stuck on rear section of car.......

Old 09-09-2010, 06:23 PM
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Lujo1968
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Default stuck on rear section of car.......

I was thinking to weld OEM quarters on my 70 bird but almost had a heart attack when I seen OEM 1/4's for a 70-73 bird runs for 1500 a side on average just to buy. Checked out reproduction 1/4's and the metal is somewhat less then standard and though extremely cheaper in price, only go up to the body line where the OEM's go Jam to Jam. I refuse to put filler across my 1/4's (especially on it's lines) if I am hanging up new 1/4's as this makes no sense and defeats the purpose. So I am thinking a donor shell from a salvage yard that specializes in my car. My question is I know there is extra work involved, not to mention getting rid of what's left over on the donor shell but if anyone has any experience with this, would this be a more feasible route? I know one plus is the metal gauge will be the same and I know a yard that has decent to very clean shells but in the end will I regret it? Just trying to decide if I should bite the bullet and buy the 1/4's or go the donor route.... for the record the cars is solid but for some reason on these F-bodies the trunk jambs are always screwed as with this car and the same with the r/s 1/4 itself. Below are two pictures of the trunk jambs to show what I am up against.

Thanks in advance, Lujo



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Old 09-09-2010, 06:59 PM
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TheYellaBrick
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MAN, there are so MANY used up NON rusted F'birds out here in the West !
If you could obtain just a titled shell you'd be eons ahead of that mess ya got there. Out here it'd have to be a really RARE piece to put the kinda work in it as you need to do on yours.
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Old 09-09-2010, 07:00 PM
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MEMRACING62
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If you can get oem's by all means buy them!! stay away from the repops . I haven't come across any of the that didn't suck the^$#&*#@ !! my next choice would be the donor car, but your in for a lot of work.
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Old 09-09-2010, 07:37 PM
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Lujo1968
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Originally Posted by DrivingMissDD
MAN, there are so MANY used up NON rusted F'birds out here in the West !
If you could obtain just a titled shell you'd be eons ahead of that mess ya got there. Out here it'd have to be a really RARE piece to put the kinda work in it as you need to do on yours.
Oh she is rare and one of the fastest Ram Air cars ever produced. See I wasn't looking for a Pony/muscle car to build stock, I am no collector or trailer queen admirer. I was just looking to play with something, but when the PHS documentation came I found out she was rarer then I originally thought. So this is one car I came across is just too rare to cut up muchless let waste away. I could only find two others of in the 6 years I had her, one was stripped junk and the other fully restored but not 100% correct. She is a 6 month production 70 Formula 400 Ram Air III with a Muncie Close Ratio 4-speed and a 12 bolt 3:73 factory rear. She has the RA package, 15" rallye package, deluxe interior package, chrome trim package, and HD suspension with factory front disc brakes, then delete every luxury option associated with this order. She is even all complete with 44k original miles (bought her still sitting on her Polyglass tires... lol). She sat in a garage with a leaky roof since 1982 hence guess what part of the car sat under the leak. Anyway all numbers match, she is Lucy blue with bright blue interior, I got the engine to turn so I decided to keep her and slowly restore her while I find a pro-street roller. She is beautiful and I have her stripped down and gutted to work on and I turned down an offer of 12 grand for her. I figured I have restored worse for less anyway... ops: lol
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Old 09-09-2010, 07:46 PM
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Lujo1968
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Originally Posted by MEMRACING62
If you can get oem's by all means buy them!! stay away from the repops . I haven't come across any of the that didn't suck the^$#&*#@ !! my next choice would be the donor car, but your in for a lot of work.
Yeah I figured as much, especially with the extra work using a donor. I just figured I would double check and confirm my fears. I guess I will bite the bullet then and get the OEM 1/4'S.
I was just hoping I would save big with the donor considering all the sheet metal being there to use for other spots. But I see your point....

Hey thanks again, I appreciate the input. Sometimes it gets hard to think with a clear head without an experienced opinion.

~Lujo
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Old 09-09-2010, 11:48 PM
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Tod74
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If it is a rare car you could commit a felony and re body the car by putting the tags on another shell( Big NO NO ) I am certain it happens a lot with chevelles.....not saying it is ok just saying it happens...OR you could clip it at the windshield posts and DOOR JAMS and retain the factory cowl and numbers.....so technically it is the same rare car even though it isn't....but if it isn't anything special compared to the donor car I wouldn't bother.

example LS-6 chevelle vs a plain Jane Malibu.

jmo

I never have been fortunate enough to hang new OEM Quarters,so I don't have any experience to compare to, but I've used re pops on a couple cars that fit well. jmo
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Old 09-10-2010, 05:56 AM
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Lujo1968
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Originally Posted by Tod74
If it is a rare car you could commit a felony and re body the car by putting the tags on another shell( Big NO NO ) I am certain it happens a lot with chevelles.....not saying it is ok just saying it happens...OR you could clip it at the windshield posts and DOOR JAMS and retain the factory cowl and numbers.....so technically it is the same rare car even though it isn't....but if it isn't anything special compared to the donor car I wouldn't bother.

example LS-6 chevelle vs a plain Jane Malibu.

jmo

I never have been fortunate enough to hang new OEM Quarters,so I don't have any experience to compare to, but I've used re pops on a couple cars that fit well. jmo
Yeah I came across that idea as well. I even know where to get the GM rivets, as well as having a friend of mine even claim that if I gave him regular rivets and a set of dikes he can make the rivets. But I know my luck and marriage to "Murphy's Law" and figured it best to keep it legal like.... lol.
You are correct also btw on those Chevelles out there, but Chevelles aren't the only cars to suffer that fate. Are you a bodyman by any chance? I noticed your dead on and know the deal with what's going on out there.
Anyway as for doing a complete clip, that's not a bad idea either but due to the work involved and my limited space, I will keep that idea as a last resort.
See as I think MEMRACING62 will agree, with the repops, they are better with some cars then others. I am not sure if it has something to do with car popularity and how many they make to sell that dictates the metal stamping, but on Firebirds and Camaros, the repops just suck and only cover the 1/4 from lip to lip (not full jamb)and from lower lip on 1/4 bottom to the body line just slightly above the center, leaving a new 1/4 that has plastic across it. You and MEM might even think I am nuts but I swear those f-body repops are more shallow as well with the contour curve of the body. I think I am just going to bite the bullet and go OEM on the 1/4's. I should just call Bill's Birds and see what he can do for me.
Thanks Tod, I will keep you all updated.

~Lujo
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Old 09-10-2010, 09:58 PM
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Tod74
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I'm not a body man....once upon a time I was gonna be. I've been fixing and painting cars since I was a teenager.My dad taught me. I just work on my own and on occasion someone will talk me into doing theirs as well.
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Old 10-07-2010, 07:59 AM
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What I have done to many cars is I have gotten like a roof off of some station wagon from the wrecking yard and just cut out to rust rot and welded in "new" pieces the size that I cut out. Looking from the pics it doesnt look to bad at the seam so you might be able to salvage that part of it. Hope this helps
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