Help wanted for rear fender repair, What are measurement points for “s” Options

[seanpaulmc]

Greetings 914World !

I am seeking advice / guidance / instruction from you metal masters on how to approach and tackle this rear corner repair.

Panels involved include:
• Left rear quarter
• Taillight panel
• Trunk floor & cross brace
• Left side inner trunk fender

Some initial questions:
• Does the whole quarter panel need to be replaced, or just part?
• Does the whole tail panel need to be replaced, or just part?
• Can this repair be done well with partial panels spliced in? (Like what was done to the fender in the past but better executed with butt joints and less, a lot less, filler.)
• Should I start with cutting off what I think is bad or begin by striping the whole quarter panel of paint and bondo? Exposed metal rusts quickly in Florida.
• How and where to cut? What tools and wire size to use? How to finish, prep, and paint? -This is where I need your expertise to lead me.





This is my first go around at this.
Everything I do is a first-time attempt, and thinking about fixing this fender and taillight area while making it look presentable gives me a lot of apprehension.
So far, I have learned to MIG weld and do simple panel forming by working on this project – jack points, floor, hell hole, longs, firewall, and some tools and fixtures.
I can make solid welds in structural areas that are strong but don’t necessarily have to be pretty.
I do not (yet) have the metal finishing skills for this fender and am hoping I can get your guidance along the way to help me get through what I see to be a complicated, multi panel repair.

By making this fender repair its own topic thread, hopefully it encourages greater feedback from the community rather than if it stays buried in my long, slow build thread.
If interested in how it got here and the work done to the car thus far, then the thread is this one: here

I know I need to go take some measurements before cutting it apart just to get the baseline of where things are at. I hope to do that this coming weekend.

Thank you in advance for the feedback and support.

Gratefully,
Sean

[Ishley]

Honestly looking at your pics I think you might be able to fix that. Replacing the whole fender will take you up the sail panel and into the door pillar. A big complicated job for sure.

Get a paint stripper disc and take the paint Back much wider… and all the way back. You need To make sure what is there is usable. I think it might be.

Think about doing a patch job. Likely do it in small sections following up the bad weld. Once you have the fender lip area reproduced and patched in… you could just work your way up and fix that bad overlap Area.

You’ll need a mig that you can really dial in the temp and feed rate. Too much heat will warp the panel and you’ll have a mess on your hands. Plan to go slow and let it cool slowly to avoid shrinking and hardening the weld panel. Use .02 wire. Stitch weld really slow. Walk away after a few stitch blasts. Use .023 wire and gas. Flux wire will be way too hot. Even better if you have a tig but takes more practice and $$$.

Fitzees Fabrications will show you how to do it.

Around the back you can fab all those pieces with practice and patience. Make it all in small pieces and work thru it. The challenges with getting cut out parts from another car is that they will be thinner Metal and likely rusty and have their own issues. Personally think your better off fab’ing parts when you can. Welding new metal is easier.

Good luck and have fun with it. It can be very satisfying to do.

[seanpaulmc]

Honestly looking at your pics I think you might be able to fix that. Replacing the whole fender will take you up the sail panel and into the door pillar. A big complicated job for sure.

Get a paint stripper disc and take the paint Back much wider… and all the way back. You need To make sure what is there is usable. I think it might be.

Think about doing a patch job. Likely do it in small sections following up the bad weld. Once you have the fender lip area reproduced and patched in… you could just work your way up and fix that bad overlap Area.

You’ll need a mig that you can really dial in the temp and feed rate. Too much heat will warp the panel and you’ll have a mess on your hands. Plan to go slow and let it cool slowly to avoid shrinking and hardening the weld panel. Use .02 wire. Stitch weld really slow. Walk away after a few stitch blasts. Use .023 wire and gas. Flux wire will be way too hot. Even better if you have a tig but takes more practice and $$$.

Fitzees Fabrications will show you how to do it.

Around the back you can fab all those pieces with practice and patience. Make it all in small pieces and work thru it. The challenges with getting cut out parts from another car is that they will be thinner Metal and likely rusty and have their own issues. Personally think your better off fab’ing parts when you can. Welding new metal is easier.

Good luck and have fun with it. It can be very satisfying to do.

Thanks, Ishley. I appreciate the details and the optimism!
I watched Yorkshire Car Restoration fab up the same corner on their Patches 914 project and find it amazing that can be done from scratch.
Hoping to have the time this weekend to strip it down and see what else might be under that filler.