passenger side 1/4 panel repair

[94GTCoupe]

Posted via Mobile Device
coming along slow.
gotta take my time trimming the new panel to fit the car.
there seems to be a couple small differances between my 94 gt and the panel i got.
its from a 98 gt.
i took my time when i removed it and made some referance points,but the original panel did not have the ridges that the replacement has.
also,there is no room for adjustment at the door latch,but i can widen the holes to allow for some.

 

[94GTCoupe]

not much to report.
spent the day trimming and fitting the 1/4 panel.
its a slow and boring process,but i think i got it to where im happy with it.
its not perfect,but it looks much better and the door closes and seals awesome!
heres a couple pics.

heres where i started the morning,the front looked good the day before.
however,when i clamped the rear in,i had a HUGE gap!

needed to weld in alittle patch on the corner

after much trimming and adjusting,got the gap closed up.

heres how i ended the day.
its all mocked up,looks cool to me.
tomorrow i'll disassemble it and start welding,filling and primer.

 

[nmcgrawj]

jealous

 

[94GTCoupe]

Posted via Mobile Device
yay!
im done....almost.
the outside is all back togeather,except the plastic ground effects,i'll clean it up and reinstall it along with the interior tomorrow.
drove it home today,nice and quiet from the passanger side.
i'll try to post pics tonight,maybe tomorrow after i wash it and armor all the inside.

 

[94GTCoupe]

TODAY

started welding slow.
went around tacking the panel in.
i put the bumper,tailight,and deck lid in to make sure nothing moved while being welded.

after welding,i ground them smooth and sealed them up.

taped everything up and started primer.

deck lid and tail light re installed

bumper on.

next,installed 1/4 window

sail panel installed.
broke me rear defroster in the process

heres how i drive it home
tomorrow,interior,ground effect,and a wash.

 

[99FiveOh]

Nice job! Question, if you can't get the spot welder on both sides of the joint, how do to you weld it up then?

 

[94GTCoupe]

Posted via Mobile Device
im using a wire fed mig welder.didnt want to spend the cash on a spot welder.
at all the points where its spot welded,you can get a spot welder in there.

 

[94GTCoupe]

today i finished installing the interior.
also primered the drivers side 1/4 panel the same color as the passanger side.
washed it up and there were no leaks
drove around today and the lack of noise was awesome.
here are some pics i took today.

 

[94-302-vert]

You are going to get it painted though right (or are you doing it yourself?)...

Good thinking to do both sides before painting...

 

[Black Stampede]

Very nice work man. Turned out great. You should have left it bare steel, polished it, and made a delorean. What is up with the tail lights though? Unacceptable in this neck of the woods.

 

[94GTCoupe]

Posted via Mobile Device
dont have the cash for paint.
i dont personaly know anyone who does either,im a bit of a loner out here.
as for the lights,considering going back to stock later.

 

[donkey_punch]

you gone this far doing it yourself, might as well paint it yourself also.

 

[94GTCoupe]

i wouldnt know where to begin with paint.
i'm just gonna leave it primer for the time being.

 

[99FiveOh]

I painted an engine bay once and it turned out sweet! I know the body is a little different story since it's in plain view to the world, but the key is taking your time, prepping and mixing the paint correctly. Once you do it once, I think you'll be ok. And I rather enjoyed it to tell you the truth. Just make sure you wear a dust mask, paint will SUPER GLUE your nose hairs together and it sucks!

 

[nmcgrawj]

Looks good man, how can u fix the defroster? Or will it require new rear glass?

 

[94GTCoupe]

Posted via Mobile Device
the parts store sells a repair kit for a few bucks.
i'll fix it before winter comes.

 

[dcm0123]

Do you have to install temporary braces in the rear section prior to cutting off the original panel? If so, where did you put them?
Do not want to cut it off then find out the chassis sagged.

Will set chassis on blocks and measure distances to floor etc before I start cutting. I am only cutting off the panel, not the internal bracing however there is some rust in the channel where the trunk hinge is. Will also cut off about 1/2 of the outer wheel well since it is rusted.

Like the idea of reassembling then making sure everything is lined up prior to welding.

I am about to replace the drivers quarter on a 94 coupe using a panel and outer wheel well from a convertible which was in very good condition. This was a very good write up because the pictures show what needs to be done. Only one I have found with this kind of detail for this model.

 

[General karthief]

Do you have to install temporary braces in the rear section prior to cutting off the original panel? If so, where did you put them?
Do not want to cut it off then find out the chassis sagged.

Will set chassis on blocks and measure distances to floor etc before I start cutting. I am only cutting off the panel, not the internal bracing however there is some rust in the channel where the trunk hinge is. Will also cut off about 1/2 of the outer wheel well since it is rusted.

Like the idea of reassembling then making sure everything is lined up prior to welding.

I am about to replace the drivers quarter on a 94 coupe using a panel and outer wheel well from a convertible which was in very good condition. This was a very good write up because the pictures show what needs to be done. Only one I have found with this kind of detail for this model.

You do realize this thread is from 2009,
A lot of nice work though.
Start a thread of the work your doing, we have a couple guys here that can answer any body work related questions you may have.

 

[dcm0123]

Thank you for your advice. I was not sure what the proper way to request this was. I will start a new thread.

The person who wrote this did an excellent job adding pictures which will make this much easier to do.I was wondering how to get at the 5-6 rocker panel spot welds which were hidden- leave it to the end then just bend the quarter panel out of the way to expose them.

 

[General karthief]

Old threads like this are great reference points,