Cut the quarters or not

[soundcontrol]

My quarters are replaced from below the body line and down. Not a nice buttweld, but a big overlap with spotwelds that I really don't like. The overlap is maybe 2" wide. I thought I will redo it someday when my welding skills are up to that level. I bought new quarterskins (found them here in Sweden for a good deal, and AMD did not have skins for one side, still don't and they said it could be years before they have them again, so I bought them just in case).

Now, the way the joint is made is the only reason I wanna replace them, the are fine otherwise. A friend just pointed out that instead of replacing them I should just make a cut thru the 2 pieces and buttweld. With my lack of experience, I did not even think of that, is that a good way?

I guess I have to remove paint and see exactly how its welded from the outside. And I do realize no one can really answer the question without seeing the actual joint from both side, but maybe someone with lots of experience have some good input.

Option B is to leave it, but it bothers me....

Picture is from inside of trunk toward the right wheelhouse.

[Cuda Cody]

Overlap joints tend to have more problems then butt joints.  If not done perfectly they can fail later.  Sometimes it takes many years to fail, but anytime you allow air / water and humidity to get behind paint it will fail.  On the other hard, butt joints do not allow anything to get behind them, but the hard part about butt joints if the thin sheet metal.  If not done correctly it will warp the metal really easy.

It really comes down to what will make you happy.  If it was my car, I would either butt weld it or replace the full quarter.   

[RUNCHARGER]

Buttweld it if you do it. Yes the way to get a perfect fit is to lay the new panel over old and zip cut through both of them. If this is a Challenger make the cut about 3/8" below the body line as it is less prone to warping there.
If the paint is in good shape I wouldn't bother with it until bubbles are showing.

[A.Gramz]

I think it's going to depend if it was flanged or over lapped if your just going to be able to zip disc it as is and but weld.  You'll need to remove paint and filler on front like you said to have a better look at it

[Chaos-N-Mayhem]

What does the exterior look like? On some cars it might be preferable to just run them as is until they need to be replaced. Lot of guys tear cars apart with good intentions that never gat put back together. Keep that in mind as it sucks to not drive your e-body. However if you do have them replaced, butt joint is the only way to go!

[soundcontrol]

The outside looks fine to me, there is no flange that I can see from behind, just a big overlap, thats why I thought a cut right under the body line would be an easy fix. But as Chaos-N-Mayhem says, I might just create a lot of extra work and the quarters will probably last long they are now. I just to anal about the overlap, since I want every thing as good as I can get it. Gonna change the trunk floor soon and while working on that I get to sit there and look at it for a long time, I have to decide then, cut it or leave it...

[Burdar]

If the car was a bare shell and in primer, I'd say cut them off and fix them now.  However, it looks like you have a really nice looking car there.  Just drive it and enjoy it.  You have the parts to fix it.  Just hold on to them.  Who knows, some moron might run into you some day.  Then you'll HAVE to fix it and you'll have the parts to do it.

[MoparDave]

well, if your doing the trunk floor. Do you plan on sectioning it in ? or replacing the whole floor ? replacing the floor with a 2 piece floor or a one piece. If you have the resources and don't mind repainting the whole car. Then I would put full quarters on with a one piece trunk floor. then its all done correctly and the way you want it to be and look. Other wise the disappointment will continue to nag at you.

[RUNCHARGER]

That's a great looking car. Drive the heck out of it and collect any parts you may need to restore the back the way you want it. If it gets faded  or damaged then do the work on it. One piece trunk floor seam to seam is easy to do without disturbing the outer panels/paint. You start messing around with quarters you'll end up painting the whole car and materials aren't cheap these days.

[soundcontrol]

well, if your doing the trunk floor. Do you plan on sectioning it in ? or replacing the whole floor ? replacing the floor with a 2 piece floor or a one piece. If you have the resources and don't mind repainting the whole car. Then I would put full quarters on with a one piece trunk floor. then its all done correctly and the way you want it to be and look. Other wise the disappointment will continue to nag at you.

Yes, got a 2 piece from you Dave, (Ken Skoglund/Sweden ). I will repaint the car at one point, because I want it black. But right now the plum crazy is untouched, even though I blasted the whole shell except the outer quarters. Looks like this now for you who have not seen my resto thread. Will have a 6.1 Hemi/NAG 1, new suspension, brakes etc.

(check out the dog scratch collar on my redneck welding exhaust construction  )

[1 Wild R/T]

Clearly now is the time weld them up..

If you don't already have some of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Harbor-Freight-Tools-Welding-Clamps/dp/B006ZBAQ9S

get some...

Here's a video the explains them... start at 6.00...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No4RKNa_jqM

[Burdar]

Since it's a stripped shell, now is the time to do it.  I thought the first picture you posted was the car's current condition.

[JS29]

Since it's a stripped shell, now is the time to do it.  I thought the first picture you posted was the car's current condition.

I thought the same thing!

[MoparDave]

well, if your doing the trunk floor. Do you plan on sectioning it in ? or replacing the whole floor ? replacing the floor with a 2 piece floor or a one piece. If you have the resources and don't mind repainting the whole car. Then I would put full quarters on with a one piece trunk floor. then its all done correctly and the way you want it to be and look. Other wise the disappointment will continue to nag at you.

Yes, got a 2 piece from you Dave, (Ken Skoglund/Sweden ). I will repaint the car at one point, because I want it black. But right now the plum crazy is untouched, even though I blasted the whole shell except the outer quarters. Looks like this now for you who have not seen my resto thread. Will have a 6.1 Hemi/NAG 1, new suspension, brakes etc.

(check out the dog scratch collar on my redneck welding exhaust construction  )

LOL. Hey Ken. good to see the car in its current state.

[YellowThumper]

My vote is to attempt to remove the lap now and try to but weld them as they are on the car.
Use that for the learning curve to get them done proper to your liking.
If "repair" doesnt work you already have the replacements to try it again using the knowledge you gained from the first attempt.

Mike