Rear Quarter Panels

Chandar8

Chandar8

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Sep 28, 2023
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Las Vegas
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1995 Thunderbird, 4.6
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hey guys anyone know where to get rear quarter panels that are in good condition aside from going out and tearing them off junkyard birds? I found a place that would do polycarbonate panels but carries a high price and a few items to get going, but I'm not currently looking to get something too expensive.

Thanks!

Edit: Company that said they could do the panels https://pu4less.com
 
There isn’t going to be any source for new ones. Honestly, if this is for the white car you got from Scottie, I think you’re better off fixing what you’ve got instead of trying to cut that whole thing off.
 
MadMikeyL said:
There isn’t going to be any source for new ones. Honestly, if this is for the white car you got from Scottie, I think you’re better off fixing what you’ve got instead of trying to cut that whole thing off.
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The big thing I am mostly trying to avoid is having to continually fix it. The plan is to drift it, and in that case i will crash at some point so I figure having polyurethane panels would be helpful. I am also not a body guy and would prefer not to pour a ton of money into fixing this properly lol
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Keep in mind quarter skin is structural, making it flexible/removable is not recommended
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Correct me if I am wrong, but when people say it is structural don't they mean it is attached to the structure of the car itself via welds? If they were truly structural would the car not have significantly more issues being damaged the way it is currently?

That aside the car will gradually get bits of a roll cage added in and any structural worry should be behind me anyhow.
 
The expensive part of that is the mold cost. When our work cast parts, the mold was $50k, and the parts were 8 cents worth of plastic. So, that first piece was $50,000.08 :)Like Matt said, the qp is structure. there are at least two layers in the c-pillar back. I moved that qp over to the centerline, the first time Lazarus got totalled. I bent it out with a slide hammer, hammer-hammer, and the BFH. :D
If you want to get it back, you need a "stud welder" and a slide hammer. Otherwise, you have to cut out the qp to the centerline, andthe doorframe, and get that in a jy, and weld it in. :) See why Body guys charge so much money?
 
Chandar8 said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but when people say it is structural don't they mean it is attached to the structure of the car itself via welds? If they were truly structural would the car not have significantly more issues being damaged the way it is currently?

That aside the car will gradually get bits of a roll cage added in and any structural worry should be behind me anyhow.
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Every panel of a unibody is "stressed", and even dented up it's still forming a box section with the internal stampings. Unless it's damaged to the point that it's torn away from the welds, which your car looks a far away from from what I saw, it's still structurally sound.

If you do the rollcage first, yeah you can essentially transform all the external skin to, well, skins, but until you do that I'd put this idea on the backburner.
 
Grog6 said:
The expensive part of that is the mold cost. When our work cast parts, the mold was $50k, and the parts were 8 cents worth of plastic. So, that first piece was $50,000.08 :)Like Matt said, the qp is structure. there are at least two layers in the c-pillar back. I moved that qp over to the centerline, the first time Lazarus got totalled. I bent it out with a slide hammer, hammer-hammer, and the BFH. :D
If you want to get it back, you need a "stud welder" and a slide hammer. Otherwise, you have to cut out the qp to the centerline, andthe doorframe, and get that in a jy, and weld it in. :) See why Body guys charge so much money?
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Oh, I see why body work is so expensive.

In my mind though the quarter panel is still a steel sheet laid over the real structure of the car. The C pillar, if left alone, would likely still be the actually structural bit to the roof. Even all over the internet for all kinds of unibody cars there is vast amounts of discussion on whether or not the skin itself is actually part of the structure or if the underbody is it.
 
Chandar8 said:
Oh, I see why body work is so expensive.

In my mind though the quarter panel is still a steel sheet laid over the real structure of the car. The C pillar, if left alone, would likely still be the actually structural bit to the roof. Even all over the internet for all kinds of unibody cars there is vast amounts of discussion on whether or not the skin itself is actually part of the structure or if the underbody is it.
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Anybody on the internet saying it's not are wrong lol

It's all a series of box structures and the quarters close off the box. Not a perfect example but Imagine welding together a full blown roll cage but instead of tubes it was made from C channels - would that be as strong?
 
I see your writing and raise you this /s

No, I get what you're saying. I just don't really see exactly how much structure it adds. That being said, the idea for the panel was going to leave the C pillar alone and use a tab for when i inevitably wreck the rear again.

Ideally i'd replace the panel, however our rear quarters are a bit difficult to find
 

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If you got a replacement found, you could cut the panel out and take it for a drive to find out. I tend to agree with Matt. If it wasn't structural, Ford wouldn't have bothered with metal inner fenders that join the inner tub to the quarter. Take a look at the thickness there where they join. It's pretty solid. I'd find a parts car and get both sides for future fixes, based on your type of intended use.
 
Zep5.0 said:
If you got a replacement found, you could cut the panel out and take it for a drive to find out. I tend to agree with Matt. If it wasn't structural, Ford wouldn't have bothered with metal inner fenders that join the inner tub to the quarter. Take a look at the thickness there where they join. It's pretty solid. I'd find a parts car and get both sides for future fixes, based on your type of intended use.
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Yeah, the future intended use is why I was looking at the polyurethane thing. The other thought was to leave the sheet metal quarter largely intact and make a poly, fiber glass, or carbon fiber over fender that will riv nut to the actual panel.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Not a perfect example but Imagine welding together a full blown roll cage but instead of tubes it was made from C channels - would that be as strong?
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Depending in the thickness, composition of metal and arrangement of said C channel, yes .. it can be just as or stronger than tubing. 😉

In the case of the OP .. yes the "skin" adds a structural component to the vehicle .. Unless it were damaged in a critical area such as the B pillar or rocker, the vehicle integrity in a future collision would be substantially diminished and suspension geometry may be affected as well.
 
Chandar8 said:
I see your writing and raise you this /s

No, I get what you're saying. I just don't really see exactly how much structure it adds. That being said, the idea for the panel was going to leave the C pillar alone and use a tab for when i inevitably wreck the rear again.

Ideally i'd replace the panel, however our rear quarters are a bit difficult to find
Click to expand...

I get that idea but the C pillar doesn't simply start at the deck, its structure extends all the way down into the next major structure(frame rails/rockers). Same with the A pillars or B pillars; they don't start or end at the beltline, but all the way down at the rocker panels/front torque box structures.

The outer skin of the C pillar terminating at the belt line only means the pillar itself forms a box structure, where the combination of the whole quarter panel + the multiple separate internal structures like the inner and outer wheelwells and deck structures form a complete member, linking together other major structural members(frame rails, rockers) to form a rigid body. Unibodies are built like a house of cards
 
I'll take some pix of lazarus; you can see how it's built, I have most of the interior out. :) I was going to get a stud welder, but I had a stroke instead, lol. My local JY shows 3 tbirds right now. Drop by on your way to the eclipse party next year, and we'll go get one. :) They will literally go grab the car with a hi-lift, and cut a quarter off it. I've seen it. Dude removed a diff with a torch, lol.
 
If you are gonna drift it, leave it. You'll bang it up further.
 
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