hey guys so im replacing the quarter skin onmy father 64 nova and my question is whats the best way to do it, the way i was thinkin was cut the existing quarter out until theres only about an inch left and flange that and lay the new quarter down on top of it what do you guys think and o yea were the quarter meets the rocker im assuming i can just weld the gap between the 2 shut correct?

I prefer to butt weld. I have flanged panels in my earlier days and do not recommend it on a quarter panel as it tends to flatten out the curvature on the panels, but also is a place for rust to start.

Before your trim the old panel off, line the door up with the current quarter and get the gap and the profile perfect. Make sure your cars weight is distributed evenly on its tires or place jack stands as close to the tire mounting hubs as possible. This is really important when fitting the new panel.

Next trim the old panel off, but leave about an inch or two of overlap at the top.

If you are replacing out wheelhouses, then determine if you are going to fab the lip portion in or if you are replacing the whole wheelhouse. DO NOT WELD wheelhouse until you have the quarter panel position perfect.

Once all the old panel trimmings are off, start seeing how the new skin lays. Most likely you will have to hammer and dolly areas such as the area where the panel meets the rocker and where the panel turns into the door jam. To aid in getting these bends right, use a DA with 80 grit paper to sand the corner of the bends, this will help the panels conform to the shape you are trying to get (most of the time you need to hammer closer to 90 deg).

Clamp and screw panel in place once the fit begins to lay nicely. set your profile of the panel to the door and set some screws in the lip in the jam. For a '66 & 67 chevelle I do the same thing at the back with profile of the tail light housing.

If your panel fit is close to perfect, mark your wheelhouse location and then weld that in.

Use the thinnest cutoff wheel possible (I use 1/25") and cut through at the top where the two panels overlap. I usually cut about 10 inches or so and then I use a straight edge to ensure the two panels are in the same plane with each other. I then put a tack with the mig. Use 0.024" wire and the recommended setting for your gage metal (probably 20 gage for your skin). Cut about 10 more inches and go through the same steps and place a tack. Do this all the way down the panel. Do not weld any closer than 10 inches until you have gone all the way across the panel. Once to the end, go back to the side you started on and place a tack in the middle of your first 2 welds. Jump 10 iches or so and place a tack in the center of two first round welds.

So on for about 500 welds per side.

At the rocker location I like to use panel adhesive as well as where the wheel lips attach. I would not directly weld the skin to the rocker on the exterior surface. Your other options is to drill some holds in the skin and then with the rear quarter window remove and interior panel removed, you can reach down in and plug weld to the rocker after you have driven a couple of self tapping screws down in that area.

Good luck!