Paint & Body Work Custom Painting | Panel Repairs & Replacement

Can it be saved? (with pics)

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Old Jan 29, 2012 | 06:02 PM
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The other morning on my way to work I hydroplaned and took out 2 fence posts, 2 small trees and a ditch before stopping. The DS quarter is bashed pretty bad, along with the rocker panels. Is it fixable? doesnt have to be showroom quality, just decent.
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Old Jan 29, 2012 | 08:16 PM
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oh yea its fixable, fixed much worse cars than that at work....now heres the question, is it worth it? i would say no, but that's up to you
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Old Jan 29, 2012 | 09:58 PM
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those rockers and DS quarter are my biggest concerns. the rest I can buy junkyard parts pretty cheap. where do I even start on the rockers?
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 12:05 AM
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Anything can be fixed. However to get it done right will cost you about 5 grand
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 12:26 AM
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ive got access to a paint booth and most tools required to fix it. again, i just want it drivable. how do i get that quarter fixed though? i'm figuring a stud gun for the rockers.
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 10:25 AM
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Depending on your level of skill you you can do it all yourself. You can buy a stud welder and pull the dents out and try and level everything as best as you can. Remember to work from the outside of the dent towards the center. Not the other way around. The other thing you can do is cut out the 1/4 panel and buy yourself another (clean) panel from the junk yard. Just be sure you tell them how you want it cut.

Go to a junk yard and see if you can buy a rocker panel. Just find all the spot welds for the rocker panel and drill them out. Then weld the new on in it's place. Just take your time to line it all up.
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 07:26 PM
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anyone know if rocker panels are the same for 94 camaro and firebirds?
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 07:41 PM
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yeah i dont know if it is really worth fixing
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 07:44 PM
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All 4th gen rocker panels should be the same. T/A might be a little different but I'm not 100%.
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 07:44 PM
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http://www.autopartsnetwork.com/shop...year_1994.html

This says it fits both...anyone wanna tell me what it is? and why its so cheap? Is this an actual steel rocker panel?
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Old Jan 30, 2012 | 07:50 PM
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not sure where your located but if your anywhere near south florida i have everything you need cheap. im in the middle of a quarter/rocker/ttop conversion on my 99 camaro i bought a complete 93 for parts and im not touching anything on the drivers side.
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Old Feb 4, 2012 | 11:36 PM
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I'm in NC. Could I just cut a section of the quarter out, weld it in place and finish out with bondo? theres a decent body in a junk yard not far from here thats same color and the guy is pretty reasonable
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Old Feb 5, 2012 | 12:49 AM
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Doubt it would matter if the car is the same color...
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Old Feb 5, 2012 | 05:34 AM
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Where in NC you at?
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Old Feb 5, 2012 | 10:07 AM
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Looks to be quite a bit of damage. Even if you fixed it with the intent of selling it I think you would have a tough time selling it and making all of your money back.
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Old Feb 5, 2012 | 11:52 AM
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When someone backed into my old black TA it was right around 6000 just to replace the quarter panel and bumper good thing i didn't pay for any of it.

Its fixable but the time/money you put into it... might aswell buy another car. Fbodys are getting so cheap these days its unbelievable.

Around 300-400 tack welds holding that quarter on... fun times.
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Old Feb 5, 2012 | 08:19 PM
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yes technically you could section the panel but there are two major draw backs especially if the panel is the same color. 1.) paint color wont matter as your going to grind most of it away to make a clean weld. 2.) unless you are really good with a welder and have the temp just right the panel will more then likely warp, and your finished product will be a nice set of waves. this will take more then the ideal amount of body filler just to make halfway decent. the better option IMO is the buy a spot weld drill bit (super cheap at harbor freight) drill the spot welds. buy a rattle can of weld threw primer and tack weld where all the old spot welds were. then you can rattle can prime/paint if you wish and it wont be that bad as it will all be in the door jam or under the hatch. this way will also require the removal of the sail panel as there are a few welds behind it. its not that hard to remove took a few hrs but nothing crazy. i can post pics upon request for clarification i have one car in my garage with the quarter completely off and the other is prepped for removal just cant find time to get it done.
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Old Feb 7, 2012 | 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by 9WhiteCamaro9
Where in NC you at?
caswell county
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Old Feb 7, 2012 | 06:43 PM
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not worried about resale value,
Originally Posted by Track_FC
Looks to be quite a bit of damage. Even if you fixed it with the intent of selling it I think you would have a tough time selling it and making all of your money back.
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Old Feb 7, 2012 | 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Swflbt22
yes technically you could section the panel but there are two major draw backs especially if the panel is the same color. 1.) paint color wont matter as your going to grind most of it away to make a clean weld. 2.) unless you are really good with a welder and have the temp just right the panel will more then likely warp, and your finished product will be a nice set of waves. this will take more then the ideal amount of body filler just to make halfway decent. the better option IMO is the buy a spot weld drill bit (super cheap at harbor freight) drill the spot welds. buy a rattle can of weld threw primer and tack weld where all the old spot welds were. then you can rattle can prime/paint if you wish and it wont be that bad as it will all be in the door jam or under the hatch. this way will also require the removal of the sail panel as there are a few welds behind it. its not that hard to remove took a few hrs but nothing crazy. i can post pics upon request for clarification i have one car in my garage with the quarter completely off and the other is prepped for removal just cant find time to get it done.
you would be my hero if you could post pictures. I bought a v6 body for 250$, so ive got all the parts i'll need to fix my Z if i can successfully take the quarters off
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