This is what I'm thinking about tackling next. What I've got here is a 83 firebird se with 87k original miles that's been smacked pretty hard. The door opens and shuts smooth. My question is can I just replace the quarter panel or is this going to be a real serious job involving cutting and pasting frame and suspension points(lca) ? I plan on beating this car around some dirt roads and hit some local spectator races on the clay ovals so it by no means needs to be perfect.

Car hit something pretty hard back when i was 5. Im 26 now, hence the low miles and cheap price<br/>

 

Replacing the quarter is an involved job but it wont require any suspension removal. Just a lot of spot welds that need to be drilled out. Pull the rear glass, bumper and some interior trim panels and you can then start drilling out the spot welds. The quarter was lead welded to the roof panel so you will need to massage the new panel into place to make it look nice again.

 

Cool I've already got the interior completely stripped inside and can see alot of the seams. My question is can I cut the inner wheel well on that seam almost in the middle? Its good on the inside of that seam and smashed on the outside

 

I can't answer that because I can't see the damage inside the wheel well. Start by drilling out the spot welds sanding down the B pillar area to expose the factory seam. Once the spot welds are drilled out and the B pillar seam is separated, the panel should start to come off. There are spots all the way around the lip in the quarter panel above the wheel.

 

This seam but now that im looking at it again ive answered my own question<br/>








Probobally clamp these together and weld them when i have the quarter off





It was in another 6in or so but i beat it out to see what was bent inbetween the quarter and the inner structure. After a couple hours still had no idea so ill see when i cut the sheetmetal off<br/>

 

From what I can see here, it looks like only the quarter panel and door will need to be replaced. So parts will need to be straightened but it doesn't look too bad.
The inner panels aren't smooth, that's normal.

But I'd take some measurements to make sure it's all good.

 

The part that youre pointing to stays put. The quarter panel seam is where the weatherstripping is for the glass. It also runs down the area where the door weatherstripping goes and continues down the rocker and then along the bottom of the car and up over the lip around the tire.

 

shiiiiii......just slap some bondo on er
Already looks better than most dirt track cars!...lol

 

Okay thank you. Gotta find a junkyard around me that has a good quarter and do some precision saw saw work. I'll post up some pics when I can

 

Trust me it was a thought!

 

Hey, nothing like a 40 lb block of bondo flying off to take out your opponents on a dirt track. It could be a win win.
Then again, I'm just here to keep you entertained, so dont listen to me. BOTTLEDZ28 has you absolutely pointed in the right direction!

 

Definitely give it a try, there was a thread on here about a guy replacing the rear quarters with pics. Your car is totaled as it sits so you can't do anymore harm. The auto yards I've been to have said in the past I could bring in a cordless sawzall and drill to remove body panels If I needed them, just make sure to discuss price before you start cutting.

 

talked to a yard today about cutting it off myself and they said for $100 I can cut as much as I want.

 

Finally got around to getting to the junkyard and found what i was looking for








Someones been here before me





Someone ruined this hood being a d*** im sure

 

Wow that's a cool yard ! Looks like there are a few fox body mustangs as well !

 

Is that some snorkel air cleaners everyone is looking for I see?

 

Looks like a carbed 2.8L V6 air cleaner.

 

Nope it is a 2.8. The one black car has the trans am body kit all the badges and firehawk on the rear lights. Its a 2.8 auto so I don't know who that guy was trying to fool lol

 

There is alot of old stuff here if you look hard enough although unless you want a BOP engine drive train choices are slim. Alot of cool stuff though it's always fun crawling around these old cars to see if they'll tell any of there secrets