What would be the best way to fit these together. Should I try to butt weld them, or flange them together. Right now, the new piece is @ 1" or more longer than needed so I can fit them as needed. Thanks, Dan
Dan, I would reccomend butt welding together. First of all the body lines will match better. Second trying to flange the part will be difficult. Good luck with your project. Dave
For restoration purposes, butt welding would be ideal, it will let u refinish both sides of the quarter to make the repair invisible. But, it will be more time consuming. Using a Lap weld (flanging the panel) is much easier but will leave evidence on the inside of the panel. A trick i use to butt weld panels (besides spedin extra time to cut both pieces perfect) is using a copper backer on the backside of the panel, it won't melt or stick to the panel or the weld and keeps u from blowin holes through on the joint... also works good for filling some rust holes :Brow: . Which ever u choose remember that a lil time here saves lots more time later... Good Luck. :beer
Should I try to butt weld them, or flange them together If you have to try ..you will be in for a long day or week. If you have never done it I would not attempt to do it on that section . Overlap or flange will be more forgiving.
You will never get the "flange" idea to work. A rounded panel will flatten out. I would definatley over lap it (1/2 inch will do) . thin both half with a smaller grinder alittle so that it wont bulge and then spot weld it every so often so the panel wont warp, and continue to weld it till its solid letting it cool as much time needed (to keep the warping down) Then a light grind in the inside and use a 2 part epoxy style seam sealer to smooth up the inside and it will disappear under the spatter paint. Peace of cake, I did it to a 69 myself a couple years ago. If you try to "butt" weld it the metal will be weak and the repair may not last possibly cracking out later. I have seen this also after 22 years in the bodyshop business.
I'm not worried about making this into a show car. I would love to, but it would take me forever to get that done. The car needs a complete frame off restoration for that. I don't have the time, money or facilities to do that kind of work (actually a body swap would work best for this car, but that's questionable at best). I'm just trying to fix it as best I can before I paint it. I must admit though, there has been a lot more bondo than I originally thought there was. The front fenders were no suprise. The doors were a little more than expected, but not much. The quarters were a big suprise, much more than expected. I'll post some pictures later of some spots just covered with 1/2" of bondo over a fiberglass patch to cover the rust. Now the rust is eating away under the fiberglass. So the fiberglass has nothing to attach to. I have never butt welded before. Would hate to ruin these pieces trying to get them right. I thought about flanging them as I have done that before. At least I know I can do that without messing it up too much. I know the butt welds would be much better, but.... Thanks for the suggestions. I look it over and see what I can do with it. Dan :3gears:
