Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Finding a QUALITY patch panel is key and installing it with the fender on the car is crucial to correct orientation and fit. Is your garage suitable for doing this in the winter ? The only panel I'm finding that I would buy is a Dynacorn and it doesn't come with the brace behind it, which is probably rusted too. If no replacement brace is available, that would need to be hand fabricated.
I would only paint the patch area for now. Painting the whole car would, most likely, open a big can of worms with more rust repair and other issues that should be attended too before paint. And painting the whole car will get very expensive, very fast, for a quality job.

Unless you have 20-30,000.00 dollars that is ready to be spent on the car, and be without it for a while, take a complete refinish off the table.

Focus on preservation. Gain access to inner panels by removing door and 1/4 trim.
Clean out dust and debris from inner areas.
Spray with a good quality runny rustproof product after taping drain holes so product stays inside panel.
Do the same for any other panels you can get access to through holes, hood, trunk etc.

The rust you see is only a fraction of what is there.
ALL panels rust, their location on vehicle determines how fast and how much. "Can of Worms" is very accurate.

If you absolutely have to do something to that fender, find another rusty placeholder to bolt on.
Find a qualified tech to patch panel for you, or if you have the tools and skills, do it yourself.
Keep area as small as possible while still removing all rust in that area.
Yes, inner brace can be a problem too.
Also, common on that model to rust through near marker lamp area.

Not sure of the fit and finish quality of aftermarket fenders for that model, if that is an option.
Remember also, many new old stock panels ended up that way because there was something wrong with them in the first place.

My Blue El Camino was taken apart 25 years ago for "just a Paint job".

Biskwik and the White ElCamino took seven or eight years each.

I own a Collision repair shop, Blue ElCamino still not done, classic Body Shop Jail.
Even more difficult now as most current collision repair skills do not transfer well to restoration.
Very difficult to do both.

To that point, in the future, most of my old stuff is pretty much not welcome in building unless it is the weekend and I am doing the work myself.

Sign of the times, Collision shops do very little fabrication and repair now.
If a shop still works on old stuff, they probably should not be working on our current high tech vehicles.

Sorry for the rambling rant.

Karl

P.S. no such thing as "minor body work" on these cars.

Everything we touch is a slippery slope, body and mechanical.

-- Edited by more ambition than brains on Thursday 1st of July 2021 07:12:54 AM