I have the worst luck...some thief was attempting to steal the tires and rims off my truck and must have got spooked and only got a few lugs before he ran away. (I never saw him but I've pieced this all togehter.) So the next day i got in the truck and drove about 15 miles and heard a vibration, which i thought was a bad wheel bearing. i started back home and it got alot worse really quick. I started to pull over and BOOM!!! the rear wheel came completely off the truck at about 35 MPH!!! (i had to change my shorts immediately after I got the truck off to the shoulder.)

So i ran the tire over and it dented up the rear quarter panel from the wheel well and then all the way back to the tailight. No one was hurt, (aside from my brake drum.) The truck is back on the road but the quarter is compeltely folded under the truck now.

so now i need to either buy a section and patch it in, or buy a new quarter and cut the old one off. I feel like the whole quarter mught be easier since I won't have to body work the seam that will run the entire length of the patch panel. if I replace the whole quarter i can just drill out the plug welds and weld in the new panel.

has anyone done this or have any advice?

 

well ive seen it done before. instead of welding he used industrial adhiesive to stick the pane on. works good.

 

My advice would be to go with the patch panel. My buddy owned a body shop and he did his quarter on his '89 Bronco and the panel was $1200 his cost!! That piece is the whole side door back. I saw one at broncograveyard for an '86 alot less but it was still over $500 I forget the exact price.

 

yeah i picked up the whole quarter panel for 200 bucks. i'm going to replace the whole thing. if anyone is looking for cheap replacement panels here is a really good website: http://www.autostyles.com/bpbronco8096.htm Shipping was 100 bucks but I live close enough to the factory that I can pick it up. (it's in New Jersey.)

 

Wow cool!! I need to do rust repair on mine and I was putting it off because of what he said. Thanks
Justin

 

Johnnyroastbeef You say that autostyles is in NJ. There web site says TX. Where in NJ are they located. I need a rear quarter for my Bronco

 

Well i did a little research on this. The company "AutoStyles" is in Texas but they get the panels from a company called "Fit Rite" out of South Plainfield, NJ. (I'm picking up my 1/4 panel there today.) Fit-Rite has a website but there is no online catalog or product offerings like the AutoStyles website. I'm not sure if they sell direct to the public or not. You can check it out for yourself @ ttp://www.autobpa.com/members/fitrite/ I'm guessing that AutoStyles is just a middle-man type outfit that Fit-Rite has agreed to sell through, but that's just a guess.

good luck.

 

sorry about that, here is that website: http://www.autobpa.com/members/fitrite/

 

the new quarter panel is on and it looks great considering i did it all myslef. that quarter panel was perfect, anyone thinking of using that site should do so. I can't say enough good about it. it fits perfect. thanks for all the advice.

 

I would like to replace the quarters on my Bronco. I am a girl so I wouldn't actually be fixing it, just buying. Is it difficult to do? It seems like it would be tough to do if you werent an auto body prof. Thanks for the link

 

Bent quarter panel? Just get a good rubber malet and go to town!

 

I'll tell you what i thought it would be alot harder than it was, and I am no auto body pro. if you're fairly good with your hands and have a few other people to help, I would bet you could do it yourself. the hardest part was cutting the old one off. i took the easy way out and actually drilled out every spot weld that was on the panel from the factory. it took about 4 drill bits and afew hours, but once they were all drilled out it came off pretty easlily, (with the help of a air chisel and a big hammer!) the new one fits perfectly so i spot welded it and pop riveted it. i would post some pictures but i have no idea how to do it. let me know if you'd like some, if you decide to tackle the job.

good luck

 

Thank you, I might hold you to the Pictures!!!

Danielle