First let me appologize for the sorry pictures but its the best i can get right now. I bought this car about a year ago and plan to have the body work and paint done when i get home in a couple of months. I am currently saving up to have a body man help with the hard stuff but i am going to attempt the minor stuff my self. My question is this. Can the rear end be repaired with out replacing panels. And what kind of cost am i looking at. What is not shown in the picture is that the build up u see is not bondo it is from being welded. I am assuming i am not the first person to take the body work on this car apon them self to complete. Again sorry for the pictures, wife took them with her Iphone. I can ask her for more if they are needed. Let me know what you think any help is appreshiated. :(

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3325895

You won't know until you get all that bondo out of there.

If that really is nothing more than metal that has been welded in to fill the seam that you typically see, then it should be nothing more than grinding it/shaping it to get it where you like it. If...again if...there are no surprises, then I would think that you should not have to replace any panels, but I could be wrong...happens more frequently than I like. Regardless, you will need some type of tool that will allow you to grind that material away. Do you have a Harbor Freight Tools store near you?

I think someone tried to mig weld that area for smoothing the seam. You need to remove the paint to see what rust/bondo is there first. If the metal is good, but has weld buildup, then take a 4" grinder to it to cut the rough stuff down. Then you can take an air die grinder with carbide head porting bits to do finer work (I use this all the time to dress welds and other stuff, works great!). Once you have the area cut down, it will take bondo to smooth the area out again. IMO, just work, nothing tricky. Luck!

You will be best served by stripping the metal clean and seeing whats there first. Unless you have done the work yourself you will never really know what will need repairs or replacement and what kind of shape it really is in. If you are correct and it is just weld build up then it will be easily repairable but even then there is a whole lot of other rear quarter area to find all kind of surprises on and the list goes on. Everything is repairable but if you intend to keep it or just want to do it right you need to go the long road and ensure that nothing stays hidden and anything that needs it, gets the attention it needs to come out clean straight and strong. Looks like a nice starting point.

Thank all of you for your relys knowledge is always helpful. I will strip the paint and see exactly what i am working with when i get home from Iraq. I just want to get this car finished ASAP. I cant wait.