The Lowdown on "Skins".

[Crazy Larry]

Can someone give me a basic definition of what a "skin" is in the Year One Parts catalogue.

They only describe them as "not intended to be replacement factory quarter panels, but when professionally installed, they are an excellent method of major rust and damage repair."

So are they metal or not?

If, I (God please forbid) get hit by another car in a rear quarter panel - does a RH B-body skin for a 68 Charger get welded over the straightened but damaged metal quarter panel?

And does the insllement of a "skin" take away from being an all-metal body - like using too much Bondo?

As always, I'm here to learn - thanks for any new info.....

[Blown70]

  I am thinking they are just being PC and not calling it an exact replacment or factory replacement.  I honestly used some from Autobodyspecialties and was very happy.

I think it is just so they are careful not to call them exact or factory replacement parts.  Most are METAL that i know of

Tom

[dodgecharger-fan]

Well, technically they don't call them "factory" or "full" quarter panels because they do not replace the ENTIRE quarter panel - which actually goes up the C pillar (the sail panel behind the side windows.)

They are metal.

They are intended to replace the metal of the quarter panel - but just lower portion - from just above the "shoulder" all the way down.
Although most people - if the can - choose to trim the replacement panel below the shoulder in order to keep the factory lines of said shoulder..

Here are a couple of shots to give you and idea of what these things are and how they get used.

Here you can see that the original quarter panel was cut out. This is the passenger side, but the driver side was cut out too.
See the body filler halfway up to the roof line behing the side window? THAT's where a FULL FACTORY quarter panel starts...



See how it was cut below the "shoulder" of the quarter panel? The "skins" actually come with a bit of the top of the quarter, but like I mentioned, the factory lines are usually a lot better. In fact, the passenger side had a big dent in that line and we decided that it would be better to bang that dent out than to replace it.

Here you can see how one of the "skins" is fit into place to check for fit and alignment.


and here it is all finished and in primer


I hope that helps.

[AdamMopar]

Exactly what Larry said.

I put a pair on mine I was very happy with the fit and finish.  Now if only they would make me some fenders.     Adam

[Crazy Larry]

dodgecharger-fan, Thanks for that, the pictures really helped.

[Mike DC]

That's the deal.

The "skins" are a regular steel copy of the factory quarter panel, but the reproductions aren't made large enough to extend all the way to seam in the same place as the originals.  So you're gonna end up with the original seam where the factory joined the roof skin & the qaurter panel, and then a new seam where the upper half of the factory's quarter panel meets the Year One replacement "skin" to form the lower area.

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And the replacement panels are not really "original quality" either.  Nothing in the reproduction business ever is, regardless of what the sales-pitches say.  The metal is a bit more flexible than the original stuff, and the fit of the replacement parts is aggravating too.

The end result is decent (most of the cars in the hobby are wearing "skins" these days).  The panels aren't as strong as the originals but the difference isn't huge.  The metal is still a hell of a lot closer to a Charger's skin than it is to the tinfoil stuff on a modern car.  The fitting problems will aggravate you when you install the panel, but once it's done it doesn't really affect the end appearance of the car at all.  (Being a bodyworker is all about fixing these kinds of issues.)