[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.

[78 GHOST]

Hi Will, all I can offer is what I did..

I had numerous areas around the car, but everything was pretty small.

I knew paying someone to perform extensive repairs was going to easily exceed the cost of a welder. I'm pretty handy so I decided to purchase a Miller 120 MIG machine with a good helmet and shielding gas, all up around $1000 a few years back.

It took me an afternoon to build my welder cart as practice.

I've used the welder to perform all necessary repairs on my car, mostly stuff like you've described, but also a lot of little stuff that really was annoying.

I'm happy with this as I've got a valuable skill and a tool that comes in handy quite often. I can easily say I've paid for my welder many times over in saved repair costs.

As to the time involved, plan on spending most of your time learning, then actually performing the repair will seem inconsequential.

Were you to have a welder, and the skills, I'd estimate probably around 4-8 hours per side from demo to primer.. maybe more but I'm pretty finiky. Shop rate, I'd cut that in half. I didn't use any partial quarters, just some scrap sheet I formed to make the necessary patches.. in fact the rear LH quarter is all patched in and I doubt anyone would know without being told.

I wish you were closer and I'd loan you my welder.. see if you know anyone or any PY members close to you willing to loan you a MIG. Check Craigslist for used welders as you can often get a lotta bang for your buck welder wise.

-Matt

[69Customs]

Be aware!! Once you buy a welder and learn how to use it, all your friends and relatives will have you welding their stuff too!! You could even make enough money to pay for your welder and supplies!
Go for it! It doesn't take that long to learn and next thing you know you'll be welding everything. Life's an experience! Learn! You'll never have to worry about who will weld stuff for you again or the quality of their work.
You could even take classes at trade school or local state college,but learning by experience is what most do. It just takes a little practice. Get a junk panel and weld on it or scrap steel.
I welded by experience then took some classes and got certified. Never hurts to learn.
Do it.Get er done!

[Matt Meaney]

you might be able to find a patch pannel from pontiac heaven or others like maybe desert valley auto. these would be cut from cars not aftermarket. and a patch would be small enough to ship without a great expense. i found a fender patch for my car right on the board, came from kansas. good luck.

[scotzz]

Good recommendations...........I am just finishing up a night class in body repair at a local voc-tec school where we learned how to make patch panels from flat sheet, basic welding, removing dents, etc. I just bought a Lincoln 180 mig welder and between that, extras needed and the class I figure I'll have about $1400 invested which I'll save and much more by doing my own work.

[Will]

I really, really want a welder. Two problems - a good welder is expensive and I have no money right now.

Also, I have no place to store a welder and nothing but 110 power on a single 20 amp circuit in my garage for everything, including the lighting. I don't own this house so am not about to go about upgrading the electrical service.

Rest assured, I will have a welder in the not too distant future, but circumstances aren't right at this time.

As to making my money back on it, not likely. None of my friends or relatives are into cars or anything remotely involving metal fabrication... However, I do know someone with a welder, he lives a ways away from me but might be able to help me out.

Thanks for your comments!

[trmjr1]

Will,

Miller makes great 120V MIG welders and they are reasonably priced. There are other 120V MIG welders, but the wire feed wheels tend to be plastic and are not near the quality of the Miller. Here is their website:

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/onephase.php

They also offer training videos and an email newsletter.

Tom

[carcrazy]

Several years ago, I was in the same position as you are now. After obtaining quotes from the body shop (and nearly going into cardiac arrest) I decided to purchase a mig. Best decision I've made (in terms of body work) The uses are almost endless and it will pay for itself. You can always purchase a used mig. I've seen them in good condition on Craigs list here in Raleigh at really low prices. (sometimes under $150)

[Paul E]

Since this is only a non structural piece you can "glue" with a panel adhesive from a local parts store (SEM, Fusor, 3M, etc). Cut the rust out, get a panel flange (pneumatic) tool from harborfreight.com for $40-$50 and glue the panel in. Perform the needed body work and paint. Should have less than $250 invested. the SEM website has good detailed instructions on how to do this easily.

http://semproducts.com
http://semproducts.com/images/Users/...20ADHESIVE.pdf

Personally I have a welder to perform the job, but the panel adhesives are used everyday in many body shops even if they have a welder.

Paul

[70 Lemans]

I say buy a welder learn somthing new. With $550 investment you be very surprised what you could do. This is the welder I got love it. Cheap too! Oh ya welder is 110 volt.

Ps,

Read my signiture.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...0825_200310825

Originally Posted by 69Customs

Be aware!! Once you buy a welder and learn how to use it, all your friends and relatives will have you welding their stuff too!! You could even make enough money to pay for your welder and supplies!
Go for it! It doesn't take that long to learn and next thing you know you'll be welding everything. Life's an experience! Learn! You'll never have to worry about who will weld stuff for you again or the quality of their work.
You could even take classes at trade school or local state college,but learning by experience is what most do. It just takes a little practice. Get a junk panel and weld on it or scrap steel.
I welded by experience then took some classes and got certified. Never hurts to learn.
Do it.Get er done!

[Greg Reid]

Don't use money as an excuse not to get a welder. If that's the case, you certainly can't afford to pay someone to do what you need done. The welder will be much less. I paid $500 for my Clarke 220v welder and the 110v was a hundred dollars less.
You can do anything you need to do on sheetmetal with a 110v setup. You can easily sell the welder when you finish.... but you won't.
I say go for the welder. It's not that hard to learn....that's why so many guys do MIG welding.

[69Customs]

Hey, I see used welders on graigs list from time to time that are very reasonable. The stuff I fix for my friends and relatives are parts on normal everyday work cars that are 10-15 years old that they use to get to work. They aren't into this hobby, but they need to get to work. They can't afford brand new cars to drive to work and older cars need repairs to keep them running.

[gto406]

I searched back and found this thread. I am trying to sort out 'how I should proceed'. Please see some pics of my car here:

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/b...view=slideshow

I have some bondo/rust in the lower rear quarters (I am not worried about the doors, as I have California doors to replace these). One bodyman (at a pro-shop) told me to drill/cut out the full quarter and replace the whole thing (he said you should be able to spot-weld in a full quarter). However, I am thinking that is cutting out 'alot' of good/clean metal (my quarters are really only bad below the wheel wells). There are already patches, I just don't know how good/bad the repair is (you can see a 'cut line' from down low in the side-wells of each trunk).

Confused right now, do I:

1) Leave as is, block the quarters out, clean them up repaint;
2) Cut out the patches, and do them again;
3) Go the full quarter route.

Note, I am looking to have a 'clean' driver. This won't be a 100 point show car that rides only on a trailer and lives in controlled environments never to see the light of day.

Any opinions or how to qualify my next steps (what to check, etc.) always appreciated from the experts on this board.

Note, I will be picking up a 110V (or possibly a 230V) mig soon. Have some other small repairs I need to do.

Thanks for your advice,
Brian.

[PaulatFast]

These welder threads come up all the time. The advice always includes many touting 220v machines and advice to buy as large as possible. I have had numerous welders, I settled on the one I like the best, it is a little Lincoln 135. We use sheilding gas. This welder is used every day. My larger welder sat in the corner until I sold it. I have seen the Lincoln 135 sell on ebay for as little as 175.00. Mine came from Lowes for 399.00. My nephew bought a used Clarke 120 at a swap meet for 90.00 added sheilding gas and it is a great welder as well.

[gto406]

Thanks Paul,

I appreciate the advice on the welder (I will likely pick up the Lincon Mig Pak 140 or an equivalent Miller/Hobart unit).

My question was more about (given the three options I proposed) which option would be my best bet - or what people would recommend. Also, if there is anything I can 'verify on the car' that would help qualify or narrow my options.

Many thanks,
Brian.

[PaulatFast]

I would pick option #2, of course, I haven't seen your car either. I can tell you I NEVER trust anyone elses work.

[paint guy]

I would concur with Paul(option #2).More important is his other statement,that he NEVER trusts other's work.I,personally would rather buy a car "as is",even if it's extremely rusty,than one that has been"primed and ready for paint".In my mind,there's no such thing as "primed and ready for paint"unless I primed it,because I don't know what's underneath.Just my $.02.

[gto406]

Thanks Paul/Paint guy,

One other question - where do you 'draw the line' on a full quarter vs. patch? If my 'panel' issues are below the top of the rear wheel well, would I be better off with a patch vs. a full quarter?

I looked inside the rear quarter and the outer wheel house has rust issues (again they stop below the top of the fender line).

Trying to weigh pros/cons of full vs partial.

Thanks,
Brian.

[Greg Reid]

There are several different sized "patches" and "skins".
For purposes of this discussion, you should know that a true "full quarter" includes the sail panel, a portion of the back glass channel and trunk channel, and goes all the way up to and inside the rear portion of the door opening.
In my opinion, a full quarter would be overkill if you only intend to use the part behind the wheel opeing.
On the other hand, you ,might need a 'full' quarter skin..Which doesn't include the sail panel, any channels or the door opening area. That way, you can cut what you need from it.
These guys know a lot more than I do about it though.

[PaulatFast]

Each car's rust is different, without seeing your car, I couldn't give you an honest opinion. Sorry. Obviously the safe bet would be to replace the whole panel along with the wheelhouse. Do you know any local body guys whose opinion you would trust?