Well, long story short, my IROC was nailed by a drunk driver (along with 9 other cars) a little less than a year ago, and messed up the rear left quarter, and left door - along with the left LCA mount. Took it to the frame shop and they said they couldn't fix it cause the inner quarter was rusted out.

I basically had given up on the car after then, and it's sitting in a warehouse in Detroit right now, but I was thinking last night while I couldn't sleep.

Literally, what (everything) is involved with inner/outer quarter panel replacement. I presume lots of cutting, welding, etc.

I mean, I had already decided on selling the car as a non-rolling roller (haha), but...if there's the chance I could fix it...and then have the frame shop bend the LCA mount back to place, I might go ahead and do that - it'd be a huge bundle of experience.

So, what's involved?

Thanks guys.

 

The inner QP might be even rougher than the outer, which is a 10 out of 10 on difficulty scale. You're gonna have to remove all the factory spot welds and then make a cut line just below the roof where the factory QP was attached to the factory roof. Do a search for quarter panel under user name "TomP" and you should find some good info.

As far as the inner panel goes, you'll have to take your interior out and look and see how it was attached from the factory, then cut a replacement out of a donor car. You're gonna have to weld in some temporary bracing inside your chassis and then cut the inner out and weld it in place, either by the factory method, or butt welding in your new pieces. At which point if you want it to look factory, you have to break out the grinder.

These are unibody cars, and if you don't brace everything properly for a QP repair like that, your car will shift and/or may never track correctly again.

Mathius

 

For reference, here's the pictures (They're ugly).

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0IROC/Wrecked/

 

that doesn't look nearly as bad as I expected it to. Did you get a second opinion from another shop? Find a place that does custom work and full paint jobs if you can, rather than a place that lives off of small repairs and insurance work.

 

The inner quarter is the worst:

 

when you said inner rear quarter panel, i thought you meant all the way up into the inside of the b-pillar where the rear speaker mounts and above the wheel well area. The biggest concern I would have is how much the control arm mount was affected. The damage that is visible in those 2 pictures I would think could be sectioned from a donor car.

 

Yeah, you only have damage to the wheel tub and the lower part of the outer quarter if I'm seeing everything in those pics.

I'd consider patch panels before replacing all that. I'd still probably buy a new quarter panel, but I'd use it to cut a patch from.

Mathius

 

My concern, and possibly the bodyshop you talked to, would be that the rust has gotten into the frame rail, or other parts that make the car unsafe to drive. No shop wants to put their name on a car that is structurally compromised. Other than that it looks like a pretty easy job. I wish you lived a little closer ... I'd help you do it.

 

where that rot is, is a seam where metal is spot welded together, is all thin metal. I cut it all out when i mini-tubbed my car, i dont see any reason why you couldnt just cut out the metal thats rotted and rebuild a inner wheel well in that area.

Then you said the LCA mount is damaged?
the quarter panel skin looks to be pushed into the door jam as well. Thats going to take a lot to fix right.

I guess the largest issue here is cost. By the time you are dont fixing all the damage, you could probably buy another car.

 

Yeah - that's the issue. It's always been about cost.

I was just looking for comments about the task as a last ditch effort/thought. If I could do it myself, that'd be one thing, but otherwise, I think I could sell the car as a roller, the rest of the car is pretty clean, except the left rear.