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The Body Shop TECH General questions that don't fit in any other forum |
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#1
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Patch panel quality
Long story short, I purchased a 66 GTO that had a resto started about 25 years ago. They stopped for whatever reason and now I own the car. The car came with patch panels that were most likely purchased when the resto was started 25+ years ago. So yesterday I am trying to fit a panel to the car to mark a cut line and I cannot get the panel to fit correctly no matter where and how I try to hold or clamp the panel. I notice that there is a lip that runs along the bottom of the panel, where the pinch welds are on the original panels. On the original panels, there is no extra lip. So I cut and grind the lip off and try to refit. Still no luck, the angles just seem off. Particularly the angle of the part of the panel that would be pinch welded to the trunk drop down. My question is this, have the quality and fit of patch panels improved in the last few decades? I have attached a few pics, one of the drivers side patch panel with the lower lip intact, and one of the passenger side patch panel after I cut the lip off to try to get better fitment.
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#2
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The quality has improved...but original is always better if you can find what you need. Sometimes you have no choice but to use aftermarket and then you have to make them fit.
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#3
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I think a lot of the panels 25+ years ago were NOT created for the restoration crowd, they were created for Billy Bob's body shop that were just trying to keep old cars on the road. And Billy Bob was not nearly as demanding as we are
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#4
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Thanks, the patch panels are cheap enough that it is probably worth giving new ones a try. Hopefully they match up to the old panels better.
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#5
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Not sure how comparable it is since the trunk dropdowns were also replaced on my '66, but the quarter panel patches I purchased through Ames a year and a half ago were good and didn't fight us. You always need to trim them down, of course.
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1966 Pontiac GTO (restoration thread) 1998 BMW 328is (track rat) 2023 Subaru Crosstrek Limited (daily) View my photos: Caught in the Wild |
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#6
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Quote:
Regardless, it sounds like maybe some new panels might be a good investment. The patch panels are cheap enough. |
#7
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I try to use the absolute minimum area of patch panels. Don’t be afraid to cut them down to just cover the area needing repair. Never use the flanged lap joint if it has one. Try to butt weld your patches.
Don |
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