Is this quarter that bad?
 

I was contemplating buying a full quarter or a skin. Looked to Year One and didn't see a full quarter for a 72 Cutlass. They have the skin though. My concern is the doorjamb area is crumbled pretty good, so it'd be hard to get a skin to line up properly. What do you guys think?

Your probably going to have to pull the jamb area back straight looks like it took a pretty decent hit. Even if you get a full qtr, or a replacement jamb. The hards repairs to do are the ones on the body lines. You'll have some fun fixing it, but it can all be fixed...:yes:

I'm new to bodywork, so I'll do tons of practice on this quarter. Do you think it can be done without replacing it at all? And I've got a replacement door already. I added some better shots of the damaged area.

I would try to find a full quarter.

Mike

Its actually quite fixable.

I mean, there's no reason to not try and fix it. Worst comes to worst, just replace it.

do you have the tools to try and pull this out, if not EASTWOOD has lots of good things you can use to pull the dents and start fixing. this will be a good test for you but it can be fixed

that's what I was thinking. I just hope I can find a full quarter if I mess it up. I was looking at another project on here and I noticed the door jambs on the Chevelle looks awfully close to mine. I think the door jamb is the most critical part because it is what the door and the qtr line up to. I've got a generic slide hammer and a mig welder. I was going to weld metal sticks to the body and pull them with the slide hammer. Only thing is that is setup for the "drill a hole and pull" method. I have to find an adapter so it pulls the metal sticks. I also have a hammer and dolly set, a 22 Gal air compressor and an electric DA sander (because of the compressor). So I am almost fully geared for it. I need a cutoff wheel to round things out.

You are going to need much more than a slide hammer. Do you have a come-along? And a post (or something) in the garage that you can attach the other end to, which can withstand 500+ pounds of side force?

I have a come along but nothing to attach it to. Any suggestions on what I can do? Come to think of it, I do have a 14" dia pear tree in my front yard that I could attach a come along to.

First things first pick up the red book. It is an excellent book.
http://www.tptools.com/eccStoreImage...s/MT-BFB_R.jpg

Dont forget that you can usually get to the outer shell from inside the car. remove the interior panel and the window reg if its in the way, to gain access. Its much easier to push big dents out versus pulling them. then, once the majority is pushed out, then pull the smaller dents out.

You may even find you need to push from multiple points. While your pushing the metal from inside th car, it will be pulling from the jam area, you may need someone elses help tapping that area with a hammer as you push the metal back out.

Yeah, I looked into that as well. Only thing is that the car was hit in the front of the qtr. There is a piece of metal blocking this on the inside.

And I was doing a little looking around under the paint and I noticed what looked like bondo where the top of the quarter and the roof panel meet. I thought these were leaded.

Have you considered removing the quarter and bumping it out off of the car? You may find things behind the quarter that need fixing as well. Just a thought.

Mike

You know Reckley, I did for a moment but thought it was a little crazy. Maybe crazy is what I need in this situation. Talk about a learning experience. I'll do a little more research on replacing a quarter before I dive into it.

Initially, I was a little afraid to take the quarters off of my car but, once I got into it, it's really not that bad. Also, I feel it makes for a more complete job. You can get an idea of what's behind there and fix or clean things up. If you carefully drill out the spot welds you should be able to put it back right where it is now.

Mike

Alright. I'm in. I know that my inner wheel housing has what looks like surface rust on them that needs to be handled. Are the spot weld cutters worth it? I'll try and start on it Monday. I'm off and the wife will be gone. So no extra honey dos. My car is on it's own suspension and I plan to take just one quarter off. Do I still need all the bracing that you did Reckley?

Sending you a PM.

Mike

Do not cut that 1/4 off or start working until you have the door opening pulled and squared. That rocker panel is in which means there is some floor damage in that area. Trying to hang a door and 1/4 without aligning the inner structure will be a disaster in the end. There is more than just surface damages there. You will be surprised how much works out when pulled into shape.

Bring to a shop to have pulled which depending on your area will run you about $500.

If you do not straighten while pulling you will never get it right. If you have never changed a 1/4 or are doing a 80% panel you might as well fix it. The lines are usually the easy part the harder part is the curved flat surface.

ok, what about cutting the dent out, pounding it straight, straighten the jamb while I got access, and welding it back in place?

I would find a used door and repair that quarter. Probably pull that section of the quarter a bit then cut it off, hammer and dolly it straight and weld it back on.

You got the right idea.