I did this a few years back but it'll still work today! Back then, after much searching, I found a pair of decent used bun panels for $500. Way too much money.....I'll make my own! My panels were beyond toast! What metal that still existed was paper thin. First order of business was to determine the contour on the original panel. Off to Pick-N-Pull to scavenge the appropriate sheet metal. Scored this hood off a '91 Chevy van for $35 on half price day! Turns out all Chevy and GMC van hoods from the late '80's to the mid '90's are the same hood so any of 'em will work! The contour is a spot on match for the roadster bun panel! Had to remove the inner structure by cutting about 50 spot welds. A $5 HF spot weld cutter is your friend! Back to the bun panel to remove the skin. Had to do some slicing with the cutoff wheel and some hammer and chisel work. The skin is spot welded to the support brackets in several places. Wasn't even gonna mess with the lower section 'cause they were so far gone. Too many compound curves! I ordered a pair of patch panels from Howells ($80). Mocked 'em up to see how close they fit. Not too bad! Now back to the donor sheetmetal. This concave curve needs to come out of the van hood. I hammered it flat simply by chucking a length of angle iron in the vise and using it as a stationary dolly. Next I laid the old bun panel skin on the new metal and made a rough outline. Then I cut away any excess metal giving myself an extra inch or so just to be sure. You'll notice there's not quite enough metal to lay out the entire panel. It's a little short in the upper front section. Simply a matter of welding in a small patch section later in the build. Mounted the support brackets to the subframe. Then I mocked up the new bun and extension panels to the support brackets to determine position and tacked them in. Trimmed to fit and welded the extension to the panel. I cut the corner section off an old washing machine I had and used it to solve two problems. First I used it to extend the upper part of the new bun panel that was short, as referred to earlier, and also used it to create a new door jamb. I also cut another piece off the washing machine. This is the side section of the top cover. It's perfect for a top cap on the bun panel. Had to pie cut the heck outta it to get the curve but it turned out well. Now I got a place to rest my arm while cruisin'! The short side was used to graft into the bun panel whereas the longer side allows some material for attaching interior pieces when the need arises. Sliced and welded up this rear section so it would suck up against the rear support bracket. Here's the two panels side by side. A skim coat of bondo and a layer of epoxy primer and they're good to go! Considering both were made from repurposed materials, and for very little money....I'm very pleased with the results. They're currently on my avatar roadster and they look like factory originals!
OK...I give up. What is it called then? I use to call it a quarter panel but was corrected and told the quarter is the one behind it with the wheelwell. I was told the panel in question was the bun panel and the extension was the bun patch panel.
EvinTho, Nice Rod, what back wheels are those ? I need max 3: backspace and want so I can run moons, but the backspace is my issue. Those you have sure look like they have 1 - 3" BS and can take moon dishes ?
They're just steel wheels that were professionally widened to 10". Picked 'em up at a swap meet for $70. They have 3-3/4" backspace.
Hi, glade I found this. Thanks for your efforts to make this possible, and share it. I have two body's this will fix. Mike
I came to this thread to learn how to make bun panels. The part you got from Howells. Is there a thread on making those? Dave Howell told me that his dad gave a Model T to his older brother . It needed that patch panel so he made one, then other guys wanted some too. Thats how Howells business began. I need those too and was hoping Dave would show me how to make them but he cant speak since his stroke. If you need Howells parts, buy them from a vendor like Snyders. Dont buy directly from Howells unless you see them at a swapmeet
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