Saving quarter panels
We all know that A-bodies are prone to rust in front of and behind the rear wheel wells. We spend loads of time and money to cut out the bad stiff and weld in new metal. But what if there was a cheap way to keep them from rotting out in the first place, or to protect the new metal that you just put in? Here is a trick that a body shop that I used 25 years ago taught me that I have used on all my Darts.
First fish out all the crap that found its way between the quarter panel and the trunk floor turn down. This is easy if you just cut out a bunch of rust there but you can do a decent job with a bent coat hangers from inside the trunk and through the plastic plug in the trunk floor down turn with the little drain in it. My latest project had no rust to cut out and I still removed 4 wrapped gum sticks, a half a dozen crayons, 3 magic markers, a pencil, pieces of rope and various wire along with dirt, rocks, and shredded body filler from a crappy dent fix where the body man couldn't be bothered to tape up the marker light hole from the inside. To use this trick it is good to get all you can out of the quarter, but is doesn't have to be squeaky clean.
Get yourself an old style pump oil can and a couple quarts of straight weight motor oil and a dozen little glass or plastic jars. The seam at the bottom of the quarter has the drain in the plastic hole plug behind the wheel well, and a half dozen weep vents in the pinch weld at the bottom of the panel in front of the wheel well. Put a jar under each drain, take the pump can full of oil and reach as far as you can up over the wheel well from inside the trunk and squirt oil down into the seam of the inner wheel well with the quarter. squirt a 1/2 cup in then go out and make sure that the jars catch the oil coming out of the drain holes instead of oiling your garage floor. The oil will work its way all the way up the rocker panels. Once you know that you aren't oiling the garage floor you can squirt more in and then do the slot between the inside of the rear part of the quarter and the trunk turn down. Now do the same to the other side. If a drain hole does not produce oil it is plugged and you can thoroughly ream it out with your trusty bent coat hanger untill it runs out.
IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR THE DRAIN HOLES TO STOP DRIPPING COMPLETELY!!!
The chemicals in the oil that help it to cling to stuff in your engine and the rust inhibitors in the oil should help you coat the lower part of the quarter and the seam at the bottom. I re-oil the quarters once every 4-5 years. Other than the cleaning out process, it takes an hour to apply and just sitting for a few days to complete the draining. The cost is the couple of quarts of oil and the time to gather jars and a couple wire coat hangers. If you have added metal in places that you can't easily repaint from the back of the panel, this will at least provide some measure of resistance to rust between the patch and the panel.
I did one more thing when I installed the trunk mat in my latest Dart. I couldn't find correct floor mats anyway. Most of the ones they sell for 70-72 Darts have the brace cut out that they added for 74-76 Darts to help support the 5 mph impact bumpers, so I ordered a sheet of material to cut my own (Layson's). Once I realized that I had enough material, I added material to cover the slot between the trunk floor and the quarter and I look forward to no more **** falling down in there and leading to rust out!!!
SAVE THE A-BODIES!!!!!!
We all know that A-bodies are prone to rust in front of and behind the rear wheel wells. We spend loads of time and money to cut out the bad stiff and weld in new metal. But what if there was a cheap way to keep them from rotting out in the first place, or to protect the new metal that you just put in? Here is a trick that a body shop that I used 25 years ago taught me that I have used on all my Darts.
First fish out all the crap that found its way between the quarter panel and the trunk floor turn down. This is easy if you just cut out a bunch of rust there but you can do a decent job with a bent coat hangers from inside the trunk and through the plastic plug in the trunk floor down turn with the little drain in it. My latest project had no rust to cut out and I still removed 4 wrapped gum sticks, a half a dozen crayons, 3 magic markers, a pencil, pieces of rope and various wire along with dirt, rocks, and shredded body filler from a crappy dent fix where the body man couldn't be bothered to tape up the marker light hole from the inside. To use this trick it is good to get all you can out of the quarter, but is doesn't have to be squeaky clean.
Get yourself an old style pump oil can and a couple quarts of straight weight motor oil and a dozen little glass or plastic jars. The seam at the bottom of the quarter has the drain in the plastic hole plug behind the wheel well, and a half dozen weep vents in the pinch weld at the bottom of the panel in front of the wheel well. Put a jar under each drain, take the pump can full of oil and reach as far as you can up over the wheel well from inside the trunk and squirt oil down into the seam of the inner wheel well with the quarter. squirt a 1/2 cup in then go out and make sure that the jars catch the oil coming out of the drain holes instead of oiling your garage floor. The oil will work its way all the way up the rocker panels. Once you know that you aren't oiling the garage floor you can squirt more in and then do the slot between the inside of the rear part of the quarter and the trunk turn down. Now do the same to the other side. If a drain hole does not produce oil it is plugged and you can thoroughly ream it out with your trusty bent coat hanger untill it runs out.
IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR THE DRAIN HOLES TO STOP DRIPPING COMPLETELY!!!
The chemicals in the oil that help it to cling to stuff in your engine and the rust inhibitors in the oil should help you coat the lower part of the quarter and the seam at the bottom. I re-oil the quarters once every 4-5 years. Other than the cleaning out process, it takes an hour to apply and just sitting for a few days to complete the draining. The cost is the couple of quarts of oil and the time to gather jars and a couple wire coat hangers. If you have added metal in places that you can't easily repaint from the back of the panel, this will at least provide some measure of resistance to rust between the patch and the panel.
I did one more thing when I installed the trunk mat in my latest Dart. I couldn't find correct floor mats anyway. Most of the ones they sell for 70-72 Darts have the brace cut out that they added for 74-76 Darts to help support the 5 mph impact bumpers, so I ordered a sheet of material to cut my own (Layson's). Once I realized that I had enough material, I added material to cover the slot between the trunk floor and the quarter and I look forward to no more **** falling down in there and leading to rust out!!!
SAVE THE A-BODIES!!!!!!