[esahlin]

Cool 67.....take your time and you will have that great feeling of accomplishement when you get it done....there is nothing better than tackling it yourself.

Fitting that tail panel is a real bugger like Region Warrior said probably best to fit the quarters/wheel wells with the original tail panel still on as he suggested.

I am in the process of fitting a new tail panel on my 68 right now....I think I have had it on and off the car probably 15 times trying to get it to fit the best possible. Get a good spot weld cutter for the tailpanel....there are 1/2 million spot welds on that thing.

Are you an experienced mig welder? If not, a professional welder recommended a special mig wire to use when welding sheetmetal...its called "twenty gauge". It helped out my sheetmetal welding tremendously....I used to burn through quite a bit even on low heat settings...I have a cheap mig machine and wasnt very experienced and the "twenty gauge" was a savior for me.


If you do decide to buy a new Trunk pan.....dont get the one from Classic Industries.....the one I bought from them didnt fit very well....the grooves didnt line up with the original grooves on the original trunk.

Ricks Firstgen Camaro parts has a different trunk pan that is better.
http://www.firstgen.com/

Ricks actually carries some sheetmetal that is different than the other suppliers. Some of their floorpans, trunks and others stuff is made in the USA and considered show quality stamped sheetmetal. This is stuff that Classic Industries/Goodmark doesnt have.

Once you get going on the firebird you can cut into your 69 camaro....since you'll be an expert soon on firstgen Firebird/Camaro.

[67'7F6'Bird]

I finished removing the rest of the quarter in the door jam area. This took the most time for me. I found the following tools useful in removing the panel; air chissel (especially around the door jam area and also in removing the panel which was sandwiched in the attached picture), high speed cut-off, right angle grinder and an air saw. The complete removal process took me a few hours, the next time should be faster.

After some DA sanding on the outer wheel well, its surprisingly in pretty good shape. As 'esahlin' suggested I'll now remove all the seam sealer around the inner wheel well and determine if it needs to be replaced.

The car had been rear ended early in its life and Im hoping this doesn't effect the new panel alignment. There was some bronze used on the repair on the quarter and the tail panel, I also noticed in the door jam area internals that a spot weld had pulled due to the accident.

[esahlin]

Your outer wheel wells look pretty good! So does your quarter to rocker area.


If interested....Below is a link describing the best rust converter out there if you are looking for something to use on the internal rusted areas. After you sand/wire wheel or sandblast the rust......use the Picklex which removes/converts the remaining rust then you scuff the area and apply a good epoxy primer (no etch primers). A much nicer/cleaner and more effective way of treating rust than POR-15.

http://www.autobodystore.com/r-o-n.htm

[67'7F6'Bird]

Hello Esahlin: I will give the Picklex a try, I do have RUST MORT - but it has a powerful odor, most likely toxic.

As far as the outer wheel well, I may just patch the lower rear section and the front lower lip - Only if the inner is in as good of condition.

Thanks for all the help!!!!

Steve

[67'7F6'Bird]

We decided to attach the sail panel over the roof panel. The alignment looks very good, we are still in the trial stages of fitting and alignment. Would it be wise to use panel adhesive in the area where the panel sits in the drip rail?
I think it may be a good choice for not only sealing the panel but also to help ease the installation.

[67'7F6'Bird]

Here is the area on the tail panel which shows the damage. And the pasenger side for comparison. Would you repair the existing Tail Panel or change it? We are noticing that the passenger side quarter panel is in better condition than previously thought.

[67'7F6'Bird]

Here are some pictures of the new quarter panel, new rear valence panel and new trunk lid. We are still a few hours away from being satisfied with the gaps and alignment but pleased with how easy things are going so far. I have not yet prepped all the inner panels with the rust deterent and paint, but looking to get this done in the coming week. And so far we have had the quarter panel on and off about 15 times.