Whoa, dunno how I missed this thread....

You can fix that yourself, its not all that difficult.....you have a welder or no? that will be the biggest question.


The pictures that Rathmar posted would be exactly how I would describe to repair that, find another 1/4 panel, cut the area out you need, cut/drill the old damaged AREA off (I wouldn't knife the whole 1/4 out for that) then hammer the inner well back out. (it look like its pushed in from the location of the dent) And stich the new section on, tap it down, and fill it.

Im not even going to touch the post from the guy at the "high end" body shop....

 

is a mig good enough???

 

oh yeah, its fine.

 

where do you recommend cutting then?

 

If it were me I would replace this area...



but that's just my uneducated guess. That would make minimal work on correcting the body line in that area. I would then just pull the dent just behind the door and in front of where you cut.

 

Got the intake, btw. Thanks a lot.

 

Nothing wrong with body filler, as long as its not Bondo. Ive never trusted Bondo for ****.

 

my 7's flat black tooo

 

great!
find the bolts OK?
and the outline you made, you think thats all i have to cut out and replace?

 

Thats about where I'd say, if possible, try to cut along body lines as they're easier to join to simply because the shape can be feathered out easier when the feathering happens at a ridge.

Plus, even though that doesn't cut out the entire damaged area, the damage infront of the cut out area will be easily accessible after the cuts are made and therefore you'll be able to get in behind and pry it out fairly well before welding the new piece on......holy run on scentence lol

 

uhmmmm...which ones???
sorry for the noobness but id like to get this right the first time....
i really app. everyone helping me out with this!

 

I talking about the area between the rear of the door and the vertical "cu" line that was chopped in. There is a decent crease there. All Im saying is once its cut out, you'll be able to pry/hammer/pick the crease because you can get in behind it easily.

 

The area outlined in green.

 

yepper, thanx

 

great!
thanks for the support guys!
so i should cut right above the crease that runs along the QP (since its dented also) where it is marked in yellow, reach behind and pop out the green then replace the QP by welding in another one correct?
in the green the seem that runs along the QP is dented also, will that be hard to get back to normal shape (or at least close as possible)?
i got more pics so you can see it better.

 

if you try to cut out and section it with a used qarter your gonna spend a hell of alot more time and in about 3-5 years it will be rusting badly on the back side...if you plan on keeping it for a long time buy a new quarter and glue it on... or pull it and putty it ..its fixable and body filler will last VERY long if done right there is nothing wrong with it..

 

You've never taken a 1/4 off one of these cars. My best body man REMOVED one side in 4 hours. That was with no interior. Add to that the fact that you won't ever find a BRAND NEW 1/4 panel to drill off of another car (you can buy the factory one for +$1000.00 like my customer did) and you're left with little options. Plus, this guy's obviously not a professional body man, so the learning curve will be much less steep if he's just sectioning it.

Thats what undercoating is for, you squirt a little on the back of it from inside when its done....VOILA! And it won't matter......the e-coating on the back has already been either cracked or flaked off from the impact, so even if you bondo'd it up as it sits, its still goign to rust unless you coat the back.....

You gonna spot him the extra grand? And its spot welded on FYI.......

Yeah, you COULD perhaps repair it....but that is one hell of a crease...he'd no doubt have to shrink the steel up some to get it to a fillable level.

Im not saying replacing it isn't the best way. Im just saying that its most expensive, most difficult (in this case) and most time consuming.

Yep, you'll want to do as much straightening as possible BEFORE welding the new section in. Since you can get behind it to hammer, its the best time to straighten things out.

It might fight you a little at the back of the door where the gap has widened, but since you'll be able to run say a long screwdriver or chisel in when the section is out, you should be able to coax it back fairly easily.

 

great!
thanks!
after i pull it the best i can (after the old QP is cut out) and i get the new QP on, what is the best stuff to fill in and use for the remaining dent and where the weld will be?
bondo isnt really the best isnt it?

 

Bondo good. Too much bondo bad.

Use any brand name (select, 3M, many others) two part polyester bodyfiller. The biggest thing to do so you don't have problems with it is mix it GOOD. Make sure the is no "marbeling" of the filler when its applied, its colour must be 100% consistent.

And one thing I was always taught when applying it is, remember that sanding sucks.....you do alot of it regardless.......keep it in mind when applying that that sanding is the enemy! Get it as smooth as possible with the paddle.

 

No problem. Very bored at work today so Green and Yellow lines were my fun.

 

i know the factory panel is spot welded im saying to glue the new one on...and i got a brand new quarter from mazda for 650$ and i glued it on now i know i will never have to worry about rust and i know my car isnt ghetto rigged.....im not saying your way isnt good ive done it like that many times but if that was my car and i was keeping it forever i would do it my way..if i was broke and dont care about whats gonna happen 5 years from now then i would do it your way...

 

if done properly, i dont see how this method would only last 5 years?

 

because with the inner wheel well in there its really hard to get everything coated for rust protection and most coatings only hold up for a little bit...all it takes is a pin hole size area for moisture to get underneath the undercoating and then the coating only helps hold the moisture in and rust it faster...and its in an area where LOTS of waterwill be if yo drive it in the rain