onebinky

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys, my fender lip on the passenger side quarter panel is rotted out pretty bad. I was just going to get rid of the rust and then use fiberglass to repair it, but being that close to the tire it would be all to possible to throw a rock up there and chip the bodywork. So the best option seems to be replacement.

First off, since it is unibody and the car relies on the body panels for structure, do I have to support the car at all while cutting and replacing the area that is rotted out? It is roughly 2-3" all the way around the lip, plus some on the sides of it.

Second, I'm probably going to find a donor in a yard around here since the cheapest panel I can find new is $100 plus freight shipping, and that's for a repro. Would the junkyard be able to cut it out with a torch without warpage?

Thanks guys,
Matt

fyrechikyn

you dont have to support the car from what your describing, are you redoing the whole 1/4 or just sectioning? also if its rusted pretty bad you might have rust on the inner wheelwell. as far as the junkyard goes they should be able to but id be best if the used a saw to cut it its much neater and zero warpage.

fyrechikyn

you could also find some pretty cheap aftermarked replacement panels just check around. a junkyard part is just that junk in my opinion, you might ent up getting something with just as much rust just hidden with layers of bondo trust me i work in a body shop. many a times we have to send stuff back cause its worthless.

onebinky

iTrader: (1)

I went to the junkyard today and brought with me some nibblers, a drill, a hammer, and an old chisel. It took me about 20 minutes to find an acceptable donor, and about 2 hours to cut the piece of panel out because I had to use the chisel for half of it. There was some damn brace epoxied to the backside of the panel which made using the nibblers impossible. To add to the frusteration, the hatch shocks were completely shot It was only 20 bucks though, so it was worth it to me.

Anyways, I got the panel home and trimmed up, then I cut off the piece on my car and fit it up perfect. We'll probably weld it up this weekend. You were right about the rust on the inner wheelwell too, it's rotted about 1" in on some spots. I'll never understand why some people don't take better care of their cars :lala:

Matt