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Technical Repair or Replace quarter panel 1957 Chevy

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Sumter DeGaris, Apr 22, 2018.

  1. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    I would fill it. Get the panel clean, get all that rust and shit off there and smooth it over with good quality filler and it will last the rest of your life. This based on 20 years experience in body shops and seeing old cars come in with decades old repairs, still intact. Some with plastic filler (bondo) 3 or 4 inches thick. It is a myth that filler will fail if too thick, it is more likely to fail if thin and rust or moisture gets behind it.

    Incidentally I have NEVER seen bondo or plastic filler spontaneously fail for no reason. It is always because moisture got in behind it or the metal rusted away. Or, the car got hit bad enough to dent the metal badly and the bondo popped off. Of course in all these cases you would have had problems even if there was no filler on there at all.
     
    Fordor Ron likes this.
  2. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    By the way if you do have a new panel welded on what do you think he is going to do about the weld seams? Hint he is going to cover them with plastic filler. Probably almost as much filler as if you just smoothed over the dents.
     
    Black Panther and anthony myrick like this.
  3. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    The old "inferior" repair lasted 25 years THAT YOU KNOW OF. It may have been done 10 or 20 years before that. Yet there was absolutely no sign of it until they ground off the paint. So much for the longevity of filler.

    There is no reason that filler properly done won't last 40 years or longer. The filler they have today is a lot better than what we had in the sixties and seventies.
     
    Fordor Ron and Black Panther like this.
  4. COCONUTS
    Joined: May 5, 2015
    Posts: 1,161

    COCONUTS

    I think the metal is too thin and work harden, any more beating on it cracks will appear. Cut out the bad section and weld in a new piece. or just replace the whole quarter. I think GM gave 8 hours to replace the entire panel, finish work such as paint and trim extra.
     
  5. southcross2631
    Joined: Jan 20, 2013
    Posts: 4,413

    southcross2631
    Member

    By cutting away the old panel the body shop can address the rust that is probably in the inner wheel well. I had to fabricate most of the inner well on the 57 I did.
    Just remember rust never sleeps . If it is rusty on the outside , it will be rusty on the inside where you can't see it. Your choice fix it now or fix it later and it will always cost more to do it twice.
     
  6. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,244

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Likely impossible to diagnose from here, but it is fixable like some have said. How's the seams? Looks like a clean car compared to the average midwest variety. There's sections available but most are the import shit, which is not only too thin but welds like shit too. I too am impressed it lasted so long, and then the obvious questions arise. Will it sit in the parking lot at work 40 hrs a week? Do you have snow and salt where you are? How far is it going, as in Ridler winner or quicky driver-nice from a distance or AACA nat'l 1st prize winner? Guessing somewhere between all that and WTF is accurate, yes? Lastly, how was the back of this work/repair addressed when you and your guy conversed? Disturb a seam and that's a job on it's own. It's a H.T., those qtrs hold the car together. I'd have the car on cinder blocks or jack stands before I cut it. Will they do that?

    Mine? I'd repair that spot and never look back. An hour or 2 of hammer/dolly/shrinking disc and a modecum of filler, done. That's the better part of day before it's ready to finish prime and paint. I'd have 2 calander days, but likely a dozen or more hrs in replacement. More if I found surprises when the old was removed. "Oh shit, this inner is pretty thin." "Fuck, shouldn't have disturbed this wheel house." "Your trunk floor return is wrinkled up too, I need to address that before we hang a qtr on this." and if it needs a new one you're waiting and the work flow is disrupted. So, how is that inner panel? Are you ready for surprises? My x-ray specs quit working and they don't make the batteries for em any more so I have to guess or assume additional work in my shop. I did one before where a genius cut both qtrs off with no support and wondered why the decklid overlapped one side and had a 1/2" gap on the other. A mess. Fix it, and don't drive it in snow and salt. I'm a 57 model and got patched up once and it's not too bad yet, and I still get abused.;) Your results may vary...
     
    Special Ed likes this.
  7. philo426
    Joined: Sep 20, 2007
    Posts: 2,097

    philo426
    Member

    Yeah,you remove the quarter and who knows what evil lies beneath?Best fix it.
     

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