your hand on the previous weld and feel very little heat. If you are gas welding in a Hammer weld fashion then it is done quite a bit differently of course. I would use me "jewelers torch" on that and end up with a beautiful almost invisible seam.

------------------
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

Thanks Martin, that sounds like a good plan. I really didn't want to replace the whole quarter panel, since I think this one is still in good shape overall. It just needs a little better body work than it received before, especially the finish work.
Thanks again!

remember to check the thicknes off your cutoff wheel. All 1/32 cut off wheel are not alike. I picked some up at Carlisle for use in the shop. They were clearly marked HS 1/32 8000 rpm But they miked out to .050 thickness. Ok for Zipping off panels but not for Butt weld spaceing.
I like to keep a blow gun on the air hose to cool off the weld after you complete the weld.
Another technic I like to use to minmize warping is not to make a 1/4 or 1/2 weld but jusgt a 1/8 DOT. and the blow cool and anothe 1/8 dot fist RH the cool and LH then cool. after the full length of the panel is dotted in. Then it's fill in the DOTS.

GL


------------------
Wayne
ACES# 1556
TCG # 186

Wayne, really watch the cooling, shrinks the metal FURTHER than than you need. Letting it cool naturally or cool it just a little is much better.

------------------
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

Use a body saw,it makes a much thinner cut than a cut off wheel.

But with much less control boomhauer. I agree, I use mine all the time but I have also found if you want a real "dead-nuts" cut, use the die grinder with a cut off disc.

------------------
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

Your Right on about the COOLING, and as usual did not expalinf fully.
If you use the air gun pointed "directly" at the weld. it will cool faster then the expanding heated zone.
Imagine a rock droped in a pool of water. you weld is the rock and the expanding ripples are the waves of expanding
(conducted) heated metal.
As Martinsr pointed out you do not want to COOL the center and have a hot ring of expanding the contracting metal/steel.
So you use you air gun out an outer ring ( I like a 12in and circle around the weld and then decrease the dia .
My .02

------------------
Wayne
ACES# 1556
TCG # 186

I MEAM "I" did not explain fully ...

Wayne