Quarter Panel Wheel Well

[69fourspd]

The quarters are pretty solid, with the exception of the lower rear which will be replaced with a skin.  My dilemma is the wheel well have pinhole rust through spots in them.  What is the recommended procedure for fixing the issue without taking off the entire quarter? Can the inner quarter be replaced without cutting off the outer quarter skin? Any help would be appreciated. 

[mopar_madman]

where in the wheelwell is the spots, I just cut the bad spots out of mine and welded patches, if its a tough area you can install patches using panel adhesive. If you want something real easy POR 15 sells a patching system for rusted, pinhole areas that uses a matting material and their paint.

[69fourspd]

It is facing the inside trunck.  The spot is approx. 6 inches in diameter.

[mopar_madman]

I think either merthod would work for ya, depends on how good you want the repair.

[bull]

Panel adhesive is better for retaining any rust inhibitor on the new metal you use. Welding is going to burn all that stuff off. I would think it would be a major pain to remove that inner wheel house in under any circumstances, quarter off or not. I think I'd go with patches too. You could always buy a repro wheel house and cut out only the parts that need replaced from it. It would be better than detaching it from the supports and replacing the whole thing.

[bill440rt]

I ended up sectioning my outer wheelhouse in, rather than cutting out the flange. It seemed like a major PitA the way the wheelhouse folds uner the inner 1/4, etc.
Using the bends/contours of the original I scribed a line, & cut the old stuff out. I then scribed the same line on the new outer wheelhouse. It fit perfectly once I test-fitted on the 1/4 skin. Like bull described, I used panel adhesive to "weld" the wheelhouse on. This will inhibit future rust also, since the seam is filled by the adhesive. Once bonded, I used body filler on the wheelhouse so you wouldn't see the seam from inside the trunk. In the wheelwell, I used a small brush to smooth out the panel adhesive before it dried. Once undercoated, the seam will be undetectable.
I also used panel adhesive around the entire bottom area of the new 1/4 panel.

[SeattleCharger]

 

[BigBlockSam]

It is facing the inside trunk.  The spot is approx. 6 inches in diameter 

i have the same thing on my rr clone. i'm gonna put new outer wheel wells. i always do that any time i replace a full quarter. so the rust stays away longer. then i will patch that inner well. i wish these friggen mopars wouldn't rust so bad in the rear. Rene

[bull]

I ended up sectioning my outer wheelhouse in, rather than cutting out the flange. It seemed like a major PitA the way the wheelhouse folds uner the inner 1/4, etc.
Using the bends/contours of the original I scribed a line, & cut the old stuff out. I then scribed the same line on the new outer wheelhouse. It fit perfectly once I test-fitted on the 1/4 skin. Like bull described, I used panel adhesive to "weld" the wheelhouse on. This will inhibit future rust also, since the seam is filled by the adhesive. Once bonded, I used body filler on the wheelhouse so you wouldn't see the seam from inside the trunk. In the wheelwell, I used a small brush to smooth out the panel adhesive before it dried. Once undercoated, the seam will be undetectable.
I also used panel adhesive around the entire bottom area of the new 1/4 panel.

Any pics of this process?

[bill440rt]

No, Bull. Unfortunately most of the pics I took of this are non-digital, & I don't have a scanner. I do have some digital pics of the trunk floor going in & the 1/4 panel fitting, but not of the wheelhouse.
There is a stamped line that goes around almost the entire wheelhouse, that was my "break-off" line. It is about halfway up, not the mating flange. About 1/2 inch upward on the new wheelhouse was my cutoff line. As the adhesive started oozing out around this seam from inside the wheelwell, it was almost gone by the time I smoothed out the adhesive. The bends/contours of the original fit the repro very well, so fitting up the new wheelhouse was just a matter of matching the bends.
I fit everything up with sheetmetal screws including the new 1/4 skin, then unscrewed everything & started bonding it back together. Kind of like a big model car.
3M does not recommend using the adhesive on exterior seams, so the outer portion of the 1/4 was welded. Along the bottom seams & other hidden flanges it's ideal. I cut off the rear, top, & front flanges of the new 1/4 skin, so the original outer contours & lines of the car were retained. Be careful doing this, because the new 1/4 skin will be a big, floppy piece of sheetmetal! You can buckle it very easily, and a helper is a must.

[70daytonaclone]

whatd barnd of panel adhesive did you use? thanks Stephen

[bill440rt]

I used 3M, the black stuff for door skins, 1/4 panels, etc. I believe it had a 90min working time. They make others with a much faster curing time, one is 3 minutes!! I used this stuff on very small patches I had to make. Don't use the adhesive on exterior seams. After a while, I hear you will see a ghost line where the panels come together. Weld the exterior seam. It's takes a while (took me about a day of just welding, grinding, welding, grinding, etc), but it's worth it.

I should clarify something from my last post. My cutoff line on the new wheelhouse was 1/2" upward from the stamped line that goes around midway thru the panel, not just 1/2" up. Basically, I just cut off what I needed to replace on the car. It just seemed like an easy place to section it in. Your car might be different depending on how much rust you have.