Whats best way to remove inner fender panels

[72Charger72]

I  have purchased new inner fender panels and need to remove the old ones..
whats the best way to accomplish this?
Thanks!

[bill440rt]

Drill out the old spot welds with a spot weld cutter. Drill thru the inner fender itself & try not to penetrate into the underlying metal.

[ralley72]

Drill out the old spot welds with a spot weld cutter. Drill thru the inner fender itself & try not to penetrate into the underlying metal.

Agreed. I use cutting oil on the cutter, seems to help them last longer.

Mike

[72Charger72]

Thanks Bill440rt just watched a you tube on it looks pretty easy just need that cuter now hopefully local auto store has one...
wanted to get started...

[72Charger72]

Hey guys so I have another question...I dont have a pinch welder to replace the inner fenders with...
why wouldnt I just drill out the spot welds...lay in the new inner fender panels...then spot weld the new inner panels from behind using the holes I drilled ...
this way all welds are under and inside the fender and tire area and arent even visiable?

[Troy]

It's possible that you can do that in the pinch weld. I've done it myself (sometimes by accident) on overlapping sheet metal of the same thickness. I wouldn't do it on the thicker metal (area around the shock tower for instance).

Troy

[bill440rt]

Trick is when drilling out the spot welds to drill thru the fender apron (outer metal), and NOT the shock tower (underlying metal).

[richRTSE]

why wouldnt I just drill out the spot welds...lay in the new inner fender panels...then spot weld the new inner panels from behind using the holes I drilled ...
this way all welds are under and inside the fender and tire area and arent even visiable?

I assume you'll be drilling out the spot welds from the engine side, so there really shouldn't be any holes through the supporting structures, just through the old panel you're removing. Use a drill or punch to put some holes in the new panel, weld from the engine side, and then hit the welds with a grinder or flap disc and you won't see them anyway.

[72Charger72]

Thanks guys now just waiting on the spot weld cutter to arrive....I will post some photos of the process...

[green69rt]

Because I was not looking to save any old metal, I just used a cutting wheel, on my angle grinder, to remove the bulk of the metal down to a small patch around the spot welds.  Then a grinding wheel to remove the spot itself without cutting into the underlying metal.  It left a clean, flat surface ready to accept the new piece.   I punched or drilled 5/16 holes into the new metal at about 4" spacing to plug weld.  Never had a spot welder.  I did try using a spot weld cutter but it was hard not to get too deep into the underlying metal.

The inner fenders are attached to thick metal on the shock towers and the frame rails, much harder to drill thru.   The inner fender do attach to the radiator support and some brackets mounted to the cowl and firewall, it might be possible to drill thru both layers, at these points, to get the spot welds but not as easy as it sounds to get the whole spot, then you end up distorting one or the other to pry them apart.

Here's a little thread on how I did my 69 inners.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,112192.msg1380207.html#msg1380207

I then ground down the plug welds, prime and paint.

[72Charger72]

thanks green69rt I had read your post on the 69 very nice write up.....the 72 seems alot easier except I had been wondering about the rear support mount bracket and the firewall spot weld as they are a lot
more serious looking than the inner fender spot welds....thats why I was originally just thinking of drilling straight through all the way and then welding from behind to the new
inner fender panel..no drilling needed that way.....I must be missing something as NO ONE does this haha....

[green69rt]

thanks green69rt I had read your post on the 69 very nice write up.....the 72 seems alot easier except I had been wondering about the rear support mount bracket and the firewall spot weld as they are a lot
more serious looking than the inner fender spot welds....thats why I was originally just thinking of drilling straight through all the way and then welding from behind to the new
inner fender panel..no drilling needed that way.....I must be missing something as NO ONE does this haha....

If you are talking about drilling thru the firewall to remove the bracket then I would think twice.   It's easy to miss a pin hole in the weld that will leak, and you'll never realize you have a leak until the first time you drive the car in the rain, then you will be struggling to find it.   On the good side, on my car I found lots of thin, corroded metal behind the brackets.  I ended up having to repair those thin and perforated spots before installing the new brackets so I can't be 100% against doing it you way.  Just be aware.

If you could post  pic of what you are up against it might make things clearer.

[72Charger72]

Im not thinking of the firewall really or the brackets they are to risky....
just the front of the inner fender panel....where the majority of pinch welds are? Why not drill right through
and then spot weld from the tire side of the fender well? saves a second drilling process?

[richRTSE]

If you are using one of the spot weld drills (like the one from Blair) you only drill through the top panel. Drilling all the way through both panels just burns up the cutter faster, and isn't necessary. Some of the supporting metal under the panel is much thicker (at least on my '69 it was) so it's just easier to drill everything from the same side. Also easier to see all the spot welds in the thinner metal, and using a sanding disc help make them easier to see also. If it is easier on your 72 to drill or weld from the underside, then do whatever is easier.  I assume you will be grinding or sanding down your welds when finished, so they shouldn't be very noticeable on which ever side you choose.

[72Charger72]

yes dang I started yesterday and drilled through two spots completely by mistake..its hard to tell where the two layers separate at...and even some of the welds I find the cutter doesn't get the whole weld area?

[green69rt]

yes dang I started yesterday and drilled through two spots completely by mistake..its hard to tell where the two layers separate at...and even some of the welds I find the cutter doesn't get the whole weld area?

My experience exactly!   I kind of gave up on the cutter and did it like I describe in the earlier note.  Takes a lot of effort in any case.

[hemi-hampton]

After using the blair spot weld cutter, a Air Chisel with a Spot Weld cutting attachement will help remove any stubborn welds not 100% cut. LEON.

[72Charger72]

So a question on after prep....once I have the old fender panels off and the new one measured and ready to go on...how do I protect the underlying metal from rust
since I have to spot weld I can't primer that spot? Do I primer everything and then just prep the spot weld area? I have raptor tintable bedliner
I was going to use in the lower engine compartment and under the fender wells...

[72Charger72]

Heres todays results! Both sides are removed !! dang!
We also encountered the rare rusting eating moth!
A few hundred of these could save me a lot of work!

[72Charger72]

2

[72Charger72]

Both Sides done!

[green69rt]

So a question on after prep....once I have the old fender panels off and the new one measured and ready to go on...how do I protect the underlying metal from rust
since I have to spot weld I can't primer that spot? Do I primer everything and then just prep the spot weld area? I have raptor tintable bedliner
I was going to use in the lower engine compartment and under the fender wells...

I don't know of anything that is 100% effective but I always use some kind of weldable primer.   They have either aluminum or copper in them.  I think they work when the heat of the weld burns or vaporizes off all of the solvents and then melts the fine metal dust in the primer.   It leaves the inside of the weld with a coat of copper or aluminum.   I've always used Bloxide aluminum primer just because I used to see it used in the Navy.  Bloxide is very expensive when you buy it buy the spray can, cheaper by the brush-on-gallon but still pretty high and once you open the gallon it will gel up on you after a year or so if you don't use it up..

[hemi-hampton]

You said your going to spot weld, do you have a spot welder & if so will it reach all those areas that need it? LEON.

[72Charger72]

Well I guess I should have said spot weld with a mig welder?

[72Charger72]

And obviously you cant get to all the rust in the cracks along the mounting brackets etc...how would you guys deal with prepping this?