[letsroll]

We finally got around to hanging some quarter panel skins we got from Woodsnake. This stuff is not rocket science and with the right tools I think most anyone with patience can do this. These were a bit more than just skins whereas we had the trunk drop offs too. Too bad they do not make these parts new for a 67 cougar whereas a large part of our time was in prepping the used panels to put on. The Harbor Freight spot weld cutters worked great and a fraction of the cost I paid for the pro ones from an autobody supply place. I could see myself doing this kind of work for $$ when I retire in about a year. We also had to replace some trunk floor and the rear frame rails at the shackle mount area. We did not use the whole rear frame rail place whereas they were only bad right at the shackle mounts. This repair is obvious but it is solid and in proper place.

Let me state that this car we are working on was a parts car I bought for interior parts that was good running but needed a lot of body work help. I was going to part this thing but daughter and son in law wanted to save this cat from extinction. Some of the steps we have taken would not be for a restoration project. But this car is going to be a nice driver and cruise in car.

Now for hours and hours of blocking and sanding .....

 

[letsroll]

 

[woodsnake]

Are those mine that you have already installed?

 

[Bad69cat]

I hope so - if not it looked pretty darn good to start with then! How did you blend the curve in near the top - did you mig it and grind it down?

 

[letsroll]

Are those mine that you have already installed?

yes sir those are them.

 

[woodsnake]

Looks good! Glad they were what you needed! How bad was the very rear bottom corner on the passenger side?

 

[letsroll]

I hope so - if not it looked pretty darn good to start with then! How did you blend the curve in near the top - did you mig it and grind it down?

We cut the skins going on and the old quarters coming off to overlap by about 1/2 inch. Then we used a panel edging tool the puts a lip on so that it laps under the other panel and you end up with a pretty seamless joint. The passenger side is going to take more work for finish that the other whereas the replacement panel was shorter and had to seam it lower than we would have liked. The drivers side is seamed not far from the edge where the structure is pretty solid and does not flex and fairly flat. After much consulting and exploration and conversation, we are using 3M panel adhesive for the seam and welding at all other points.

 

[letsroll]

Looks good! Glad they were what you needed! How bad was the very rear bottom corner on the passenger side?

We cut in about a 2x2 patch in that spot. Was not too bad to do. Will need some shaping up a bit more but got pretty darn close.

 

[Bad69cat]

We cut the skins going on and the old quarters coming off to overlap by about 1/2 inch. Then we used a panel edging tool the puts a lip on so that it laps under the other panel and you end up with a pretty seamless joint. The passenger side is going to take more work for finish that the other whereas the replacement panel was shorter and had to seam it lower than we would have liked. The drivers side is seamed not far from the edge where the structure is pretty solid and does not flex and fairly flat. After much consulting and exploration and conversation, we are using 3M panel adhesive for the seam and welding at all other points.

I was wondering if you used the adhesive or not. Curious to see how it holds up over time...from the sounds of it - it's pretty sturdy stuff. if you find any prob's with it i'd like to hear about it. I'm thining about redoing the truck this summer.....and that's the route I plan to go.

 

[letsroll]

I was wondering if you used the adhesive or not. Curious to see how it holds up over time...from the sounds of it - it's pretty sturdy stuff. if you find any prob's with it i'd like to hear about it. I'm thining about redoing the truck this summer.....and that's the route I plan to go.

Got a brother in law that runs a sales and delivery route for auto-body supplies and he has talked to a lot of guys who use it and are happy with it. Some for quite a while too. We beat pretty hard on that seam on the first quarter we hung, trying to get something bad to happen. Figure then and there as the time to find out. Not even a slight indication of failure.

 

[letsroll]

Spent some time removing the last of the nasty old paint. We are having a debate on whether to remove all the old bondo or not. As you can see there is some from bringing up the low spots such as on this door. What got one of the team worried was that in the hood there is a pretty low spot that after some pain removal showed a crack in the old bondo. What happened I am sure is they put it on too thick and when it dried it cracked so they filled and smoothed the crank and then moved on. I am leaning towards leaving the bondo on that has not had a problem and just doing the final leveling. It is not like there is rusty crap behind it and that it will fall out in time. Anything that is questionable about the metal behind it we have removed entirely. What so you guys think?

 

[letsroll]

example pic of door.

 

[Bad69cat]

I'd say leave it if it's held up OK this long. Especially if it's something where you can't dolly it out better. By the time you block it and seal it, it'll look great.