Hey all, I am Cory and I am new to the forum here. My wife and I are resurrecting her 66' coupe and I have some questions about the body panels.

The panels behind the rear wheels are rusted fairly heavily on the inside down in the trunk drop-off areas, and it is starting to come through to the outside. We are looking at replacing those pieces and I am curious to know if we would be better off just patching that particular area, or going ahead and replacing the entire rear quarters? Replacing the quarters seems like much more work, but would mostly likely result in a better repair?

Any ideas, tips, tricks?


--Cory

 

You should do a thorough inspection to identify where all the rust is before making your decision. If it turns out to be just certain areas, you may want to just replace those areas. I don't know where the car spent it's first 41 years of life, but it's likely there is more rust in the quarters than you have identified yet, which might necessitate replacing the whole quarter.

 

Depending on the extent of the damage, IMHO, it is always better to leave as much original metal as possible. Removing a quarter and getting a new one lined up properly is a dificult task, especially with repro sheet metal. For example, the inner fender apron under the battery is typically rusted out. Instead of replacing the whole panel with a repro, I just cut out the rotted area and fabbed a replacement patch and but welded it in. You can also by the whole panel and cut out the patch you need. The area you are referring to is a common rot area and most supply houses carry the inner and out patches.

However, if the quarter is rotted in multiple places, it may be better to replace the whole panel. Ether way, as said above, you really have to strip the quarter and assess the extent of the rust, damage, and/or previous repairs.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

 

If you do decide to replace the panels, we have some guys on here that can guide you through the process if you haven't done it before. There are also how-to articles in the FAQ section that can help.

 

I bought a '66 FB that had a replacement quarter. I didn't really notice until I started my rear axle upgrade. The scope area behind the doors have completely different shapes to them. Like coda said earlier, "...getting a new one lined up properly is a difficult task, especially with repro sheet metal." Body line might be different as well. Your better off patching the rusted areas only. Sand down the quarter to find out how much rust you really have. Better to get it all at once. My $.02.

 

Take the time to really inspect what you have. I thought all I needed to repair is whatI could see. I ultimately needed to replace the entire quarter, along with the wheelhouses. Do yourself a favor and remove the rear wheels and really inspect the wheelhouses, even look inside your drop-downs in the trunk..you may find more than you thought..I did...