New quarters/wheel houses and rolling rear wheel opening

[manley 13]

I recently finished installing all new rear wheel houses and quarter panels on my 69. I did not weld the quarter panel lip to the wheel house yet. Has anyone rolled the lips before doing the welding? How did it turn out? I assume it's still the best idea to use a rolling tool? And then I can weld it all together. Does anyone have an opinion or experience to share? Honestly, this makes me a little nervous.

[RPM 1,190]

It would seem that would be the easiest way to roll the lips. You're going to figure out in what order you install, roll and weld.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

i would be concerned that it may be difficult to clamp the two pieces together for a plug welding if they are rolled first.

[Fordrevhead 29]

I would think that you could bow the entire quarter if its not welded to the wheelhouse first. You want to roll the lip not push on the entire opening. Buckeyes point is valid as well.

[latoracing 256]

I'm installing full quarters, and fairly much every component on the rear of my car, and will be rolling the lip also. I am going to weld up eveything, just like a stock install, then roll / trim the lip. I thought about doing it before, I just don't want the two to seperate, and not be able to get them attached after bending them up. I agree with Fordrevhead and Buckeyes points as well.

[manley 13]

When I searched various forums I read several posts that said it was very difficult to roll the quarters and the theory was because it is two layers of sheetmetal welded together.

 

In regard to possibly bowing the entire quarter, I don't see this being different than rolling the front fenders. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

How difficult was it to roll them after you welded the two parts together? Obviously, more people *have* to roll them as a welded piece.

[latoracing 256]

Mike,

(good name by the way) I don't think it is awfully difficult, I've done it several ways, building, and complete. My prefered way is the hammer and dolly method. I seem to be able to flatten it out better, but you still have to be careful not to mess up the outside. It is a little easier to move the lip up when it is not trimmed, to begin with. You have to work it up a little at a time, if you take one spot and flatten it totaly, it will buckle. Eastwoods roller looks like it would work, if the rear end was still in the car, haven't tried that yet. I have tried pie cutting the lip on an old Fox body project, and welding it after, you can get it really flat, but it is alot more work, it was ok, wouldn't do it agean. Take your time, keep the outter edge nice and rounded, not a sharp bend. It really isn't that bad to do.

 

Good luck,

 

 

Mike

[RPM 1,190]

My thinking on rolling the fronts really tight was the max tire space is needed because the tire turns. In the rear the main goal was to do away with the sharp horizontal lip. If you really need the rears rolled tight for tire clearance, I suppose it would be worth the extra work. You can get some big tires on the rear with a minimal roll. I too would be concerned with fit and welds if rolled prior to welding.

[manley 13]

Thanks guys. It sounds like I will be ok if I weld them together first. My fear was welding them together and finding out later that I should have rolled them before doing the welding. The last thing I want to do is damage my new quarters! I think I'll try hammer and dolly since I already have these tools.

[latoracing 256]

One other thing, if you can make a "shot bag" it will adsorb alot of the noise, and keep your nice new quarters from getting dented. If you don't hold the dolly square to the surface you can dent your skin. (like I did on the bottom of my door) I do use a home made dolly, out of an old rubber mallett, and a chunk of 1.5" steel bar for weight, on stuff like this. My ears like the shot bag alot better, a little lighter, but gets the job done, with less bouncing.

[69gmachine 15]

A couple more tips:

 

Start at one end and only bend a little at a time. Make several passes to prevent bending the rest of the panel.

 

The other thing I did was to cut a couple of notches in the horizontal lip, not all the way to the outer edge, just enough to get the bend started without having to beat like hell.

[manley 13]

Thanks for all the help guys! The way things are going, I probably won't get to this until Spring when I can get the car to my house. Currently it's at my buddy's house where it underwent extensive rust repair.

[RPM 1,190]

Hey 69gmachine, good tips. Did you weld up the cuts in the lips, or did they spread too

much to weld?

 

Bob