Outer Wheel Housing Fitment

[gzig5]

I've got a couple questions I'd like to clear up as I finish repairing the inner and fit the new outer wheel housing. I did not do the install of the new rockers or Dynacorn rear half, so I'm not totally familiar with how it came apart.  It's obvious that the outer wheel housing gets welded to the back of the outer rocker where where they overlap.  I see that on the old outer. 

1.  Does the inner rocker get welded to the vertical panel it buts to?  It seems like it should.  I drew a circle around area in question.

2.  How critical is it that the 1/2" circles on the three tabs line up?  The outer is not just falling into place and it looks like it could be a fight to get those tabs lined up perfectly.  I don't care too much about the inner seam, I just want it fitting to the new quarter correctly.  I will check that before any welding, of course.

3.  The lower front of the new outer doesn't match the profile of the original part so I plan on making it match so there isn't so much overlap.  Make sense?

[gzig5]

Anyone??

[Dmod1974]

1.  Yes, they're spot welded together.  On my 74, it was 3 panels spot welded together there: the wheelhouse, that leaf spring box bracket, and the inner rocker flange.

2.  Mine didn't line up at all either.  Like easily 3/4" off on each side.  It didn't matter to me since they serve no purpose, though I suspect they may have been used with a jig or fixture in the original production for panel alignment.  The only place you could possibly notice it is at the very end in the trunk to trunk extension area.  I simply cut off the inner tab so it looks like there is only one tab there.  You can't tell unless you're looking for it.

3.  Do what you have to do.  My wheelhouses fit pretty bad.  Make sure you fit the quarter, trunk extension, and trunk floor before welding them together or in the car.  Mine needed a lot of beating, cutting, and grinding to make work - and I installed mini tubs at the same time!  They would have required even more work if I wasn't doing that.  You may have to trim the outer wheel opening flange so it doesn't overhang the bottom of the quarter a bunch.

[jimynick]

I had a wee chuckle when I saw the AMD sticker on the wheelhouses you're struggling with! Why should yours be any different than all ours? They fit like hell. I actually called AMD and they put me over to their repair shop and the guy there said that "they usually put the inner and outer wheelhouses inside the 1/4 and push them around until they get a fit they can live with"- and that's nearly verbatim! WTF?! Do NOT weld them in until you've hung the 1/4s or you'll end up slashing your wrists! Put the inner and outer wheelhouses in and hang the 1/4 so that you've got a decent 1/4 to door gap as well as the deck lid fit; then, after having screwed, Cleco'd or clamped the 1/4 in place and only then, do what you need to do to jam the SOB's in. The tip about checking the 1/4 lip to the outer wheelhouse will likely show you that you'll have to clamp the 1/4 and wheel house together tightly and then scribe the excess and cut it off, or you'll have 1.5" wheel lips at the bottom. You may also have to pie cut the whlhse lip to get it to conform better to the 1/4. Truly a PITA of the first order! Stick with it, you'll conquer it- eventually.