I need to replace my crushed rear quarter panel on my 89 GTA. I have a used quater panel that contains everything inside and out from that whole section of the car. From part of the rear bumper, to part of the roof (near sail panel), to part of the rocker panel, and at least half the wheel well. I got an estimate from the guy down the street that is REALLY well known and known to be very good. He said $1500 to put it on and paint it. That with me giving him all the parts (quater panel, rear bumper, rear bumper bar, tail light, ground effect). Then I got a quote from the body shop at the chrysler dealership i work at, and he said it would be more than the car is worth (he didn't give me a figure). I really don't wanna give up on this car and buy another GTA. There is so much going for this car, and it's not in bad condition other than this panel. Is the $1500 quote good? Has anyone ever had this done? What is the going rate right now? $1500 doesn't seem bad, expect that's basically all labor (he's only buying paint).

Ryan

 

That is a good price. But before you put the quarter on get a shop to put it on a frame machine and make sure its within tolarence, frame damage can be easly done on these cars and hard to spot.

Just make sure he welds it in and doesnt just glue it in and bondo over it, there should be very little bondo on the car if the panel is installed right.

 

I'll get a pic on soon to let everyone see exactly how bad or not bad it is. As far as the frame...after I messed it up, I took it to a shop and had an alignment done, and he did some basic measurements and said the the frame is fine, but the wheelbase is 1/2 inch shorter on the side that I hit. It doesn't make any difference in the alignment. It is perfect, and I love how straight it drives. I'm hoping to get this done soon, cause it's a major eyesore to me, let alone anyone else seeing it.

Ryan

 

fix it, dont change it, your car will never be the same, it will rust after 4 years, trust me, if its fixable, make him ifx it, patch it whatever, just dont chop up that car....it will kill it down the road

 

1500 sounds like a good deal as long as he does a good job. To do a quarter panel right requires a fair bit of time so I would think its reasonable. If its done right too I dont see any reason why it would rust, especially if your car isnt winter driven.

 

If it is done right it should not rust at all.i have done quarters on new cars and they have never came back about rusting.And 1500 is not a bad price.for the materials and paint thats about 500 if not more.Have u seen any other cars hes worked on?

 

right, tell me sumthing, is he doing this as a side job or are you actually going through his shop legally, if its a side job, hes gonna butcher it, trust me, if you cant fix it, then pay more to get it done right, why do you want to change a 1/4 more then once, i know i dont ...

 

tell me sumthing, is he doing this as a side job or are you actually going through his shop legally, if its a side job, hes gonna butcher it, trust me,

That could be but true,but now most shops are slow and guys are looking for side work.I disagree about just cuz hes doing it on the side he will butcher it up.Hell when i do side work i do a better job than i would on my own cars.And i do not want to be responsible if something happens and have to pay for everything again myself.But it all really comes down to how honest he is.

 

The guy's shop is really well known in the area for doing awesome work. He does a lot of sports cars, old classics, and some hot rods. This would not be a side job so I would be expecting the best possible result with the condition he's dealing with.

Ryan

 

What shop are you taking it to?? I live in detroit. $1500 is a little high if you ask me, I had my quarter put on my 1977 trans am by a small shop for $900 total paint and labor. I took it to a show a few weeks after that and got first place show and shine.

 

why not replace the skin? i got a skin for 150$ canadain and only being charged a few hundred to have both 1/4's and both rockers welded in

 

The shop is something like Van Houton or something. He's in Lincoln Park on Fort street next to the dairy queen...south of champain.

I can't reskin because I hit the back corner in towards the front/passenger side.

As for a small shop doin the work...I had a guy repaint my 84 TA for $800. That was staying with the same color, and bumping out a minor dent in the front driver fender. I'm sure he just bondo'd it, but it looked fine. I'm just worried about having the rear done by a small shop that I don't personally know because of lack of experience in quater panels and just general back work. I have one other option...a friend's dad has a his own body shop. I will have him look at it before I do anything, but the bad thing is...she's my buddies X. He's cool though, I don't think he'll mind.

Ryan

 

I tend to be an annoying customer, I would ask to see it right before it was primered, to check the work and how much bondo ended up on the car, and if its more than the guy doing it said there would be before starting, I would be very insistant that he work the metal more, but then again thats why I do all my own work, never done a whole 1/4 though.

To check the depth of the bondo use a magnet, a magnet that will hold 3-4 sheets of paper on the frigde should stick over the bondo to meet my standards other wise its to deep for me to be happy with.

 

I agree

 

Id say let a shop do it so they can do all that had BS work. And also you can yell at someone if it isnt right. Problem with just welding on a new pipece of metal is most times you can only pre n paint the out side once done. Most coting will melt off near the welds in the back side and the weld lines will be rusty within hrs on the other side of the pannel replaced.

 

How do you get around this. I am going to be replacing my 1/4 panel in the next few months and I want it done right. This is a very informative thread.

 

When i do them I will glue the wheel house.And weld the rest if u coat all the metal with a welding primmer it will not rust.(should not) than make sure u replace all the caulk u take off.U could go a step more and when u get it on coat the inside with a body wax.I have yet to have a car come back for rust (knock on wood).

 

With the interior out you can paint most if not all the seams on the inside of the 1/4 but before installing it you want to spray the inside with a good weldable primer, it shouldn't come off if the panel is welded on right, leaving just the seam to be painted. Get a good can of etching primer and reach your hand behind the brace in the trunk and spray away. For where the seam is for the top you can paint it through the speaker hole. And the seam at the door just spray it in strong and let run down the seam inbetween the holes. Then spray away with some enamel or under coating and cover all the primer up, That should seal out any moistiure. And under coating is a good sound profing agent.

Good luck with it, and im sure back painting is some of the 1500.

 

do this then spray bomb it with matched paint

shouldnt be more than 200$

 

Yep its not easy. But you gotta get behind it some how. Also it should be easier if welded right. with small tacks letting the metal cooled ever 3-4 tacks.

But if done the best way. with a bunt joint with a small gap. The weld line will need coated once done. That is the better way to do it. so you can basically grind off all the weld so it even with the surface but still welded.

You can make that easier by welding up a few back plate pieces. to hold it in place with a small gap.

i am not a fan of the over lap and bondo type replacement work. Though I have seen a few cars that look **** and the guy said he use pop rivets for everything. That allot of filler work to cover seams n pop rivets.

 

Sounds great. Good info there. I deffinatly want to go the welded route. I just don't trust bondo on a car that flexes so much.

 

Finally...come pics.

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in all the pics you can see a silver line inside the hole in the rear bumper. From that point to the center of the car there is no damage to the interior panels. From there out it's bent forward and to the passenger side. The quater panel I have is cut past that line. I'm thinking of only replacing fron the front of the wheelwell back and from the bottom of the sail panel down.

Let me know what you guys think

Ryan

 

cut it off a car from the wreckers and weld it on

 

Wow man thats a nice hit.If i was doing that car i would pull it can't tell in the pic but u said it was pushed forward and to the pass. side If its forward and to the side u have to get it pulled.And if u have a full quater i would but the hole thing on go up on the sail panel about 5 inchs from the top. Hows the rear body panel?I might have some pics of quaters i have put on.ANd like ( i forgot who said it) but don't over lap it. Do a butt joint with backing weld solid and grind flat then all u need is one coat of bondo and one coat of glaze.

 

The rear panel is good from that silver (no paint) line you see in the huge hole in the bumper. The frame itself is straight, but the wheelbase on the driverside is 1/2 inch shorter than the other side. All the "damage" was in the floors. I got the car aligned after the accident, and it came perfectly straight. I don't need any frame work, and I don't need to put it on a frame machine. I'm just going to install subframe connectors to strengthen it.

I'm NOT doing this myself. I kinda want to, but only if I was being watched and helped by a professional that was making sure I was doing it right.

Why all the way to the top of the sail panel? If they did that...how exactly would you keep the roof in the right spot while the quarter is cut off and new one put on? It's a Ttop car...so good fit is important to keep the ttops from leaking.

Ryan

 

DO NOT DO A VERTICAL CUT!!!!!! THAT IS THE WORST KIND OF HACK JOB REPAIR POSSIBLE!!!!
The replace to sail panel is the correct repair. Don't worry about the strength. As a T-Top car though, make sure it's sitting on its own weight. (On its tires) If it's in the air, or on pinch weld clamps, these cars are too flexible to count on the lines to be correct. (Ever notice how the gaps change when you jack it up?)
use a good weld thru primer on all the welded seams and a urethane based caulk at the factory caulked joints.
and don't sweat the small stuff... If done correctly, the repair will probably outlast the car.
Look at it this way, you can repair all the rust that's starting at the outer wheelhouse while the quarter is off.

 

so the general consesous is to fix it, and not part the car out? That was actually my original question. I just don't wanna put that kinda money into the car, and this repair be something that will come back and bite me in the a**. If it's done correctly, will it last?

Ryan

 

Repair or part out, that depends on the miles on the car. You can get a decent firebird with around 130k miles for 1500 and swap all your goodies over, or fix this one and have a good firebird for 1500. ALso is the title salvage or was it never totaled?

 

clean title
150k on the odometer, but the engine only has 30k, and the trans i'm not sure, but almost positive it's 150k. Only other problem with the car is the front seats. Everything else is almost perfect.

Ryan

 

If your body man is happy with the frame then I would just fix it. I would be a little worried about the 1/2 inch wheel base issue, but I guess you could adjust it out with some new rear adjustable LCA's, and adjustable pan hard bar. I just prefer cars that haven't been wrecked less alighnment issues. You could always put your drive train into another body.

 

I've thought about that, but then i think of what a waste the rest of the body will go to. The 1/2 inch thing is definately not a big deal to me, cause the car drives really nice as it sits. Right now all it's got is Lakewood control arms and panhard bar. We all know it'll handle even better with SFC, wonderbar, torque arm, and adj shocks.

I just love this car...I'm going to fix her.

Ryan