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Quarter Panels original?

5K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Sauron67MM 
#1 ·
I'm sure this falls into the "dumb question" category, but I know nothing about body work, and want to know how do I tell if the quarter panels have ever been replaced.
'69 RS/SS - in California all its life, so wouldn't be surprised if they are still the originals.
Other than the stampings (which I haven't looked for yet - not at home currently), is there an easy way to tell if the quarter panels have ever been replaced?
Thanks

Gary
 
#2 ·
There is nothing dumb about asking what you did. When I looked at a car I finally bought, I looked it over for 2 hours before I made an offer and told the current owner what I found was right and what was not and it had some metalwork done at some point in it's life but I knew what to look for.

If they were replaced, it depends on how much work was put into replacing them. You could have some shoddy work to where you could tell from a distance they were replaced while other times, you have to get up real close and look at everything.

The stamped numbers in the channel are one thing and then look for the panel being attached with spot welds and not mig welded edges. Someone may have done plug welds to where they can look real close to being spot welds. On a lot of cars, I also look on the bottom edge of the quarter behind the rear tire and you should see a line of spot welds along that lip and on a car I bought a few years ago, about 4" back and then all the way to the rear bumper area, there were spot welds but the first 4" there were not and upon closer looking, there was a patch put in.

I've also seen guys put on new quarters and do a real thorough job and then took it a step further with cutting the old stamped numbers out of the original part and then welding it into the new quarters and after the metalwork and paint, no one could tell it was done.

I've also seen discussions about original parts having a particular shaped tab and then the reproduction or the NOS ones not having the tab so someone else may chime in with particulars on something like that to look for.

Jim
 
#7 · (Edited)
67-69 Camaro assembly line quarter panels have run numbers stamped in the trunk gutter radius, plain as day unless someone filled them. NOS quarters are stamped but they are not run numbers. If someone put skins on a car, a novice may think they are original quarters unless they inspected the backsides and all pinchwelds. Since the OP has zero bodywork experience, he will not know how to compare unless he is shown all factory welds, inside and out. Camaro VIN, Cowl Tag, and other Numbers Decoding
 
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