Quarter Panel Replacement

[Lil John SVT 27]

I'm gonna change out both quarter panel on my 69' mustang, due to rust and tons of bondo from a previous wreck. The passenger side needs a full quarter, no way around it. But the drivers side, from the middle of the wheel arch to the front is in good shape. Only the rear needs changing. Should I split it there and only change the rear section? Or just do a full panel replacement?

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I would do the full quarter ,you will not have a joint to try and fill .In the olden days we had to splice quarters because full quarters were no longer available .It is actually easier to do a full quarter because all the welding is around the perimeter .I am doing both full quarters on a 67 coupe at the moment ,actually the whole rear half of the car .

[Shep69 149]

I'm gonna change out both quarter panel on my 69' mustang, due to rust and tons of bondo from a previous wreck. The passenger side needs a full quarter, no way around it. But the drivers side, from the middle of the wheel arch to the front is in good shape. Only the rear needs changing. Should I split it there and only change the rear section? Or just do a full panel replacement?

I have just been through the same issue. I changed the whole quarter . Like ridge said you only need to weld around the perimeter. Its a bit tricky around the roof joint but i managed to do it by myself. Came out sweet. 

[barnett468 418]

i sometimes like to change just a sectios to try and preserve as many orig spot welds as possible, plus the shape of the repo quarters rarely matches the rear edge of the doors so that area often has to be worked which is a pita to do properly.

[Lil John SVT 27]

Is there any spot welds in the overlap in the quarter windows? I'm trying to figure out the best place to cut out the old panel. I've looked it over and over. Not sure the best location to cut. I was thinking song the top body line on the inside towards the trunk. It'll be easier to hide the weld seam. Is this a good idea? Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. As far as factory spot welds, I don't care about that. It's a project car, not going for a factory show car look.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

It is spot welded under the lead ,there is also a few tack welds that have to be cut but none of it is a big deal .The new quarter will slip up under the roof sail panel .Make sure the trunk lid  fits  the very best it will along with the doors because that is what you will be fitting the new quarter to .Also make sure the end cap aligns with the end of the trunk lid .

[Lil John SVT 27]

Right now the trunk area is perfect. So all the lines are square. So that's a plus. I need to change out the tail light panel. But that'll be after both quarters on. To make sure all stays square. And I'll do one side at a time to avoid any mistakes.

[barnett468 418]

Yeah, I see you are leaving the old quarters on top so the trunk "should" fit fine but I would still bolt the trunk and end caps on to make sure everything is perfect before welding it all up.

 

I have had panels that were made around 3/16" too friggen short, but you can't always see it without the end caps and trunk lid on.

 

There are a few spot welds on that angled drip rail around the side window but you are way below that point.

 

A full quarter actually meets closer to where the top of the roof is so you are leaving part of the orig quarter on there.

[Lil John SVT 27]

Well a friend of mine who's a long time body man came and looked at my car today. He said that he wouldn't change the quarter panels. He said he'd replace the bad spots, most are on the bottom. He says the body work, he'd remove the old bondo and rework the metal. He said new quarter panels sometimes are more hassle to get to fit right and it's only feesable when there's no chance of saving the panels. So I think I might take his advice and rework my panels. The taillight panel is bent up from a previous wreck and has rust around the lens. I don't see that that panel would be hard to replace. So I guess when everyone says to keep as much original sheet metal as possible, that's what I'm going to do.

[Mike65 475]

Lil John, 

  When I did the skins on my 69 Coupe I cut the old quarter about 1" down from the body line then flanged the new skin & tucked the new skin under the old quarter & welded them together.

[Lil John SVT 27]

I'm still on the fence about replacing them. Both quarters are heavily bondoed at least 1/2 way the wheel well. I noticed the body line behind the rear well on the passenger side is half way covered with bondo, to the point there is no body line. I know it's a lot of work, but I want to do it once and do it right. I guess new panel fitment depends on the panel manufacture. So as of right now I'm still not sure which way to go with them.

[69NC 21]

I would replace the panel, you will end up doing far less body work and not have bondo.  I went with Dynacorn and had little trouble fitting the parts.  Like was stated above do one panel at a time to make sure you have original parts (door striker panels, the tail panel, roof, etc..) in place to align to and measure and clamp, I like clecos to hold the panel in place.  Measure and align several times before you weld.  redoing/tweaking when clamped is easy, don't rush to welding

 

Mine's a convertible, but if you want to see the steps I took to replace the rear quarters, you can read my blog entry:

http://www.theracg.com/2013/12/install-the-new-rear-quarters/

[Lil John SVT 27]

I'm going to call Dallas mustang and ask what manufacture they use. Any recommendations ? Dallas mustang is 4 hours from me. The reason I rather drive is the shipping is ridiculous, $250 to ship two panels.