Well here goes... I bought a bird with some rear quarter damage.


There was alot more filler than I anticipated. Upto 1/2 thick in some places.


Heres where I started with a rotary tool, hammer and a large flat head screwdriver.


That got old quick so I went to wallyworld and bought a paint and rust wheel for my drill. Nylon type. Then I slightly blunted an old wood chisel I had and rounded the corners. Made things go alot faster.


So any suggestions? There's a little surface rust, the panel is creased in a few places. I was thinking slide hammer it into as best shape as possible then use some filler. The PO just drilled and filled, didn't try to hammer out any of the body. Probably would have gotten awaywith it if they hadn't got hit again. I know I will have to replace the bumper cover was thinging about a preditor body kit. Any suggestion or comments would be apreciated.

 

thats alot of filler, im assuming you got the car like this?

 

Yes, I had no clue it was that much tho. I can't really complain; I paid little for car and she runs pretty good.

 

I think a slide hammer would be your best option at this point. Just dont get in a hurry, and try to get it as straight as possible before applying your filler.

 

stud welder and slide hammer, as well as strip out the interior so you can get to the back of the panel with a hammer. There is some braceing that will be bent behind that panel. I would be tempted to go the new sheet metal direction as I try to use very little body filler.

You will need to look and see if:

Is the floor pan effected? is the "frame" effected. was the damage caused from a rear impact.
An answer yes to this I would get it inspected for frame alignment before putting to much money/time in it.

the seam with the deck lid seems off so the panel may have been pushed down and in from the rear. A rear impact on these cars will bend the panel right at the fender flare so if its kicked out the rear of the car may be pushed down. But my guess is that someone fishtailed into something with that damage.

IMPORTANT: check the Gas filler neck on the tank they are prone to cracking and if its been bent you don't want a leak.

 

I had almost the exact same damage on my old '84 Camaro. A splice is the method I went with.
There is absolutely nothing (floor, frame, bracing, etc) behind the quarter panel in that spot. A bit more detailed version of what I did is in this post (about 1/3 down the page)...
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...nt-i-find.html

If you can't weld, beating/pulling the panel back into shape is your next best solution for DIY.

Other then some straightening of the rear corner where the bumper bolts on, it doesn't look too bad at all.

 

This is a lot harder than I thought. Are there any tricks to using a slide hammer? I can't reach the dent from the inside due to the unibody "frame". I don't know how to weld. Like I said this is my first attempt at any body work. Btw I keep finding more filler. I'll post more pics when I get it all.

 

are you using a stud welder to attach the slide hammer? They make spreaders you can put inbetweed the unibody and the panel and push it out.

Its a slow process at any rate.

 

I had never heard of a stud welder. Any sugestions on where to get one? Makes since to use one tho. I went to advance and they sold me a Bondo slide hammer that came with screws. Dont think the screw threads will hold up. Not to mention Swiss cheese 1/4 probably wont be that strong.

 

That's a good size job you have there. If there's an auto body supply store near your house,stop in and tell them what your doing,they more than likely could sell you a stud welder to pull the dent,or go to a store that specializes in welding supplies.

Not sure if quarters are available for these cars yet.

 

do not use the screw method. It will pull out and you will have rust issues and cracking of the bondo unless you weld up the holes before you bondo.

Get a stud welder, they can be had from harborfreight.com 1/4 are availiable but can be cheaply had at any you pull it type of junk yard.

if you replace the metal You could do the welding with a cheap 110v mig, as long as you spend time an know you will be grinding the welds smooth, just avoid building up heat.

you are looking at 400-500 in tools and odds and ends with either aproach, but the finished product will be well worth it.

You can also have a body shop do the initial work and you take it home to do the finish work such as grining the welds smooth, mudding, sanding sanding sanding sanding primer sanding primer etc.

 

Well had to take a little break. Graduated STS A school.
I managed to remove most of the filler. Almost the entire 1/4 was covered. I also ordered a stud welder. Should be here tues. In the mean time should I put something on the metal to protect it untill then? Should I spray some primer on it until I get the stud welder then sand off the spots to weld the studs? Or would I just be giving myself extra work?
Thanks for all the help!

 

use a puller to get out the dents first, at least you wont use so much filler.

 

if the car is exposed to the weather hit it with a rattle can of weld through primer

 

agreed, weld through primer, then you can do the studs w/o stripping and then strip the weld through primer while you grind off the left over welds from the studs.

Don't forget a good sealer primer over all the finished body work.

Don't forget to paint the back side of the panel either.

 

Well the stud welder should be here tomarrow. I primed the pannel. I'm thinking the po used a screw in slide hammer before filling the pannel.



So whats the best way to deal with these?




How would I paint the back of the panel? It's not acessable from the bracing or "frame" unibody. Or atleast I can't figure a way.

 

fill em with the welder

 

I'm geting a chicago electric 110v stud welder. Looks like it just welds studs to sheet metal. Is there a way to fill holes with it?

 

I would just cut out the effected area, straighten whatever you find behind it and weld in a replacement panel. Much less work and filler and much nicer when you are done. All you need is a TIG welder and a cutoff wheel for your drill.

 

The PO must have been watching those bondo repair vids on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db3PQQvm7cQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8jqDVhJdf8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc-3diiSpl4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxgcAGOvaU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nid_NklLBfQ

 

that metal has alot of stretch, and fatigue in it. It would be best to cut the worse out and weld in new.

For the holes I would weld them up for the best fix. You can use fiberglass resin and matt to put over it to keep the filler from having issues, but its not the best thing and I wouldn't recommend it. The little knock outs from electical boxes are great for this, as long as they are steal. You can weld them to the back of the panel to fill in the holes. With as much mud as you will need at the end I would worry to much about a perfect fit as long as you have a good backing to it.