55 Century quarter panels

[Mike93z]

I'm looking at purchasing a 55 Century thats been sitting for awhile. I noticed the quarter panels appeared to be made from several different pieces rather than one large piece. The owner told me that is the way these cars were built. Is this true? Does anybody have any pics? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[buickbonery]

I seriously doubt it. I don't have a Century in the yard right now to say for sure. Some of the larger body cars in the early 50s were definitely built that way, but I doubt if the 55 Century was.

[buick195646r]

Apparently the Rear Quarters were put together in a series of what is called "Patch Panels" which where made in the era to repair portions of panels that had rotted out over a period of time.

They are made of the appropriate 18 gauge sheetmetal material and welded together to assemble a complete body panel.

This stuff is very hard to find in sections but to find a complete panel made of this material is quite unique.

The Panels when welded together are a lot stronger than the original sheetmetal. Each Section has a ridge around it which gives additional support and strenght.

It is like having a panel with structural supports built into it.

Regards,

Tom Gallagher