Installing rust repair panels

[JonnyD]

So I searched "rust repiar panels" and three threads showed up. I've also looked at other threads fixing the rear wheel well area rust. I read all three and felt maybe I didn't get enough info out of them. Hopefully I'm not cluttering up the site with a useless post. My question is: Are there any tips, tricks, dos and donts when installing these panels? I got mine from keystone for $30 each which seemed pretty cheap to me. Unfortunately the rocker at the rear door will have to be repaired a bit more before I can weld in the panels as the rust extends under the rear doors a bit. Same goes for the rear if the wheel wells at the trunk. One of the body guys I work with is a very good welder/fabricator/metalworker so fixing the rust where the panels dont cover wont be a problem. He has never really done rust repair though as our shop wont repair rust. I just dont want to miss a cb7 specific step to get this done as perfect as possible. I'm also going to have to repair the rear bumper because the previous owner for the past 20 years put screws in it to hold it on the car. Thanks for any usefull tips!

Btw the car cost me $150 so I figure if I put 10 times that into her it'll look pretty clean! She did actually take very good care of it mechanically but NEVER washed it so its growing moss on it right now.

[Fleetw00d]

Was one of the threads this one: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=180806 ? The most important thing is to remove all the rust; then protect the metal when it is all put together. Eastwood has a lot rust coversion/treatment products for various purposes.

If the rear cover is really messed up from the screws, they can be had for as little as $40 new (If you get a cheap one, do a fit check BEFORE painting). I got a CAPA certified cover from Keystone for my 90, but it didn't fit properly; they gave me a "remanurfactured" OEM cover, I couldn't tell where it had been repaired.

Also, when (if) you have your quarters off, look for all traces of water drainage inside and track them back to their source, then seal it. The clips for chrome above the doors, clips for trim around rear windshield, etc. can be the srouce for leaks that can potentially re-rust your repair.

[JonnyD]

Yes I read that thread it was great. His rust was quite a bit worse than mine. I will definately have to get some of that eastwood stuff. The bumper cover only has 4 screws in it so it hopefully wont be too hard to repair. I'm painting the whole car after so it's going to take me a while to get it all done. And I will definately search for sources of water leaks. Thanks!!!!
One more question, I've asked the guys at work if it was a bad idea to cover up the vents in the trunk and nobody could tell me one way or the other. The vents are missing the flaps. Theres alot of dirt and mud in the trunk.

[Jarrett]

The thread he posted was his own. He's probably the go-to guy on this forum for quarter panel repair.

If I were you I'd replace the vent with a used one from the junkyard. You want the trunk to have the ability to breathe. Moisture gets in there and will become stale if it cannot circulate oxygen.

Would you mind posting pictures of your patch panels? I need some myself but I don't need the whole entire panel. Ideally it would be something I'd get from the junkyard but my cordless saw kills the batteries before it can actually make any progress. It's too far out in the yard for a corded saw.

[JonnyD]

Guess im buying new vents! My patch panels are at my work right now. When I'm back on tuesday I will bring them home and take a couple pics for you. You could use a cordless angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. I need to buy a pneumatic angle die grinder so I can cut the rust out because I think my angle grinder is just a bit too cumbersome to use in tight spaces.

[JonnyD]

Lol sorry fleetwood I didnt realize that was your car! That was an awesome job you did especially for doing it at home! That thread is what inspired me to do the repair right-no bondo like I have done on all my other cbs.

[Fleetw00d]

The vent is needed not only for the trunk, but the entire car. The air that comes in the front through the heating/AC system (when set on fresh air) is routed to the trunk through slots at the base of the rear window. This helps route air over the inside of the rear window (helpful in damp conditions when passenger respiration tends to cause the windows to fog up). I had to create a thicker gasket (can't get only the gasket from Honda, have to buy an entire vent) for my vent to prevent water leaks.

I have an extra vent around, let me know if you're interested.

I picked up a fairly rust free quarter panel yesterday (some wrinkles), got it 90% off with a single charge on my cordless sawzall. The yard let me charge it in the office for a while; then completed removal.

[Jarrett]

I have a Makita LXT 18V circular saw and two 1.5mAh batteries. I'm using a metal-specific blade and I didn't get halfway through the process. I think my biggest problem is the blade binding. It just drains the batteries. I need a few other things too so I may just be buying a parts car and parking it in the driveway to get it with air tools.

[JonnyD]

Ive never used a circular saw with a cutting wheel to hack up metal. I would guess its binding because 1.5 amps doesn't produce all that much tourque. Both my angle grinders are 6 amps. I use four or five inch cutting discs on them and have never had them bind up on me while cutting up light gauge steel. The die grinders I use at work do bind up a little but the cutting discs are usually pretty small. Smaller wheel with more toque = less binding because there is less drag on the cutting wheel
The smaller it is. You probably know this already I guess I prefer using my electric grinder when I can as it is just so much more powererful than the small air powered die drinders (and dangerous! I have sliced right through my gloves into my hands sooooo many times doing metal work! And those thin cutting discs love to explode!) Hopefully you can get the tools you need to finsh your rust repair! I will take pics also when I start cutting my panels up.

[C91BLX7]

Heres some pictures of the one I did just give you some ideas.

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showpost...postcount=1406
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showpost...postcount=1424
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showpost...postcount=1437
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showpost...postcount=1443

[JonnyD]

Thanks and nice work! That one pic with the rivets and what looks to be seam sealer maybe? Was that the spare tire well?

[Fleetw00d]

I have a Makita LXT 18V circular saw and two 1.5mAh batteries. I'm using a metal-specific blade and I didn't get halfway through the process. I think my biggest problem is the blade binding. It just drains the batteries. I need a few other things too so I may just be buying a parts car and parking it in the driveway to get it with air tools.

A reciprocating saw works much better at getting in the tight places, particularly if you're trying to get an entire quarter, particularly going across the rear shelf and top of the wheel housing. The one I cut yesterday includes the entire quarter to the top of the C pillar, the entire outer half of the wheel housing, and a foot or more of the rocker section

[C91BLX7]

Thanks and nice work! That one pic with the rivets and what looks to be seam sealer maybe? Was that the spare tire well?

Yeah, that was the inner fender since it was completely rusted out had to fill the hole.

[JonnyD]

So here's some pics of my car and the repair panels. I've never tried to upload pics to a site before so hopefully this works.





I'm told by the bodyshop guys at work they are of the finest Chinese quality money can buy, and they come pre-dented and scratched as you may be able to see. Although don't know if you can see it in the one pic they are made in Denmark. Seems like an odd place to be producing body panels.

Here's a couple shots of the car but my other car is in the way so you can't see the rusty parts very well. It's really not all that terrible but I will find out for sure once I start cutting the panels out.





edit: wow that was a pisser to get those pics working I'm getting old

[Fleetw00d]

You might want to shrink them some. I just moved to the new photobucket, so I'm having a little trouble with their editor as well.