Jade’s 66: father/daughter project

[bubbaearl]

post a pic of the damaged corner .

[BLAKE]

Oh yeah, granted this was back in 2007 to 2008 or so, I had bought the kit but it wasn't fitting real well with the 2007 GT calipers/rotors. I called him and he got really snippy with me and had a very negative tone.

Don't know if he was having a bad day or what. Really came across like a jerk. I was having problems with the hub centric rings not going in well.

I ended up using his kit plus the Vintage Venom kit and together they worked perfectly.

Well that's too bad. I guess everybody has good and bad days. He couldn't have been nicer when I was dealing with him, but a face-to-face meeting can make all the difference I'm sure.

Quick suggestion: get the car nice and level, when you cut the quarter off and don’t move the car until the new quarter is welded on. Leave as much of the car assembled like door and trunk lid

Appreciate the suggestion. I have also been advised to support it at the pinch welds and I'm thinking I should remove the rear end/leaf spring assembly so there isn't the weight of that pulling on the trunk floor.

post a pic of the damaged corner .

This is all I have at the moment, which shows how the quarter is pushed forward, making it so the quarter extension doesn't meet up well with the trunk lid. What isn't pictured is the area behind the bumper/below the quarter extension that's all wrinkled up. Previous owner had body worked the exterior of the quarter, though there was a kink at the peak of the wheel opening that I pulled out with a come-along. That helped, but didn't fix the alignment issues at the rear. On the inside of the quarter in the trunk, it looks like a bowl of oatmeal. Quite lumpy.

Also not visible in these pics is how hosed the tail light panel is. It has a crease at the bottom and oil cans on the right side.

[bubbaearl]

may be possible to work the qrt once it is stripped and replace the tail panel . cutting the qrt is last resort .
to remove the bondo use a propane torch and brush . couple of passes of the torch will turn it to powder. NOT heat but it burns the solvents off the surface . 2 passes and brush , 2 passes and brush . once it is clean you can figure where to go .

[BLAKE]

may be possible to work the qrt once it is stripped and replace the tail panel . cutting the qrt is last resort .
to remove the bondo use a propane torch and brush . couple of passes of the torch will turn it to powder. NOT heat but it burns the solvents off the surface . 2 passes and brush , 2 passes and brush . once it is clean you can figure where to go .

It may be worth that just for educational purposes, but based on what I'm seeing, I think the quarter replacement is inevitable. At least I have a good factory donor that still has that corner in tact.

I spent some time with the donor cut on Sunday and successfully separated the wheel well section from the quarter skin as well as some of the other end of the tail panel. It's slow work, but the extra bits are coming off cleanly, so that's nice.

[BLAKE]

Question for the experienced body men:

Considering that rust isn't the issue here, where should I make the seam on this quarter panel replacement? I have plenty of meat all around, so I could theoretically make the seam at the base of the C-pillar, but that might be more involved. (?) I've seen plenty of people put the seam just below the top of the body line, which on one hand seems more simple, but also seems like more body work on what is a gently-curved area that would run the length of the panel.

For those with experience with such a thing, what do you think is the best method and why?

[Rick Modena]

Question for the experienced body men:

Considering that rust isn't the issue here, where should I make the seam on this quarter panel replacement? I have plenty of meat all around, so I could theoretically make the seam at the base of the C-pillar, but that might be more involved. (?) I've seen plenty of people put the seam just below the top of the body line, which on one hand seems more simple, but also seems like more body work on what is a gently-curved area that would run the length of the panel.

For those with experience with such a thing, what do you think is the best method and why?

The C-pillar is best at about a 1/3 up, you want a flat panel area to do the minor body work after fitting and welding.
You want the rest of the quarter panel nice and straight for paint...

[bubbaearl]

best to replace at factory welds . but i would consider just a rear section . but then i would pull the qrt instead of replacing .

[BLAKE]

Thanks!

best to replace at factory welds . but i would consider just a rear section . but then i would pull the qrt instead of replacing .

I appreciate where you’re coming from with the repair idea, but I really don’t think that’s an option.

[BLAKE]

Maybe a better way to say it is that I lack the skills to rescue that quarter and the tail panel already needs replacement. That thing is done for sure.

[BLAKE]

Been a long while since an update, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy.

The donor cut (driver's side quarter and tail panel) has been drilled out and is now ready to go on. All spot welds have been cut on the current quarter and tail panel, so at this point it's down to making the cuts at the roof and the rocker and the old panels will come off. I'm not sure on timing there, but with borrowed welder, we're going to jump in and make it happen. I think for the sake of this install, we're going to get more welding done elsewhere first, so we have some more practice. There are tons of trim holes to fill, as well as the driver's floor patch, which has been trimmed and is almost ready to go in.

I've also been busy wheeling and dealing parts, plus I had a friend come through big time and give us pretty much a whole driveline.

T5 from an 86 Mustang, 1980 302 with 500 miles on it that had some FOD on two pistons. Apparently he dropped some hardware down the intake on a new carb install. Couple dinged up pistons but the cylinder walls are fine. After swapping those pistons, I think we'll source some GT40P heads out of an explorer and call that done. The 289 that's in there now is way past it. Every bit of the inside is caked with sludge and the main bearings are hosed.

Just did a deal to get a Mustang Steve clutch cable setup like my fastback, so I'm happy about that.

Lots more to come, but there's the latest. Almost time to start melting metal!

[BLAKE]

We’ve been getting some good work done now that we’ve gotten our hands on a welder. Filled trim holes on the whole passenger side (quarter trim, rocker trim and some JC Whitney chrome that ran down the length of the car). Shaved the antenna and filled the gaping hole in the fender where some joker added 68 turn signal lamps.

We’re patching some rust in the lower door corner and working on the driver side trim holes next. After that, driver’s floor pan, subframe connectors, probably torque boxes and lastly, replacing the driver’s quarter panel and tail light panel.

After all that, we’ll move on to sanding in prep for paint. Lots and lots of sanding.

[Chas_svo]

Looks good and a lot like work! I learned to do body work on my brother's 65 and 66.

[BLAKE]

Looks good and a lot like work! I learned to do body work on my brother's 65 and 66.

Hah, it's a ton of work, but it's rewarding. We're getting some good time together and it's satisfying to see it come along.

[BLAKE]

Welding continues! Plus some body work and priming.



We're both polishing our welding skills as we go. It may not be the prettiest, but it surely ain't going anywhere, that's for sure. Here's Jade welding on the passenger side torque box, as well as a shot of it finished.







About a week ago we took a family road trip to Austin to meet up with a really nice guy who hooked us up with this beautiful interior kit. 66 Aqua Carpet, Upholstery, Seat Foam, Kick Panels, Rocker Sill Trim, Steering Wheel, Side Mirrors and Gas Cap. This'll really help bring this dream to life!



Now that all of the extra trim holes are filled and the goofball 68 turn signal indicators are welded up, Danny and his dad Verne and I started in on the driver's fender. That made for a fun day, and nice of those guys to share their skills and space to help me make sure I'm not screwing this up, lol. Still plenty of body work to do, but it sure is nice to see it all one color.

[Fordblue625]

Love the aqua! Like you had mentioned elsewhere, it's nice to see actual color being used instead of the usual black/gray/blah. Nice progress!