small holes front quarter

[stevethegray]

Hello again.

When grinding out some rust on my front quarter I (of course) revealed several small holes.  I realize the correct solution to this problem is to tear everything apart and have it media blasted and patches welded in.  Painful truth is that I only have so much time and resources and just plain can't do a down to the frame restoration.  My car will be a car to drive, it will never be a show car.

So knowing that, what are some other options here?  I want to avoid turning the hold front quarter into a bondo mess, I have enough of that on the rear quarter.

Thanks

[Indygenerallee]

That area of the fender rust is quite common and will only get worse if not treated from the backside only problem is you can't get at that area from the back as the headlight bucket area is hidden. If the car is a driver I would just cut it out and patch it.

[bill440rt]

x2

The best option here is to cut out the cancer, & weld in some small patches. A "quick" fix is gonna bite you shortly down the road. It will come back if not fixed properly.
Grind the area to bare metal, cut out the area around the holes, weld in some small patches. Treat with epoxy primer, and use a good high quality filler.

[Patronus]

To offer another - perhaps temporary solution, rust encapsulator. 
from Eastwood. They also make a internal frame sealer that could work here.

[stevethegray]

Does anybody actually offer fiberglass front quarters of reasonable quality?  We'd be talking about a 74

[charger_fan_4ever]

Trying to patch holes with fiberglass or putty is only going to bubble out once moisture gets in there. May hold for a year or two if you never drive in the rain or wash the car with water, but its only a matter of time before it DOES boil out.

Opps my bad i thought you were asking about patching the holes with fiberglass.

[Cooter]

No glass fenders that I'm aware of for a '74..

[stevethegray]

actually I did find some here

http://up22.com/charger68.htm#DC-444

The question is the quality of them.

I was thinking about waiting until the Mopar Carlilse http://www.carlisleevents.com/events/chrysler-nationals/ and seeing if I could find any vendors there, or anybody that has actually installed fiberglass fenders, hell, might even be able to find new metal fenders.

[Dino]

actually I did find some here

http://up22.com/charger68.htm#DC-444

The question is the quality of them.

I was thinking about waiting until the Mopar Carlilse http://www.carlisleevents.com/events/chrysler-nationals/ and seeing if I could find any vendors there, or anybody that has actually installed fiberglass fenders, hell, might even be able to find new metal fenders.

As with all fiberglass parts you will have to trim to fit.  You may also have to glue the mounting brackets on as they usually come seperate.  The biggest issue with fiberglass parts is the resins used.  Some parts are so oily that it takes an enormous amount of work to get them ready for paint.  That said it looks like these parts won't have that issue so I'd say go for it!

[Cooter]

We bought a set for a '69 one time and the quality just wasn't there. They were "ok" for a race car, but not something you'd want to run on a driver. i mean, when you have been used to the GOOD "Harwood" hoods for late model stangs/Camaro's, you tend to look at thin gauge fiberglass as "Junk"...

[CDN72SE]

Does anybody actually offer fiberglass front quarters of reasonable quality?  We'd be talking about a 74

I know these guys here in Canada have been around for a while and usually get brought up as a source, never used them myself.
http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com/charger.html

[stevethegray]

The trouble is I know that if I try to get into cutting up and welding the fenders, that I'll make a total mess of it, at least at my current level of experience.    If it was welding in a floor pan or trunk pan, sure I wouldn't hesitate, but that stuff is hidden so it wouldn't matter that my welds would surely look like patches of bird shite.  Something as highly visible as the front fenders makes me nervous.

[Dino]

The trouble is I know that if I try to get into cutting up and welding the fenders, that I'll make a total mess of it, at least at my current level of experience.    If it was welding in a floor pan or trunk pan, sure I wouldn't hesitate, but that stuff is hidden so it wouldn't matter that my welds would surely look like patches of bird shite.  Something as highly visible as the front fenders makes me nervous.

Let me give you some advice to fix that problem once and for all.  Take a welding class at your local college, you will not regret it.