[Will]

When I bought my '73 I didn't do due diligence, and I've ended up with a car that has rusty quarter panels. The rust is confined to the lower panel behind the wheel openings, which is pretty typical.

If this was your car, how would you go about repairing it? I'm not about to spend the money and time to track down NOS quarters for it, and there are no donor cars to be had around here.

I also have never welded anything and don't have easy access to a welder.

I want a car I can drive around and run at the track. It's not going to be a show queen, I just want a decent looking driver. Oh, and I want to paint it black...

Should I buy a couple of the aftermarket partial quarters and let a body shop have a go at making them fit? How much time do you think they'll have to put into them to get them to line up properly? Will they have to rework the area around the side marker lamps?

Any advice appreciated.