[Orion88]

I posted this in the body shop section but I figured if I wanted to get help from someone familiar with 70's I should post it here instead.

I'm replacing both my quarters and the rear deck filler panel on my 70 GTO. Currently I have the filler panel and the drivers panel cut out, and I have everything underneath cleaned up and epoxy primed, and I have the driver's quarter mounted, but not screwed or welded in place. Without the filler panel in place, my gaps seem pretty darn good. If anyone is curious about aftermarket panel fitment quality, 70 panels are probably the best fitting ones on the market. That being said, whenever I put my filler panel in, it pushes the quarter out too far, and the quarter/trunk gap is way too wide. I'm trying to figure out if this is because the new filler panel is too long, or if my passenger quarter is pushed in too far. My deck lid was lined up properly to both quarters and the old filler panel before I cut anything out, so I think the issue is in the filler panel. I'm guessing the solution will be to cut out a very thin section from each end of the filler panel, but I was hoping there were some competent body guys who have done this kind of work on a 70 before I proceed. This is my first ever restoration attempt so if I sound like an idiot that's why. I have attached as many photos of my panel gaps as I have. The very first image is the quarter/trunk gap WITH the filler panel in place and the next one is WITHOUT the filler panel. Thanks in advance for the help!

[indymanjoe]

If by filler panel you mean the bottom of the back window.I found the replacement is im guessing,for a chevelle.I had to cut a bit off each side as well.hth's

[marxjunk]

so..looking at the jack stands..its not on the frame?

always put metal on a car with it loaded on the suspension..always...i see the body sagging in the rear...given the pics...

I guess the best way to say it..the frame is always pushing up and the body is pushing down..the frame is the foundation of a full frame car..hard to tell by the pics..

ive cut the whole butt of a car off..but i always do it with the frame under the car..body bolted down..and supported under the suspension..not the frame the suspension..

id work on that and then see what fits..its all related..chevelle tulip/filler is diff than GTO..but 68-72 Lemans and GTO are the same..

[Orion88]

Yes, it's called a rear deck filler panel. I didn't think they used the same piece for Chevelle's and GTO's. I thought they were completely different. I bought it from a Pontiac only parts dealer so I assumed it was unique to GTO's.

[Orion88]

The car was only on one jack stand to drill out the spot welds in the wheel well. It is back on all four wheels now.

[Orion88]

This is how she sits right now.

[1971WARBIRD]

are those the repo front fenders? if so, you might want to test fit the marker lights if you haven't yet. a friend of mine did his car and painted it first, then tried to install the markers to find they would not fit, without the hole being worked. ended up trading the new repo's for a set of nice but needing some work original factory fenders from me.

[Orion88]

Yes they are. Thank you for letting me know. I will keep this in mind once I start working on them. Unfortunately mine were LeMans fenders with the marker light sections of a GTO crappily welded in and covered in about 1/2" of bondo. They were beyond reusing.

[1971WARBIRD]

they can be made to work, just a lot easier before paint than after. basically the mounting tabs need adjusted if I remember right. they don't let the lens set back in far enough stock.

[Matt Meaney]

I remember reading on here how the curved piece of window trim at the bottom doesn't quite fit right on the quarter. maybe double check all the rear window trim fit before paint too.

[A.W.Dille]

I always like to take some square tubing and reinforce the body to keep the roof in position and keep it from sagging down before any rear panel removal. Helps keep the body in position and helps new panels line up better. Without the bracing the body can shift slightly and throw the gaps off.

[Orion88]

Maybe with a convertible or if I wanted to cut both quarters off, but I'm not terribly concerned about that happening with a hardtop thats on the frame. Any shifts or sags in the roof will most likely not be permanent. So far everything else is lining up pretty close, it just needs worked into place to get the door gaps perfect.

Anyways, I will most likely end up re-bending the ends of the filler panel to shorten it about 1/4". Sounds easier and quicker than cutting and welding on a brand new panel.

[Orion88]

I measured my rear deck filler panel when I got home from class today. 52" wide. My friend who has a 68 measured his and it is also 52", but they are completely different, so he had is brother measure the filler panel on his 70, and it was 51-1/2". Looks like I will be shortening mine up a tad. If anyone else has measurements to confirm this I would appreciate it.

[A.W.Dille]

I just measured the original on my 71. 52 1/4 inches. And the quarters on my GTO are the original ones also. Hope this helps.

[mrennie]

I just checked mine (which I shortened to fit between original quarters) and it is 51 3/4".

[Orion88]

Sounds like there is about 1/2" or so variance between cars. Thanks for the help. I will tackle this project this weekend and give you an update Sunday or Monday.

[Orion88]

Things went quite well this weekend. My friend Josh came down to give me a hand on the issue with the quarter/filler panels. He's rebuilt more GTO's than I can count so he knew exactly what needed to be done. We shortened the filler panel slightly and trimmed some metal from the portion that sits under the weatherstripping. After that, and with a little persuasion from a body hammer, the quarter went on quite nicely and everything is lining up great. The gap between the door and the front of the panel will need a little bit of work, but overall it's a great fit and I will be welding it down this week. The filler panel is currently held in place with some self tapping screws. Once I get the passenger side quarter in I will be able to tack it in place as well. Thanks for the help everyone.

[HWYSTR455]

Subscribing. Please keep up on the posts, many are interested, and I will be using your posts as a reference. Thank you!

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[Orion88]

Definitely! I couldn't find a detailed "how to" post on quarter panel replacement, so I will be sure to upload as many photos along the way as I can, and describe my steps in full detail for others to use as a reference in the future.

[Orion88]

As promised, here are more pictures of my progress made today. Please don't judge the welds. I am new at this, and I opted to leave them raw and unground for the pictures so people can better see where the welds are located. I used a hole puncher to make the holes for my welds except for a few areas: the bottom of the quarter behind the wheel well, and the lip that sits under the drivers side area of the deck lid. On the area behind the wheel well I just welded 1" strips where the seams meet because I had the room and it will be covered with seam sealer anyways. In the trunk area I crawled in the trunk and drilled from the bottom up for my spot weld holes and welded the two pieces together from inside the trunk. This makes cleaning up your welds much easier than if you welded from the top down. Getting a grinder in that area is very difficult.

I still have to weld the area inside the 1/4 window above the rocker panel, as well as the bracket that goes from the top of the quarter near the door jamb and curves around and up to the roof section.

One thing for people to keep in mind when doing quarter panel replacement: You're not going to be able to replicate how this was from the factory. They had very specialized tools for getting in and welding certain areas that you're not going to be able to recreate. Also, you don't need to use as many spot welds as they did from the factory. I think I counted 160+ spot welds that I drilled out and you definitely don't need to do that many.

As you can see, with the repop 70 quarters, The window trim doesn't line up quite right. You'll have to address this before you paint by recreating the proper curve with some filler.