Seeing how you have a coupe both a skin and full quarter area available.

A skin is exactly that. You cut out only the rotten portion and then skin the new panel completely over top of the old panel. The old panel remains in place as it is of heavier gauge (thickness) and aids the structural integrity of the unibody.

There are partial panel replacements to repair the area you are speaking of....or you could buy a structural quarter and cut out of it the area you want to repair.

A quarter panel replacement you completly cut of the 1/4 to a point where you want the new quarter to seam to the old body. You remove all the spot welds and weld the new quarter to the original mounting points at the door jamb, trunk jamb, wheel well opening and 1/4 panel body line.

If it was my car I'd be replacing the complete quarter but be prepared for the possible need of additional work once you cut it off. To me a complete replacement is never easy but in my novice opinion is the most thorough repair.

 

Okay that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

 

I would (actually did) go for the full panel.
1. Much easier IMHO to install the full QP instead of welding in the skin.
2. Once you open it up, you are bound to find more than you originally anticipated.

 

Alright. How long and how hard is it to replace a quarter panel. Im not an experienced welder, so could a body shop repalce the panel for me?

 

Im not an experienced welder,

Neither was I before I started on my car. All it takes to replace the QP is a welder, drill, grinder, sawz-all propane torch and lots of patience. Take your time and it will come out right.

I did the right side a couple weeks ago. Today, I removed the left side and fitted in the new one. tomorrow, I should have the new one welded into place.

 

I have a drill :: :: I plan on getting my car painted sometime next summer after i save some money, that would be the perfect time to replace the panel. Thanks for the help.

 

uhhhh... actually, you really should never put a skin directly overtop of the old panel as you create a pocket for dirt, moisture adn rust to form, this only makes the new panel rot out twice as fast as the old one. to properly reskin a 1/4, you cut out the "skin" of the old quarter, which is just the outside part, and trim your new skin to fit directly edge to edge with the old remaining section. this gives youa very nice fit and finsh, with absolutely no place for rust to hide. There are other types of welds you can use to attach a skin. there is the flange welding method, plug welding, splicing, resistance spot welding, and gluing. if the car will not be a show car, but will be driven occasionally to cruises and out to bang the old lady in the park after dark, then I would go with panel bonding glue, like fusor, or 3m, or SEM, or Trans-star panel bonding adhesive. you have a lot more flexibility, and honestly, this is the best method to use when reskinning, for durability. infact, for warranty purposes, factories encourage the use of panel bonding adhesive, opposed to welding for collision repair. you might want to look into this method if your car will not be judged, or heck, even if it is judged, I would still do it, because you can hide the flange in the runk, with good body filler and some fancy sanding. I am thinking of doing this to all my own stangs now, after seeing a demonstration given at a tradeshow.
the demonstration consisted of a twin tower 50 ton frame machine, and 2 panels, glued together with trans-star panel bonding adhesive. they attached Mo-clamps to both panels and chained the clamps to the towers and "gave it a little tug"
in teh end, the air over hydraulic 50 ton rams managed to tear the steel of the panels, and the glued seam was not even streached.


can't do much more convincing than that!!

also, panel bonding adhesive is water tight, so, no rust...


just another random thought from a random bodyman.

 

imo, replacing the entire panel is far easier. with a skin, you have to do some sort of weld, usualy a butt weld that extends the whole legnth of the quarter panel. you said you are not an expert welder... this is the perfect place to totaly screw something up. you could easily warp the panel, or burn through, etc. idealy, when you replace a quarter panel (full thing) you should not have to use any filler. when you do a skin, you have to use filler along your weld.

too many opertunities for mistakes with the skin. spend the extra few $$$ and replace the whole thing. you have to replace the outter wheel wells while your at it too.

- Jason