Fixing a quarterpanel

[soundcontrol]

On my new quarterskins (Goodmark I think), the bodyline has a bump near the rear, not pretty, I gotta fix this. Otherwise the skin fits good. Questions, do I fix it before I weld it in or after, whats easiest? And any tips on how to use the hammer and dolly here, seems a bit tricky to me (a total beginner at bodywork).

[1 Wild R/T]

Heres a good place to start...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijgwCwnKZUM

[soundcontrol]

Yeah, seen that one, Ron Covell is the master! 

[Cuda Cody]

Any way you can get access to it and move the metal where you want it is the best way.  Using a hammer and dolly just takes a little practice.  Like any skill, the more you try and keep trying the better you'll get.  Watch as much You Tube and read as much as you can, then go to town and see if you can get it.  Good luck buddy. 

[71GranCoupe]

Practice-practice-practice. Take a scrap piece of metal and put a similar dent in it with a hammer or whatever will simulate your dent, then apply what you have observed. If the first one does not work, try it again and again.  Once you are comfortable move over to the quarter and remove the dent.

[soundcontrol]

It's not so much a dent, it's like a slight curve in the bodyline, (bad pressing) so I kinda need to move it a bit, to straighten it out. I know, should have bought better quarters, but I got them cheap, and I don't wanna wait 4 months for shipping to get new ones. They fit really well with the AMD outer wheelhouses though.

So if I hit it right above the bodyline, to push the bodyline down, I should use a rounded hammer right?
Gonna be interesting...
If I screw it up I can always cut out that part from my old quarters and replace....

[A.Gramz]

Can u take that section out of the old one you seem to have welding and grinding down very well? Maybe an option 

[Cuda Cody]

Moving a body line can be tricky.  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[1 Wild R/T]

Another option worth considering is while the 1/4 is off the car take it to someone who's got the needed experience, as mentioned moving a body line can be tough, especially one as defined as the Challenger mid body shaping.... You bought the panel right, maybe throw a few $$ at getting it right would be a wise investment....

[Cuda Cody]

   I like that idea too.      You only want to do this once.

[RUNCHARGER]

If you can find a craftsman. 1 hour at $100/hour and you'd be good to go.

[jimynick]

If you want to take a stab at it yourself, then scribe a line where you want the body line to be. That'll show you how far the area to be worked is and how much. A standard hammer will work and you want a straight edged dollie. The idea is that you hold the dollie's straight edge againt the interior of the scribed line and strike the panel on the bad line with an eye to seeing the dollie lift the lower section so that it forms a new, lower trim line. You should see the mark from the inner dollie in the skin of the panel and the idea is to carefully continue hammering along the scribed part until you've run down to where it's right. You'll have to do some smoothing hammering top and bottom and try to use no more force than necessary to avoid/reduce stretching. A bit tricky, but certainly do-able and MUCH easier/cheaper than cutting a new panel up. Good luck 

[soundcontrol]

Yeah, I could take it to a pro, but since I'm so stubborn and wanna learn everything, I just wanna try myself. This is still a test for me, I also have to weld in the new quarter skin all along the upper edge, thats the potential screwup no 2. If that fails its new quarters!

[Shane Kelley]

I have great news for you. Your going to need filler everywhere anyway. If it doesn't dolly out the way you like the filler can straighten out any low areas. High spots get pecked down with a body hammer.  These old cars pretty much need skim coated everywhere with filler and blocked down to get them straight. Good luck on your project!

[jimynick]

I have great news for you. Your going to need filler everywhere anyway. If it doesn't dolly out the way you like the filler can straighten out any low areas. High spots get pecked down with a body hammer.  These old cars pretty much need skim coated everywhere with filler and blocked down to get them straight. Good luck on your project!

There's a man who's obviously been there and done that! True!