I am an amature restorer. :) I bought what appeared to be a original paint 66 Chevelle that as I have taken it apart now appears to have had a harder than anticipated life before me. :o

The car is mostly original paint except for the right rear quarter panel. The was a touch up there- that once I removed the right rear window (2 door HT) I saw the putty and pull holes from behind the quarter, They pulled out the panel very well- I can MIG the holes and block it out again and It'll look good.

The front window channel is rotted but not that bad- only a few pin holes which I think I can patch with MIG quite well.

However the rear window area is to me a mess. :sad: Someone put a lot of clear silicone around the rear window stainless in order to stop the leakage- It just made it much much worse. :( Now the filler panel is shot- the lower edge and lower side rear window channel is non-existant. Also the rust ate out the tiny lip that is evident in the passenger compartment of the package tray, SO the package tray needs replacing too! Also the lower sail panels are rotted because of the silicon and they will need creative patching up as well- the rust has crawled up about an inch from the edge of the window channel on both sides.

I am hopng to find a donor car locally for the package tray. If anyone has one or know of one in a local wrecking yard please contact me (Steve 209-617-0796 cell) .

Also I may end up farming out just the metal work- not the filler/blocking work. Any recommended body shops/ people who do it on the side? :confused: I'm in Los Banos, Central California. I want good to excellent work- I am an amateur and can do amateur work myself.

Well, I drilled out the spot welds on the rear package tray metal where the rear speakers would sit--it travels back UNDER the outside trunk filler panel (between the rear window and trunk) and mine was rotted about 1 inch thick and almost all the was across under where the window would sit. If I figured out how to post pics for all of you I would. Anyway- I found a 67 Skylark in the local yard- it has a SIMILAR but too long inner piece. So I am now in the process of welding in the grafted skylark original metal. Also I ordered the outer replacement filler panel (repop) a NOS one recently went on Ebay for 560.00!! Then i will have to create/make the side window/sail panel pieces. What a PIA, but worth doing right...

I was recommended to Joe Stockdale in San Jose, 408-679-9915, by two body and paint guys I work with at UPS. I have seen some of Joe's work and I am planning on using him myself in the near future for full quarter replacement and complete paint on the 64SS. If only I had won the $270 million Mega Millions jackpot, I'd be doing it next week! Give him a call and check out his work, I believe he has references and cars to show you. Good luck. 64elkynss

I decided to tackle it myself. I will continue to post my way I replaced the rear panels so others can help/see my amateur ways...Hell, it beats the 12K estimate I got just to put the shell in primer!!!




Well here's progress pics:http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/?action=view&current=chevelle2-18-08002.jpg Please view the entire album.

Check to see if those sail panels are being made. I went to the dynacorn web site and they had just the patches for sail panels listed. If they make them Im sure it would save you time and look alot better. I looked at them for my 67, so 66 might be the same.

My guy is pretty good but he takes a little long...

Talk to RIch, aka http://www.chevelles.com/forums/member.php?u=19097 ...His guy did an unbelievable job on his and got it done quick.
His body is perfectly straight and the finish is nothing short of beautiful. :beers:

Thanks for the Dynacorn tip!

This weekend I tack welded in the package tray from a 67 Skylark (the inner/lower panel that also rusts underneath the trunk-rear window filler panel). See photos before

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/humboltCo2008vacation2-26-08049.jpg :sad:

and after:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/308HumboltEbay004.jpg:yes:

Then I tack welded in the right and left sail panel (rusted out areas). Again, before:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/chevelle2-18-08001.jpg :sad: and

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/humboltCo2008vacation2-26-08048.jpg. :sad: And after

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/308HumboltEbay002.jpg :yes:and http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj316/pestwagon/308HumboltEbay003.jpg. :) Obviously it's amature work, but it's FREE!!!:yes: