Best way to cut Quarter Panel?
In the next week I will be cutting my quarter panels where the red line is in the picture. My issue is that I need a way to draw a line on the old panel and new panel in the same place to get a good fit.
First I thought to make a molding out of plexiglass but I couldnt find a sheet thin enough to melt and bend at the curve easy. Then I thought of getting a laser wall level to get a perfect line.
Any other thoughts out there? Or is it really best to just replace the whole Q panel?
![760402]()
First I thought to make a molding out of plexiglass but I couldnt find a sheet thin enough to melt and bend at the curve easy. Then I thought of getting a laser wall level to get a perfect line.
Any other thoughts out there? Or is it really best to just replace the whole Q panel?
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Good pair of powered shears, plasma cutter, large grinding wheel would be my first three.
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Welcome to VMF. If I were you the parts venders sell full quarter panels fro the 69 Fastback, I would replace the complete quarters. When I replaced the quarter skins on my 69 Coupe I used a small cutoff wheel to cut on the scribed line I drew on the quarter panel, Then I flanged the new panel.
Not a bad idea, i didnt think of using the character line in that way. Reason Im looking to cut there is so it can be sanded down and masked much easier in my opinion. Also its around where the rust and dents end.
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On my coupe it really wasnt much more work to replace the whole quarter instead of just skinning it...it was about 10-12 hours worth of work at most.....I spent a little longer I guess, but was also replacing inner/outer wheelhousing at the same time. The 2nd quarter went much faster.
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If I were you, I would cut the quarter panel below the original body line
I would cut it just below the original body lines. The repro quarters do not have well defined body lines. Save as much of the quarter as possible.
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Are you using a full quarter or a skin? If a full quarter, separate at the factory seam. If using a skin, I'd buy a cheap pneumatic panel flanger and cut the existing quarter panel the width of the flange down from the character line (see yellow line in photo below) then cut and flange the skin to fit under the lip you made. From there you can choose to either lap weld along the seam, use panel bonding adhesive along the lap joint or rosette weld from the back side.... This will put the visible joint right at the character line inside the trunk and virtually impossible to see.
PS: I'd use Lord Fusor adhesive on the lap joint and rosette weld at the jamb and taillight panel.
![760416]()
PS: I'd use Lord Fusor adhesive on the lap joint and rosette weld at the jamb and taillight panel.
Currently have 2 new full quarter panels, was thinking it would be easier to save half of the panel than replacing the entire thing. Thats an interesting way to use the character line to your advantage to hide the end of the new panel.
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This is easy, here is how you do it:
1, Find a reference point for where you want your cut to go along, and on the original panel, take 1 inch tape and run it along that reference point. Then run another piece of tape below it so you have approximately two inches taped off from the reference point. Making your cut along the bottom of the tape, cut away the rest of the panel so it's leaving two inches of original panel along the reference point.
2. On the replacement panel, tape along the same reference point, but only use a single piece of tape so it's only an inch from the reference point. Make your again along the bottom of the tape line, which will remove the top of the panel.
3. Put the new panel in place on the car. The top of the panel will overlap the original panel by 1 inch. Screw the panels together along this point with self tapping screws, and then take a plasma cutter or cut off wheel and cut right along the top of the new panel.
4. The excess inch on the original panel will get cut off and fall off inside the car, and now your cut in the original panel is identical to the cut on your new panel.
The measurement is arbitrary (1 inch, 2 inch, etc). Use whatever measurement you need. The point is, you want the new panel to have just a little bit of overlap with the old panel along the weld line. Then use the edge of the new panel as your cutting guide.
Here's how I did it on my 67 coupe. Same concept.
joshlizer.blogspot.com
1, Find a reference point for where you want your cut to go along, and on the original panel, take 1 inch tape and run it along that reference point. Then run another piece of tape below it so you have approximately two inches taped off from the reference point. Making your cut along the bottom of the tape, cut away the rest of the panel so it's leaving two inches of original panel along the reference point.
2. On the replacement panel, tape along the same reference point, but only use a single piece of tape so it's only an inch from the reference point. Make your again along the bottom of the tape line, which will remove the top of the panel.
3. Put the new panel in place on the car. The top of the panel will overlap the original panel by 1 inch. Screw the panels together along this point with self tapping screws, and then take a plasma cutter or cut off wheel and cut right along the top of the new panel.
4. The excess inch on the original panel will get cut off and fall off inside the car, and now your cut in the original panel is identical to the cut on your new panel.
The measurement is arbitrary (1 inch, 2 inch, etc). Use whatever measurement you need. The point is, you want the new panel to have just a little bit of overlap with the old panel along the weld line. Then use the edge of the new panel as your cutting guide.
Here's how I did it on my 67 coupe. Same concept.
Replacing a quarter skin
It is the end of September...almost October, and the last post I made was in June. This was partly do to procrastinating my updates here, m...
joshlizer.blogspot.com
I agree on woodchuck's yellow line. Then you are welding the new part to a MUCH stiffer part of the original. It will make it way easier to keep the sheet metal straight and need less filler afterwards. I always try to keep the original sheet metal I can, because aftermarket body parts always seems to add some kind of fitting problem and be of a general lower quality.
If you already have the full quarters, I would change the whole quarter.
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