Bodywork Advice

[Christianlondon]

I have just purchased my first Charger a 69 with a 440 and it needs Rear quarters. .I have just ordered the Full quarters from Classic Industries and they should be here in December. I am going to fit them myself after receiving some Good advice and help from another Member but I have never done any before.Does anyone have any pictures of the process and where to Cut off the Originals etc so I can use as a Guide..Any help would be Greatly appreciated.I also have a rear Balance and quarters to go on too.

[70 sublime]

Looks like a decent car in the other post picture

First Charger huh ?

Have you ever fixed any other cars before ?

Why do you want to change the whole 1/4 ?
Are you trying to make the perfect car ?
Be very careful what road this leads you down as soon as you cut a big chunk off the car you will start to find many other parts hiding under that you think you will want to make perfect also
Then a one winter job turns into a 10 year job and the fun will wear off

What I am trying to say try not to make it into any bigger job than you have to if this is your first Charger
You can always put 1/2 quarters on it and get it driving
Heck think I would get it driving on the road the way it looks now first and get all the bugs worked out before you end up with nice paint and leaning over the paint to fix all the little things 

[Christianlondon]

I understand what your saying..It's all running and driving so that's not an issue and I'm looking to use it next summer.The rear Quarters are quite bad and there is corrosion in the inner window panel..Sale panel? Which I think the Full Quarter covers..I'm not going to go too mad on the car at the Moment as I want to start using it but just wanted to get some of the Body done.

[Mike DC]

          
Simple thing to remember:  the original factory sheetmetal (and its installation) is virtually ALWAYS better than anything reproduction.  Both the quality of the steel and the fit of the shapes.  

Buy the best-quality repro panels you can get (usually AMD).  

When it comes to big welded-on panels (quarters, flooring, etc):  If most of the original panel is still good, then it may be better not to replace the whole thing.  Don't assume you should replace a whole panel just because you've got a whole repro panel in your hands.  Go ahead and chop up an expensive repro panel and only use it for a smaller patch panel (if the situation calls for it).

[Basketcase69]

Congratulations on the purchase!

It appears Sublime is giving you good advise.

I'd only replace full quarters if the dutchman panel around the rear window and sail panels were too far gone to save. Trying to fit new quarters to that area using the existing dutchman panel is doable, but would be tricky. Sublime is correct about the possibility of just replacing the quarters below the deck line (or reskinning them) It's much faster than fitting new whole panels to existing sheet metal because the skins are trimmed to fit your cut off of the existing quarter. There are many videos on how to butt weld quarter skins without warping them. In the end, it will depend on your budget and the amount of work you're willing to do.....As long as you're replacing the rear valance, you may look at replacing the trunk floor as well if it's rotten because it would have to come off anyway to install a one piece floor...and if the inner sail panels are gone, the trunk floor is almost always gone too......

Good luck with it! and post photos of your progress. The guys in this forum have made it possible for me to begin work on a 69 Charger I've owned for 23 years and never driven!  I'm currently in the panel fitting stage. It's slow and tedious, but I'm miles ahead of where I began. I frequently use this forum for the courage needed to continue to the next step......Scan the entire body section. Every single problem you'll encounter fitting new panels is here.

[BLK 68 R/T]

Usually rust issues are a snowball effect once you start digging in, unfortunately. The rust on the sail panel will probably go to the Dutchman panel and the rear window channel. Everywhere you see rust currently, be prepared to do work on the under piece it attaches to.

[Christianlondon]

Thanks for the advice. .I already purchased the Full quarters as I saw in another thread that they are much easier to fit than doing the skin's and as I have corrosion in my window panel I thought they would be the best option. .I'm not looking to keep the car off the road long and want to use it next year..I will keep you updated on my progress