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OK, went to three body shops today - son was in class and at work. One seemed worried and thought the whole quarter panel would have to come off. The other two said, Oh, no problem, we can work this metal, not that big a job. Estimates on the spot. Well below the car value so they didn't seem worried about that.I have another one to see Monday, which has a good metal guy and very good painters. They do classics and hot rods and Porsches and everything.
Fingers crossed.
We'll need to find that short side molding piece from the door to the rear wheel arch. Don't know if that's available.Leave a comment:
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BMW parts guys confirm that panel is NLA. Are aftermarket panels junk?
Car-part.com search shows several 2-door pre-'87 quarter panels in my region, at $150-200. Shipping is an issue I'll bet. More money to ship, less labor on metal work (maybe).
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Really interesting to see that work. I guess the issue is whether there's room to do all that working from inside the car. I can also see where a butt seam isn't desirable on the fender. But you've got to find and ship a whole quarter panel. So you'd weld in the door jamb, at the sill of the window under the trim, down the trunk gutter seam, behind the taillight, and along that sill ridge? Or all the way down to the pinch seam under the sill?
I don't imagine a "rear side panel" is actually $387 new, or still available (#1). There are a few shells out there, usually with front damage.
And I'm not clear on how it welds to the fender liner shell #6. That could produce a lot of heat right on the backside of the fender / arch.
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That's why you'd shrink it.
For the record, I'm hardly any kind of expert, and have not tried any of this myself, but it just shows what can be done with metal if you really want to keep it intact. I'd liken it to trading in your bad alternator for a new one at autozone vs going to an old school repair man who will simply repair the old one. Replacing the whole quarter for a shop is likely faster/easier and they don't want to spend the time working the metal because it either takes too long or they just don't have the skill.
I don't know how much you actually care about keeping the original metal intact, but I would guess that it's doable. I'd agree that total replacement is probably the way to go if it's decided that it can't be pulled out vs a patch.Leave a comment:
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I went to a vintage car repair shop to get recommendations for body shops that can do real metal work. Got a couple of names they use. He said you'd be better cutting off the whole quarter panel and replace, rather than cutting at the wheel arch or someplace. No butt welded joints, no panel warpage. He said the metal is likely stretched and pushing it out might produce a lot of wrinkles to fill.Leave a comment:
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Do we need to scramble around for similar car sales and prove this is worth X dollars if they claim the repair will be more than 80% of that value? We don't want to deal with salvage title or any of that.Leave a comment:
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I would think you could get 99% of that out with some careful hammer and dolly work and some shrinking/stretching.Leave a comment:
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ARGH!!
A woman in an SUV backed into him sitting still in a parking lot. Appears it didn't touch the door, wheel arch, window trim, or the sill.
Tomorrow we'll find out more from her insurance, and we need to figure out if it gets cut off and new welded on, or if this can by pushed out from behind the back seat trim panel.Leave a comment:
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Addendum -
And I don't know if it'll be warm enough to paint suspension parts, which means painting in the basement and stinking up the house, or putting them back on old and grimy....Leave a comment:
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Yes it does! But there's a complicated reservation / priority system to keep the old Volvos running, my wife's car inside, the E30 ongoing updates, and household fixit projects, don'tcha know.
Vincenze - that looks handy if it's right. I had to try and match o-ring diameter and thickness with industrial suppliers. The seal seemed easy - same brand and # after 30 years!
I spy.....
Boxes of forgotten Alfa parts under there (who knew?), Audi engine, BMW transmission, Alfa intake and Webers in a box, Alfa springs, Alfa rear axle, 6" widened steelies test fit on the rear, Volvo snow wheels, kid's spare wheels and tires, blue bin of Volvo parts, and light....LIGHT! I cleaned for two hours because I could see all the crap and sawdust and spiderwebs. We tossed some junk, my wife totally reorganized her gardening shelves, and it's so different. An hour with the heater on (5000W electric) and it's sweater weather in there, but with no insulation yet, it doesn't hold it and it's pretty much of a waste of energy. But I'll budget insulation and get that going. I'll only run it for a project. I think we figured it's maybe 70 cents an hour running full-time, depending on your power rates. It has off-switch, thermostat, and 3000W/4000W/5000W settings, safety shut-off, dedicated circuit. Brand is "Comfort Zone," 240V. Two 20A outlet circuits along the side walls at 48" in conduit, 30A 240 heater circuit, and a 20A lighting circuit with all LED (Costco) shop lights. I put the lights around the perimeter of cars to see while working. You can pull-chain them so they're not all on.Leave a comment:
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It seems that the rebuild kit is available now.
https://www.getbmwparts.com/oem-part...0d-32411133023
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/32411133023/
Does it look correct?
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Nope. His budget and lack of time with working and school. I did get power, lights, and HEAT in the garage!Leave a comment:
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