I compressed these pics as much as I could, but it still takes a bit to load them all so please be patient.

I'd like to say here that this entire job was done in my driveway, and the '99 summer in PA was in the high 90's until september. Try to imagine that when you see the welding pics! LOL You'll also see that the door jams, engine compartment, and trunk are already painted. Since I had to do this outside, I wanted to paint each section as it was finished to prevent any rust on the new body work. Once I got to the outer body though, I had to keep it covered with plastic. I did have to sand the primer off a few times during the course of this job to keep corrosion in check after a good storm. Although since we were in a drought, this only happened twice. (lucky me)

This is the right side before I cut the quarter. This door was the original and in great shape, the fender is the 'glass item. One note here. The rear pictured is actually a Ford 8". If you want a 4 1/2" bolt-pattern rear for cheap, the Ford 8" is a direct bolt-in and can handle around 300 horsepower. The driveshaft must be changed, but most conversions require a custom shaft anyway. These rears can be found under jillions of Mavericks, Comets and Mustangs. This one I got out of an early 70's 6 cyl. Comet for $25. Just be sure to measure the width, as I'm not sure which models and years are the same width as an A-body.

 

Here you can see the initial cut. The trunk extensions I got weren't the greatest fit, so i only replaced the side facing the quarter. The trunk floor part was retained. From here I just trimmed the edges to get about a half inch overlap with the new quarter and ran across the edge with a flanging tool. I only took cut pics of this side, and welding pics on the other, so we'll jump to the left side for the rest of the install. Boy it sure was HOT out. LOL

The pics show the quarter after welding. In the left pic, note that I chose to retain the edge of the old quarter at the tailight. Since this was my first quarter panel job ever, I thought it'd be easier if I didn't have to worry about holding certain dimensions. On the right side, with one panel under my belt, I decided to replace the panel right into the tailight housing as the factory did. In the right pic, you can see my first mistake. I removed the entire old quarter and had to put a small patch in the rocker. The other side didn't need this patch.

In the left pic, you can see the door is pretty beat up and not the original. I didn't catch it until just before the quarter was put on, but the back of the door area was pushed in about 3/4" from a hard hit on the quarter panel. I hooked a cable to it and my truck, and tapped on various points until I got it straight. It took a while, but everything's now where it should be. I did fix this door, and its the only place on the car that has any filler. both quarters I managed to get close enough that primer was all that was needed to get them smooth. Also you'll see my $150 wire-feed welder, which with patience, worked well through the entire job. Again, the 'glass fenders are already on, and the hood is yet to be fitted. The 360/904 I was planning on rebuilding is here also. By the way...The Fords are DEFINITELY not mine:)

After many hours of block sanding, I had a straight, smooth body ready for paint. My "block" was a 10x1" piece of wood...no fancy tools here. And as the next group of photos will show, there's no need for fancy tools.....