So my 68 riviera is in pretty solid besides around the rear window and my left rear quarter is in rough shape from the wheel well to the door, wheel well - back is pretty straight, what are my options and where are parts available? Having a hard time finding body panels especially if they need to be shipped to northern Canada, Yukon(beside Alaska)!
J.C.Whitney use to advertise full replacement lower quarters for '68 Riviera, but shipping will be a bear, (...if they are still available ?) !! o No:
A picture of the damage will be most helpful. Is this rust or physical damage? I can tell you purchasing a rear quarter or section cut out of a quarter, shipping, then paying someone to properly weld it in can be an expensive process. Without seeing damage hard to say but you should check with competent body shops first to see if what you have can be repaired and if so for how much $$$. And then what it would cost if you supplied them with good metal (they determine how much of the quarter to replace whole or part) and how much that will cost just in labor. Of course if you are doing the welding the shop labor isn't a factor
Rivman - Have you seen the quarters in JC Whitney lately? I know they were advertised in the Riview several months back, but I do not think they were this last issue. I am in the same boat on my 69 - everything is solid except rear quarter wheel well edges...
Haven't seen them advertised lately either Blue69 - that's why I added; ( ...if they are still available?). They were the only source that I'm aware of for the full lower '68 1/4 panel patch panels, and probably sold out of their existing stock, or the demand was not high enough to justify keeping them in inventory ? They even had the correct indent and flat sided mounting hole for '68 rear marker lamps that are smaller than the '69-'70 style !! I did a quick check of the J.C.Whitney web site and they were not listed.
I suspect it was damaged in the past and repaired with bondo by someone as I chipped away a good 1/4" of bondo along with rust, I will be doing the repair myself and am not expecting it to be restoration quality when Im done but I am meticulous and take my time and do the best job I can also the car will be getting a flat black paint job so slight imperfections are not a huge deal, the flat black with all the chrome will pop, anyways the lower front of the left rear quarter will either be replaced if I can find the peice or at the very least sand blasted and either fiberglassed or filled then sanded smooth before paint, I'm hoping when I remove the wheel well chrome trim the mounting portion for the trim isnt totally rotted out aswell as it appears to be as of this point... I checked the jc whitney site and did not see body panels unfortunately... I tried to use the add attachments to upload an image but It did not work for me on my phone nor my computer what am I doing wrong?
Your pics are too dense. When you send the pics from your phone to your home computer send them on medium density. Then save those to your hard drive and post them here using the manage attachments button below.
This is what I am working with, I have polsihed the passenger side, roof(before top removal) and trunk, hood needs polishing, drivers side needs tlc and need to resolve the top issue.
Strip the quarter completely at least around wheel well and lower extremities so you know how much metal you need. Once you see what you need you can start checking salvage yards that will cut out the sections. I also suggest going over the rest of the car grinding down any areas that are rust prone or appear to have bondo to make sure you know how extensive rust is on other areas of the car and especially the floors and trunk. Typically I don't see second gen Rivs rusted in area shown in your photo. It will be totally rotted under the wheel trim. I would be concerned once you start into the body you'll be overwhelmed with metal replacement so you'll want to get the big picture on what it will take to fix it all before you start spending money one area at a time. With no reproduction panels available, it gets real expensive real fast purchasing rust free metal.....and that process in itself isn't without risk and disappointment.
Thanks for the advice, I will definitely look into all areas that appear to need attention, the floors and truck are excellent slight surface rust but definitely in great shape. the area shown as well as around the rear window are the areas that are the worst, the rest of the car is pretty damn solid, now instead of the search for panels I have been contemplating making the pieces myself with sheet metal and doing the work myself and shape it out I think I could accomplish a good looking repair with minimal repair costs.
I would remove the trim on the bottom of the front fender, door & quarter before going ANY further. Could be MUCHO RUST under those pieces!!!!
Well I'm not talking about a fancy resto job here I'd fix the obvious for now, get her looking decent and rat her around for 2016 before making the decision whether or not to sell as is, resto, or pull the drivetrain for another vehicle build and part the car, I am currently inquiring Vintage Vehicle Services for an option/build package as I believe this car was made in the US but sold in Canada therefor records would be avaliable and if it has a nice looking build sheet that will also help determine the outcome of the cars future. Appreaciate the helpful comments and recommondations guys! Thanks!
Car Craft Magazine shows a 68 Rivieria in Palm Springs, California. Just got the issue a couple of days ago, seems they found an impound yard away from the LA basin and they did a story on some of the available? cars in it. Correction: viewed issue today, it is Palm Desert, California.
Cool man, I'll have to see if I can track a copy of that down! Started my repairs yesterday, already finished repairing around the rear window, ordered new rear window trim clips, all my clip studs are in great shape, quarter panel will be ready for paint at the end of the day, removing as much trim/chrome as possible, giving the car a good sanding and laying down the flat black, reinstall the chrome, install the 17" aluminum wheels as she'll be looking great! Hope to have the car finished paint and reassembled by the end of the day tomorrow. I know I'm not doing a top dollar body job by any means so guys :TU:
Well took a little longer than expected but shes all fixed up, heres a couple photos, hope to have the wheels and tires on tomorrow which will make a hell of a difference.
Having a shop like that sure is a must have up there, what is it, something like 20 below every morning? this is the U pull I frequent, with a rare snow coating on mountains near El Paso.
I am a mechanic for a large road construction company and our shop is huge, I use it for anything I need to do, even store vehicles and such in the big yard, but yes a shop in the winter is a must, actually its not as bad as you would think, sure ya this week is about -15/20 every day buy we've had quite a warm winter so far and 0 degres and warmer days do hapen frequently throughout the season aswell. Summer months can reach 30+ C and the sun up here hits you hard, love it here.
