Hi - I have a question that has probably been discussed before on this site. I have an original 68 rs/ss ragtop that has slight rust in the rear 1/4's in the lower corners. And on one side, the upper lip, too. No rust anywhere else. One front fender has a few dings. I'll probably just replace it. I know patch panels can be purchased, also NOS 1/4's can be had for a high price, and repro 1/4's and front fenders can be purchased. It is a nice car otherwise that I plan to keep for some time. Can several people give me opinions/experiences about what I should do? Are the repros that bad? Are the NOS that good? Thanks alot guys!

The repro front fenders are a much thinner guage of metal. IMO only use those only as a last resort. I have one on my car and it flexes and bends much easier than the other original one. An accidental dent in the repro could result from a "large" friend leaning against that fender or an uncaring car owner parked in the next stall bumping into it. I am preparing to do my body work again and will pay top dollar to get a NOS or good used fender.

As far as the back 1/4's go, I also had those replaced but with NOS so I have no opinion on the repro's, but based on past experience.... The good news is that it will be much cheaper to put in patch panels than to replace the entire 1/4. Also, not likely anyone will notice a lighter guage metal sectioned into a small area around part of the wheel well.

I would suggest spending the majority of your money on the front fender(s) rather than replacing the rear 1/4's when a patch panel would work. It is very expensive to have a full 1/4 panel installed.

Really it all comes down to two things.
1. How much money do you want to spend
2. What quality of a car do you want to own

Both will LOOK good when finished.
graemlins/waving.gif

Definately save all the good original metal you can. The repro is not as good. Patch is better unless you just gotta have a new piece due to condition.

-Mark.

Keep your front fenders if at all possible! I paid a very high $$ price for not doing that. It took the body shop many many extra hours to convince the goodmark parts to fit.

Thanks fellas for your input. It is appreciated. Wonder why they can't make a decent repro? Anyone else have a thought?

I agree 100% with the quality of reproduction front fenders. I also agree that replacing complete 1/4's is an endeavour. I did patch panels with that thought in mind, but what I have found is that the patch panels requires seams in highly visible areas. Your bodywork must be perfect and an unfortunate consequence of seaming is the "ghost lines/read through lines " whatever you want to call them that results in the differing thermal expansion rates of the filler and metal in the seam. These patch panels are designed to be lap joints, I suppose if you modified the panels and butt welded them in, which isn't a simple task, you may eliminate some of this phenomenon. My attitude after doing the patch thing is I wont be afraid to remove the entire quarter next time and subsequently the seams will be for the most part behind the scenes ( no sailpanel seam on a convert !) Just an opinion from someone who doesn't get paid to do bodywork, but tries it anyway.

As a 35 year body professional, I would charge at least double the price of installing a new 1/4 panel if I had to install the 3 patch panels. To finish the inside of the 1/4 to the point that no repairs are evident is LOTS of work. I never tell a customer to use them and always advise replacing the entire 1/4 and in most cases, the outer wheelhouse as well.

If the quarters are rusted you should check the outer wheel wells and trunk drop offs as they are probably rusted also. You may not be able to see this rust until the quarter is removed. I agree with Toby. graemlins/beers.gif