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Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:25 pm

So upon an engine death I'm starting a semi restoration of my 73 super. my main problem is the front drivers side is very bashed in. (i ran into a mini van :oops: )

heres the damage:

i got a good little donor vehicle. it was a very good price. and before anyone says i should just use the red vehicles body; i cant use it. it is in god awful condition from the doors back. there are a lot of parts it has donated tho. near perfect black seats, and all good glass and fenders, and lots of other stuff.. anyway

so my first question is, i shouldnt need to replace the entire drivers side panel i should be able to just cut it a bit behind where its bent yeah? should i remove the apron first? ive already pulled the apron off the blue bug, but i want the replacement to be clean and i cant say it came out clean on the removal.

any opinions?

Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:49 am

Cut 2/3 of the apron & 1/2 of the fender off to get started? :twisted: You can project straight cutting lines with a laser level? I cut with grinder & sawzall. Some people make zig zag cuts for extra strength welds?

Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:22 am

im not as much worried about the apron as i am the front drivers quarter. ill have to get some better pictures this weekend.

everyone says the aprons are a huge pain to remove, i just used a drill on the spot welds. i bet a really small hole saw would be great, then just grind down the uneven bits. (just had that idea im sure people do this all the time :P )

it shouldnt be too hard to get the apron sorted; once i get the quarter. how would i weld the bits back together if i just sliced down the side? i guess the fender bolts to it so it wouldnt need to look spectacular, but for the sake of sturdiness.

im not so much worried about the spare tire tray because im going subaru power anyway, so most of it is getting chopped out anyway >:P

Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:38 pm

Your going to have to judge and accept whether to replace the entire wheelhousing or replace the front half up to the strut tower.

Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:12 am

Check out the last few pages of my 71 build thread. I've been replacing the passenger quarter of my car. We cut halfway down it. Except we're replacing the back half, not the front.

I personally would suggest cutting forward of the strut so you don't have to worry about alignment issues later. If you do need to cut the strut tower out, then build some kind of an alignment jig. Also, carefully drill the spot welds off the apron on the donor and just replace it on the blue car as a whole. Then you can just plug weld it. Much easier

Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:44 pm

There is a tool called a spot weld remover .
Why are you removing spot welds ? You get a sawzall and remove the gas tank ; cut the entire front end off behind the strut towers and swap the whole front out .
I especially like the guy who cut everything so it overlapped and bolted the front end together with the fenders on . The fenders kept everything innalignment while he did final cuts and welding .
Start reading build threads and you will find this .