1968 Firebird quarter panel replacement, making it fit correctly 

Thanks! I love what I do.

Thanks buddy. That tape is cheap and works great! My bottle for the welder was empty…..again 🤷‍♂️

Thanks!!

Thanks

Thanks!

Of course anytime

Thank you I really feel this should help give some guidance on a project like this. There is so much to share and so little time it feels like. Trying to get all the key points highlighted.

Well, your doing a great job.

Thanks and it’s been fun too so win win I suppose

Welcome and It’s boxed up and heading your way friend!

That was the plan glad you are finding it useful.

Welcome! There is so much to share its hard to determine what parts to highlight. Glad to hear it makes sense.

8 car garage i would have sooooooo many toys. Congratulations. I say go for it find that new project and get building it soon.

@@VinylVillageGarage thank you. I am definitely thinking about it !!

That brick is handy. 😎

Awesome glad to help i am full of these tricks part of the reason I am Doing it on video to share as many as possible. I send the owner update photos and behind the scenes things that way he knows exactly what his is getting when it’s done. No hidden surprises here.

Glad to help. Wish I had a resource like RU-vid when I was first building cars.

Nice! Cool car to restore, nothing better then getting your hands dirty and doing ads much as you can. Good luck!

@@VinylVillageGarage thanks

Then it’s official you are vinyl village garage/VVG certified!! Additional tip when doing quarter panels on a convertible if it’s possible keep some weight on the suspension and continuously check your door jamb gap. What have seen convertibles have more flex when cutting them apart, naturally because no roof to keep it tied together. Congrats on your project and good luck. Of course if I can help don’t hesitate to ask and a huge thanks for watching.

Thank you for the reply and the confidence looking forward to that tail Pan that you're gotta do on your pumpkin

It’s actually already test fitted and came out great. I am about a week or two behind with the videos. I really like the fitment

Glad you like it

Thanks friend, it looks like finally getting a break from the heat wave too!! Gona make some good progress I hope.

@@VinylVillageGarage its still hot down here. trying to get the little bug in this weekend to start on it, hopefully.....

Good tip! I do like Eastwood stuff too

Rust belt like here in Indy. Those repairs definitely Give you some nice experience for doing a classic someday.

Heck yeah. Go for it!

I would recommend this way if everything else is good like this car was. Trunk jamb, door jamb, window channel didn’t need any repairs. Plus the less you cut out the less chance things get distorted and out of shape

Roof, top half of quarters, door jams and sail panels are good. Most attention needed at window chanel, bottom quarters, and area between decklid / rear quarter area

Cool. Thanks

Definitely need help lol.

Nice. 1969 is my favorite year, I just looked at another one for my friend, he wants to build one too. Good luck on your build

Understand that. When I first started building cars it was a big undertaking, not much out there for information besides books and magazines then the occasional episode of overhaulin to learn how to even start. My plan and hopes with this RU-vid adventure was to share as much as possible and hope that it gives some help for anyone needing some insight on a restoration process. Do what I can to answer any questions on your journey.

@@VinylVillageGarage appreciate it , the channel is a big help.

Awesome thanks! I do have one actually, works good especially tight areas like trunk floor and frame rail gap. I use it to clean up the plug welds when needed.

I believe it belongs to another owner, Ken-

Wow I will take that as a nice compliment! I am actually building this car for someone I doubt he will sell it but you never know of corse. I will keep you informed as we go.

Not really, I would level the car up and support the frame on both sides at the rear of the car because it will ensure nothing moves. For the most part the 1/4 will have little to no effect on body position I guess better safe then sorry is how I see it.

They are a little tricky to remove the nuts off the back side. The best time to do it is if you have the window regulator out then it’s wide open and a straight shot.

Good question, full 1/4 Has everything you need. A standard skin doesn’t have tail panel stamping. They now offer a partial 1/4 panel that comes with the door jamb area but the description says doesn’t include trunk jam or sail panel but doesn’t mention tail panel flange. With all that said OER makes this partial it might be worth while to contact them somehow and find out the details on the tail panel area. If it doesn’t include the tail panel area you will need to buy a full 1/4 or had fab the parts.

Thanks for the information, greatly appreciate the detail. Though you might have the answer. The great pumpkin is looking awesome!!

Love my welder had it for I at least 15 years now. Sheet metal does great, 1/8” steel for frames no issues. For what i do exceeds my expectations. And if it where to die I would replace with a new one

I will say I have tried all Brands and pros and cons with all of them. I am almost convinced that all the panels are made at one plant in Taiwan haven’t proved it yet. With that said the majority of the time AMD panels fit better and cleaner lines so I lean more toward them when buying parts.

I don’t recall, I watched the video again and didn’t hear anything but again my hearing isn’t so good. What time was it playing?

The song is Kurt by a band called Cheel. It's in the video description (which is a good thing because I was about to reply incorrectly that the song is Blinded by a band called Fytch).

Yup send them to my email. It’s listed in the video description

Vinylvillagegarage@gmail.com

Several reasons, trunk gutter was in great shape, sail panel great shape and door jamb excellent shape. Really no need for a full 1/4 until you get to the area by the lower tail panel. The full 1/4 has that stamped out correctly to get the small gap between the tail panel and 1/4 correct. Most of the time most cars get that area filled with body filler, I like the look of the gap more and it shows more detail to me. One of the small reasons not replace entire panel is in the front corner there is numbers stamped, only on original 1/4 panels and it’s visible with the trunk open. And I like leaving that intact when possible. Plus when I am done I get to collect several useful patch panels that are not sold separately and have been a life saver for many cars that needed only the gutter, sail panel or door jamb. I can think of 6 different people that I have just given those pieces to and now those cars are being restored Now if more of those areas where damaged I would have replaced the entire panel. The difficulty is about the same replacing the entire 1/4 vs sections. So no real benefit there.

All the real body guys only replace what's needed. Discard the rest. The stamping may be slightly off and can cause bigger problems if you do the whole thing, the whole thing could be off. This way you maintain the original shape & positioning. It's easier to fix a slightly off section than a whole side. Hard to get a whole side perfect, this way you maintain those factory edges & shapes.

It gets plug welded. I think it’s the next video I show how. The thing I forgot to do was pre drill that flange, it’s much easy if you do before installing the panel.

@@VinylVillageGarageI will have to search for that one. I am about to start on a '69 Trans Am and that question has me stumped. Thanks!

@@randyfleet9968 see if this works. Welding in tight quarters…🤣 how to weld rocker to the quarter panel 1968 Firebird ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vbcuzod5uRQ.html

The entire Build to the point of this video was about 4 months. Now I have been at it just over a year

Both are level and need shimmed as you move things around. The car body typically stays the same but the bubble level will need to be readjusted as you move across the uneven shop floor. Fortunately my 7’ level has a relatively weak magnet running full length that I attach washers too as I move it around to correct height.

@@VinylVillageGarage I noticed that the car is sitting on jack stands. How do you level the car with jack stands being that they are not infinitely adjustable like a hydraulic jack is. Do you put shims under the jack stands until you get it level? Where do you put the level across the car to determine if it's level? There are so many round and uneven surfaces. It's not like a 2X4 that you can lay the level on if building a house for example.

I used metal plates 1/16-1/8” thick under the jack stands and even cardboard on top sometimes to fine tune the body. Now where to check becomes a bit of a trick. The pinch welds are not perfect from the factory but it is a place to start. That’s measuring side to side. From front to back the top side of the rocker in the door jam works great. Then for me the last points of reference is the body mounts at the firewall and mid way under the front seat area and last rear frame rails in the area where the front leaf spring mount is a great place to set side to side. Now this is just my opinion and works for me but if I am within a 1/8” in comparison I call it good.

@@VinylVillageGarage Thanks again for the information. It will help me with my build.

Nice progress! I assume you are talking about the dash pad. If so there is four studs on the dash pad that has nuts along the front edge starting at the drivers side right next to the VIN on the dash then they go across to the passenger side. Basically if you look up on the underside of the dash where the VIN plate is pop riveted in you see the first nut. Then you have 2 Phillips head screws that are on the a-pillar and last are the pieces that drop down each side they just pop in.

@@VinylVillageGarage thank you!! i got all the screws and bolts off but the stud things that go into the metal part of the dash were stuck and basically rusted solid to the dash kinda broke them off and got the dash pad off thank you!!!! you’re definitely more helpful then all the facebook groups i’m in😂😂

Glad to help, I agree there are a lot of opinions out there for sure. I like to back mine up with proof and good info. Good to know you where able to get it apart. Best wishes on the rest of your birds recovery, and don’t hesitate to ask us first 😉

@@VinylVillageGarage thank you i’ve already gotten a lot of answers from your videos me and my dad are restoring a bird in memory of my grandpa the bird itself is in a little bit worse condition than yours. we are probably gonna need to replace our frame rails and we don’t want to cause everything to shift. we watched your video saying we could use your tool you built but we are pretty far from Indianapolis so we might build our own. keep uploading amazing videos me and my dad have been watching them ever since we got our bird you’ve definitely gotten us hooked on them we might save a few.

Saving a bird with history and family Project is even better. I made that jig mostly because the specs are not clear or good. Even if you don’t make a jig take a lot of photos and measurements of the original frame rails for reference later. Glad to hear the videos and info is helping out. It is the reason I am doing it. Keep in touch and me updated on your progress

Most of this car was AMD.