Projects Shoebox & Metal Help crap patch job under an inch of bondo!!!

I found a huge mess under the inch of bondo on the driverside rear panel. I had the patch panels started and didn't think anything about all the bondo I removed near the rusted out crappy patches they had install before. So once I started to remove the bondo there is a huge oil can on the side so I keep grinding and I find a huge mess of a repair. I looked on the inside of the car they had undercoated over the bondo and patch in there too.

There is a huge dent about 10 inches from the door that was filled with bondo

About 24 inches from door









Right above the wheel well

They didn't even grind their welds down!

This is about 18" from the tail light.
I scraped all the undercoat off the inside and it looks to me like they cut the panel all the way down the side to fix the oil can from the dent with all the bondo in it. So my question is how would you go about fixing it?

 

I have no advice other than good luck. Looks like you have a mess.

 

it looks fixable, with that said it may be a pain in your A$$.
I would use a stud welder and pull it all out with that and a hammer/dollie.
if its to to bad put a new quarter panel on but i would fix yours.
just my TC

 

Hey,

If I'm reading your photos correctly, it looks like the majority of that damage was caused when the panel was welded up! They probably ran with a few tacks, and then ran the rest of the welds hot & fast

I'd repair this by first grinding the weld beads down some, but being careful not to overheat the panel whyle grinding. Next I'd have a buddy hold a universal shaped dolly behind the weld bead whyle I hit the beads from outside the panel with a bumping hammer or small ball pien hammer (hit only the beads, not the surrounding sheetmetal !) Anytime you weld on a panel you're gonna have some shrinkage and if not controled you wind up with a panel that looks like yours Continue to bump up the low areas on this panel from behind, grind it carefuly, and slather a thin coat of " Fender-In - A- Can " sand & finish as necessary.

" Do not drink the Kool -Aid ''

 

I would consider finding a new/different quarter panel. It all deponds on your skill level and equipment/tools. If you have the right skill and tools you can make a new panel and replace the hack job.

 

Every bit of advice I've seen so far is sound, even the recommendations to replace the panel.

But...

Why not at least TRY to save it? It's a chance to learn some new skills (or improve on existing ones), and if you fail, you can always still bail and replace the panel.

Show us pics of progress if you decide to try it

 

thats nothing this is what mine looked like when i took the bondo off!



and after.

 

An now, and it still took a skim of filler to get it to look this!

 

Big Creep
So how did you go about doing it? Also Did Jack move that use to be in the Creeps? I saw a bunch of his stuff on here for sale by Ian.

 

yea Jack got married and moved in with his new wife! he had way too much shit! thats what he said. cut out the old and weld in the new, and let my body guy get it straight! the top patch oiled can just a bit but my body guy used a torch to shrink it tight!

 

may i suggest a arm wrestle? the "old member" with a few post, against the "newer member" with many posts! the winner(whiner) get 20 free post's!

 

funny thing is that i know my car has bondo on it, it would have been nice to have next to no bondo but hey thats what its made for.

 

Big Creep
I am my body guy and paint guy as well as motor guy.

 

I have two driverside doors could I cut the bad part out and weld that part into the side of the front half of it? it's the same profile. Just a thought.

 

Yea but why waste those doors? I sure you can find a panel somewhere for sale. And we won the Stanley cup!!! Go KINGS GO!!!!!

 

They are collecting dust behind my garage. And they have some patches too. Yes Go Kings Go only 44 years in the making!

 

Hey Dickies,

Try this: cut a cardboard templet in the shape of the panel you need to replace. Cut out a piece of 18-19 gauge c.r.s. sheet alittle bigger than you need to cover the replacement area. Now lay the sheet on your workbench, and clamp a piece of 2 1/2'' pipe say 2'-3' long across the panels' width. @ the area of the panel's greatist crown gently lift up on the panel, pull the panel out, and pull it up again. You'll notice the panel start to change shape it the shape of your quarter. " IF " you go slow, and pratice this method, you can make a crown in this panel that will match your quarter. If you need a flange in the panel, trace your flange's shape onto a cardboard templet and cut and mark the templet onto the patch panel. Now take your hammer and dolly and form the flange alittle at a time-check the shape often. Go slow, and check your progress often, and you'll produce a really clean replacement panel

" Life ain't no Disney movie "

 

I did try to hammer and dolly the welds. When I grinded the insde of the huge turd welds I thought my neighbor had hit the side of my car. I hear a pop and go and look the side popped and flexed the new patch panel and as soon as I cut out the old metal it popped back in place.


No it isn't a coupe with suicide rear doors. I cut the extra passenger door a part.

You can see how sucked in the panel was.

A little trimming to see where I should cut.



Even without holding the panel you can see how smashed in the side and how crappy the previous repair was. I guess that explained the inch of bondo.

Mocked up. Now hopefully I can not warp the panel when I weld it in!

 

I did a similar thing replacing a 1/2 . Difference is i made my weld where i could get at it from behind if i needed to. I'm glad i went that route because no matter how careful i was it still caved in a bit. I did manage to dolly it out after grinding both sides for minimal filler. An old leaf spring makes a good pry bar and dolly if you have to get it between the wheel house and 1/4

 

Almost finished my neighbor came over to shoot the sh*t and check out the repair. I would have finished welding it up and grinding it down if I didn't stop.

 

Tedley
I have been watching your thread. It's awesome! I love what you are doing with yours.

I have to do mine on the cheap as I got laid off a few months ago. I called around to the few guys I know who part carts out and I could buy another whole car for what they wanted for the rear quarter panel. So I had to cut the passenger door up. I bought the door for cheap a year or two ago.

 

looking great!!!!

 

Nice work!
I am going to wrestle with same kind of problems soon,there's a lot of bondo on my shoeboxes drivers side quarter too.
Where's that patch panel from that you used?

 

Got to ask,did you use torch or Mig to tack sorry if I missed it in the thread? Super job got the same mess goin on my 51
Good Luck

 

I mig'ed mine in. My neighbor was going to show me how to torch weld or re show me I should say and he took to long so I mig'ed them in. They turned out better than what was on there and better than I had planned. My camera broke or I would have done a complete build up and finish. I should be primered by this wednesday.

 

Nice work! Are those EMS patch panels you guys are using? How is the quality of the ones you used?

 

The EMS panels are not the same as OE. They are close but not 100%. I would give them a 90% match. Over all they are good. butt weld them and use as small as you can to patch or big enough to be able to work the metal with a hammer and dolly. The rockers are another story. The rear part needs work to match up the front tab needs to be cut and welded and made shorter. The part that hit the jambs need work. I made my own inner rockers because everyone said that the EMS ones aren't worth the money. I got a killer deal on mine from ebay. All of them from the price of one. The coating is tough. For what it's worth they all need help fitting but for me the rear roll pan was the worst of the bunch. Remember it's just metal and plan to get pissed off at the fit and curse EMS out in your head then when you are finished you'll be super happy and think that wasn't so bad!

 

Thanks for the info. No matter how bad they may be, they can't be as bad as what they'll be replacing! I do already have their lower front fender patch panels and fender braces - they seem to be dead on, though I haven't installed them yet. Just had the car completely sandblasted, and there is a LOT of metal that needs to be replaced. Rockers, front floor pans, lower third of the toe kick panels, driver's side rear lower quarter, rear trunk pan, and trunk tailpan. Not looking forward to that bill!

 

I agree.Aftermarket panels are never like the originals,but EMS products are really close of the originals.I've use to it that aftermarket panels need some hammering etc to get them fit better,but the hammering part wasnt so bad with these panels.One lower quarter patch i got was bend,but i think someone in USPS has gone postal with my package,literally.

 

THIS IS GOOD ADVICE!!!!

I find that every car I have worked on over the years has been great "learning experiences" in one way or another.

The Opel being no exception ...... with having a tube chassis practically dropping into my workshop ..... I will be doing my first "body-off".

After seeing some of the things done by HAMBers shown on the pages of this forum I have also learned that "NOTHING is impossible".

Good Luck - take your time - ask for help if needed ....... Go for it!!!!!