? about body panel removal/replacement order

[MWEBB]

I have finally got my 69 Camaro stripped down for panel replacement and know have a question of the order i should replace the panels in. I have the car bolted down to a cart to try and keep the structure rigid when I remove the rusty panels. The panels I will be changing are complete floor pan, complete trunk pan, both quarters, tail panel, and probably the outer wheel houses. I was going to do the complete floor first before moving to the rear section of the car. I have seen pics of other members resto's and they just cut out all the bad panels and reassembled the car with the new panels. I just want to avoid any saging or mis alignment issues as much as possible. So I guess my question is should I cut off all the bad panels at once or peplace certain panels in groups? Any ideas are appreciated.

[67rstbkt]

I would build a simple structure on the inside just to be safe. I just added a basic structure to the inside and then started by cutting the quarters. I did not do a complete floor, however. So far, everything is still square. I have my quarters, roof, and trunk floor all welded together. I had aligned my doors (and fixed my hinges) to the old quarters before I cut them off so that I would have a reference for the new quarters. Hope this helps.

[MWEBB]

I just looked at your build thread. Did you cut both your quarters and trunk out at the same time or did you put one quarter back on prior to removing the trunk pan? I'm pretty sure I'm going to remove/replace the complete floor pan before moving to the rear section. I did notice that you replaced everything in the rear section that I will be changing. Thanks for any and all info.

[67rstbkt]

I just looked at your build thread. Did you cut both your quarters and trunk out at the same time or did you put one quarter back on prior to removing the trunk pan? I'm pretty sure I'm going to remove/replace the complete floor pan before moving to the rear section. I did notice that you replaced everything in the rear section that I will be changing. Thanks for any and all info.

I just went for it and cut it all off. Just make sure to add bracing to keep things lined up. Think it through before cutting anything and you should be fine. I've never done this type of body panel replacement before, but if you take your time, take some measurements, and brace, you'll be alright.

[MWEBB]

I guess i'll just see what happens. started drilling out spot welds, man what a job. thanks for the info.

[67rstbkt]

I guess i'll just see what happens. started drilling out spot welds, man what a job. thanks for the info.


Yes, it's a job.. I used a cut-off wheel and airsaw to cut most of the metal away, then started drilling out spot welds. This made it a little easier since you do not have to wrestle large pieces of sheetmetal. I started out with an actual spot weld cutter bit (looks like a little hole saw), broke that. Then I used the spoot weld cutter that looks like a drill bit, that sucked. In the end, I ended up with a good sharp drill bit. I wrapped a bunch of electrical tape around it as a depth safety so that I would not go too far.