Chevelle updates

[x Baldwin Motion]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VintageMusclecar</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Mike;


I do have a color picked out for the car already, but I'm keeping it under wraps until (if?) I get to the point where it's ready to squirt some color on it.

I have decided to go with a factory `67 Chevrolet hue--while the car was originally Marina Blue (and that's a beautiful color), I just wanted something different. </div></div>


There is a Tahoe Turquoise Metallic (LL) 67 near me, it is absolutely stunning in full sun. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif[/img]

[VintageMusclecar]

The new quarters arrived today. We loaded them up and dropped them off at the body shop. For once during this debacle, I can honestly say I'm <span style="font-weight: bold">very</span> happy with the quality of the panels upon initial inspection. Nary a dent nor blemish was found, and all the lines were very clean and crisp.

If the quarters fit as good as they look, they will definitely be one of the high points on this project.

(One of the two body shop gurus inspecting a quarter)



Most of the remnants of the old quarters have been removed; the only remaining sections were the door striker panels as we weren't sure where they needed to be trimmed until the new quarters were on hand. There is a reinforcement plate which will need to be retained from the original quarters.





More &quot;rust free&quot;....er.... &quot;free rust&quot;



Just for the sake of a peek; the `73 Challenger below belongs to the body guy above who is inspecting the quarter. It runs the factory 360 with a 4-speed and an 8 3/4&quot; rear end. It's been restored from the ground up, and my barely marginal photography skills do this car absolutely no justice. This thing's sweet.





More later when the quarters are being test fitted.

[Xplantdad]

Looking great Eric...please keep us updated!

[VintageMusclecar]

The passenger quarter being trial fitted; there are a couple of issues the body guy pointed out that will need to be addressed.



There are some ripples on the window side of the C pillar that weren't spotted on initial inspection.



Body guy says he can hammer and dolly this out, not that big of a deal. Issue #2 isn't going to be as easy to address, but body guy assures me he can handle it. There was also an issue with how the quarter panel trunk gutter rail was lining up with the gutter on the rear body panel, but a small relief cut alleviated the issue.

Note where the quarter extension meets with the trunk edge of the quarter; the trunk edge starts out nicely from the C pillar, but once it gets to the quarter extension, it is rolled out towards the outside of the quarter panel which leaves about a 1/16&quot; to 1/8&quot; gap.





The panels line up nicely in the door jambs.





There are also some fitment issues with the rear deck filler panel, but until the drivers side quarter is trial fitted, we won't know exactly what is causing the issue. Again, the body guy says it's nothing he hasn't battled before.

This is all the further it will go into place w/o somewhat excessive &quot;coercion&quot;.



On the &quot;plus&quot; side, the body guy states that the drop-offs fit the quarters perfectly. On the not-so-plus side, he says they're off pretty far from the trunk floor and wheelhouse.

Again on the &quot;plus&quot; side, the quarter fit at the roof on the C pillars appears to be very good.



The outer wheelhouses also fit the quarters very well.



There were some issues with the fit between the rear body panel and the trunk floor, but after bringing up the center of the trunk floor, the panel appears to line up fairly well.



So here's the informal assessment from the body guy so far:

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Trunk floor:</span></span> So-so. There are apparently two different trunk floors being made for these cars, and naturally I inadvertently wound up with the lesser-quality of the two. Tip for anyone looking at buying one of these trunk floors--look for the one that has the spare tire hold-down bracket and jack mast brackets welded in place already.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Inner wheelhouses:</span></span> Decent. Fit nicely with the trunk floor and the outer wheelhouses.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Outer wheelhouses:</span></span> Decent. Fit the inner wheelhouses and the quarters well.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Drop-offs:</span></span> Fair. Fits the quarters well, trunk and wheelhouses, not so much.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Deck Filler:</span></span> Fair.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Rear body panel:</span></span> Decent so far, will know more as more progress is made.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">-Quarter Panel:</span></span> Fair. The outer portion of the panels are very nice with no flaws and very crisp lines, but the issues at the C pillar and quarter extensions really needs to be addressed by the manufacturer.

Overall assessment from the body guy so far--he's worked with far worse in regards to aftermarket panels, and there haven't been any <span style="font-style: italic">serious</span> unexpected surprises so far, which is encouraging at this point...and at this point, I'll take all the encouraging news I can get.

More later.

[Xplantdad]

Good deal Eric!

[olredalert]

----Eric,,,I found exactly the same issue with 69 Camaro rear quarters in relation to the trunk-lid gap. Im pretty sure the same company pops out these quarters. Wonder why they cant get that right. Surely they are apprised of this situation. I complained, and you should as well, as its at least marginally possible that they will listen and future quarter attachers will benefit.....Bill S

[scuncio]

Great info Eric. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

[VintageMusclecar]

Quick update, no pics today though;

Got a phone call from the body guy this afternoon. He &quot;fought&quot; the drivers side quarter into place, but he apparently managed to get it where he's reasonably happy with it.

Unfortunately the same can not be said for the deck filler panel.

In a nutshell, it's almost unusable...but since it's the only thing we've got to work with (I'm told that panel is only reproduced by one company, and that everyone else buys from them and re-boxes it), we're stuck with modifying this one to fit.

Two steps forward, one step back.

More eventually.

[Dave Rifkin]

Couldn't you locate a clean factory rear filler panel from a salvage yard?

[VintageMusclecar]

Dave;

I've pretty much given up hope of finding any rust free bone yard `66-`67 Chevelle sheetmetal. Maybe I just don't have the right contacts, but nearly every time I've searched for solid original panels, I've came up empty handed. Besides, even if we were to find a serviceable component, by the time we cut it out, shipped it in and dressed it for re-installation, we'd be into it for the same time invested in getting the re-pop to fit.

It's not the first time a re-pop component has had to be modified (or even completely reconstructed) to fit the car, and I'm sure there's even more obstacles ahead.