It's been a long process on the body work, but in the end it will be worth it. Here is some of the splicing in of the outer wheel house on drivers side. I didn't want to replace the whole thing so I replaced what was needed only. This side is getting a full quarter since the original was hit in this area and was garbage. I had to work the existing wheel house and straighten it also as it was damaged. The new drivers quarter fits really well so I'm happy so far. The other photos are from the passenger side that I repaired. I kept the original drop offs with my part number stamped in them. The previous owner had put a new quarter extension right over top of the hole and tacked and bondo-ed the seam at the mid-section of the quarter body line.
I couldn't find the picture where I test fitted the tail panel on the car too, but that fits pretty well also. Should be going together soon and not soon enough. It's been 4 years or so at about 3 hours per week.
Hey, can you show the process on that little square piece you have tacked in? I'm thinking about buying a welder and giving it a try. would like to see all the steps.
Thanks Bill V.
69 Firebird Convertible (wifes car since 1979) Goldenrod Yellow, 350, plain Jane Car was stored in garage since 1990
I need help, if anyone see's I'm going down the wrong road--Straighten me out!
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I didn't take pictures of the little fabricated piece I made before it was done. I did use cardboard to make a template before I cut and bent the real thing.
ok it's been a year since my last post on this subject. I can finally say the metal work is complete (minus a couple more spot welds around the tail panel lights. Here are some pics. The car is now going back on the rotisserie for decorating the bottom (paint). I replaced the drivers quarter, tail panel, outer wheel house on drivers side, but grafted in only what was necessary. Also has completely new floor and new vert braces. The aftermarket quarter didn't fit quite as well as I originally thought near the corner at the trunk, so I had to cut and re-weld to match the other side original quarter along the trunk line - will need a bit more grinding to get it perfect. Also had to add material where the trunk bumper lands as there was no room for the three spot welds that go there. Everything was welded back together and ground flush-no filler. The spot welder I bought was a life saver. I bought additional arms to get in places where most hobbyists would be plug welding. It was worth every penny to duplicate the factory spot welds where needed around wheel well, pinch weld, and getting the 100 or so spot welds in the tail panel. I have the pinch weld arms and 20" clam shell arms to get around things. The nice thing about this welder is you can adjust the heat and thickness of the metal. I was able to spot weld thru three layers around the door pinch area to duplicate factory. lastly, I added 1/8" dowel rod to the trunk edges to tighten the gap with the quarters. In the picture I'm not done filling the rod in completely with the trunk but the gap is now much better and still needs some final grinding to match perfectly. It was easier than I thought but very tedious with welding in each spot one by one. The goal for me is to have practically no filler on the car when it's finished. So far I think that will hold true.
I bought the spot welder from www.usaweld.com. It's a nice unit, and adjustable to the steel thickness and heat level. I also bought some of the additional weld arms that they carry. for the Tail panel pinch weld area I have the outer pinch arms. For the wheel well I used an inner pinch arm set which is opposite of the outers of course. The 20" arms were great to reach around the tail panel so that I could spot weld the trunk and tail panel. They were all additional to the standard arm that comes with it.
