[1966Bonneville]

Ok, I come to you all for the 76 Trans I have. Posted this in there, ZERO replies. You all always help, so I try here. Thanks in advance.
This is my sons 76 trans. As you can see it has some rust issues. How hard can it be for me to cut that panel off? The brown you see at the window line/upper panel or above is just surface rust. Where woudl you cut the panel off at below that line? Also, take a look at that rocker, that needs to come out also. How would that be cut out? At what area. Where do I cut in that door jam or does it need to be taken apart at the welds?

[Engine-Ear]

"Posted this in there, ZERO replies"

uh, where is THERE? the body shop room?

[65WJ]

Ron where are you?
Can you get full quarters?
If not keep as much of the original as possible.
Will wait and see what 64catdroptop says.
patrick

[65WJ]

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

"Posted this in there, ZERO replies"

uh, where is THERE? the body shop room?

nope 74-76 trans ams.

patrick

[1966Bonneville]

Yea I posted this, with out pics, days ago in the Trans area and got no reply. There are no repro/replacement panels for this car, I will have to go used.

[mike nixon]

that depends on how good of a repair you want with the finished product.
the right way is to cut it thru the lead seam, the pinch weld at the inner door jamb and thru the tail panel seam.

before i'd make the call i'd want to see it with the spats off of it and the paint stripped.

i've hung "cheater 1/4's on these before so unless they've been discontinued they're available thru someone. you may have to look for camaro units, which should be the same. these will be just the outer skin and if that's what you use i'd seam it at the bodyline. cutting the original just below it and flanging it for an easy cover up on the inside, if all the damage is lower than that.

paint the backside of the skin and all of the structure while it's off.

the lower portion of the jamb area may have to be sourced from used or hand fabbed.

i'll put this in the bodyshop where it'll get more input.


mike

[64catdroptop]

Tim,
The rear part of the quarter is easy. That piece can be hand formed on the english wheel. The door jam is a different story. Along with what Mike said, you really don't know what you have until you get into it. I'd see about (and forgive me for this) Camaro parts to see if they can be used, as Mike suggested. Other than that, you're looking at hand forming the piece to make it fit and look right.

-r-

[triathlonx13]

How bad is the rust behind the wheel flare? Do you have a doner panel lined up yet?

[x-bird2]

before any cuts are made, i'd recommend getting your replacement parts first. from the looks of it, your door brace behind the quarter is probably shot at the bottom. heavier gauge, not too difficult to make patches for. the trunk drop offs too. the drop offs you can get, ditto wheel opening patch panels. not sure about the rear of the quarter around the bumper as to availibility. always try to replace from the factory seams if possible. i'd look into getting a donor base bird from the west coast and do full replacement quarters from it.

[triathlonx13]

As a suggestion... take a look at the rear frame rails closely to see the condition of them as well. (wire wheel them down to reveal small rust holes - Hopefully none!)



.

[Greg Reid]

Take a long, hard look at this guy's website. The car bears very little resemblance to a '70s F body but some things never change. It will give you a great idea of what is involved and how to go about assesing and implementing metal replacement.
Also, he shows some good pics of the rocker panel replacement and door pillar fabrication and replacement.
Be prepared to spend some time here....I wound up looking at every picture and reading every word over a period of about a week. http://57rustbucket.com/

[Bob in Dallas]

If you specifically want a '76 TransAm, come to Texas, New Mexico or Arizona and buy a car with a rust free body. If the one you have is good mechanically, you don't have to be concerned whether it evens runs.

You can only see about 10% of the rust damage. As you dig deeper into the repair you will find more and more damage. A permanent fix is very expensive and if you miss something in a couple of years you will be back fixing again.

A good clean car like this (Doesn't even have to be a T/A, just a Firebird) is available around Dallas for $2000 or less. May not be great in mech or interior, but you will spend much more than that on repairs to the one you have. You can also finish it quicker if all you need to do is swap parts from one to the other.

Good Luck however you approach the project.

Bob in Dallas

[1966Bonneville]

-r-

I would love to tow it up to you and have you take a look at it.