These are the glory years for muscle car restoration. Enthusiasm is strong, car events continue to proliferate, and the level of quality restorations from both professional and private shops is at an all-time high. Although pure muscle car passion continues to raise the bar at one pole, the other pole is getting bumped by automotive restoration aftermarket suppliers who are producing OE-quality restoration components. Somewhere between the dwindling supply of N.O.S. parts and the rising values of the American muscle car, an industry was born that would make muscle car restoration both achievable and profitable.
Honestly, the muscle car parts industry experienced growing pains at first. Many aftermarket parts were inferior to factory items. Exterior body pieces, like quarter-panels, were especially bad. Quarters made overseas didn’t fit properly, were malformed, lacked crisp character lines, and frequently were stamped from thin-gauge metal. Body shops would be forced to spend up to 20 hours to correct the flaws and shortcomings of replacement aftermarket quarters. Those were the dark years of muscle car restoration, when even the best shops were hamstrung by a mixed bag of aftermarket suppliers.
Those days are gone.
The restoration shop of today enjoys the benefit of having OE-quality exterior body panels available with one phone call. Accurate quarter-panels are being made for a wide range of popular muscle cars that fit right, look right, have proper character lines, and are factory-quality. Most of the popular muscle cars are now covered with excellent reproduction quarter-panels that are indistinguishable from original parts. Only a few particular muscle cars remain without the availability of said quarter-panels, but hope floats. For example, could someone please make OE-quality quarter-panels for 1966-1967 Mopar B-Body cars? Please? I’ll take both sides for a 1966 Dodge Coronet and both sides for a 1967 Plymouth GTX. Subsequent orders will be placed for backups.
Frankly, I am amazed that high-end collectors aren’t stockpiling these quarters while they are available. Given the means, I would be purchasing three extra quarters per side per car. Aftermarket companies like Auto Metal Direct (AMD) and others are providing a valuable resource for those of us who continue to restore and drive our beloved 1960s and 1970s American muscle cars. Follow along as a pair of AMD quarter-panels is installed on Joel and Lynn Euler’s 1970 Rallye Red Plymouth GTX.
1 When the AMD quarter-panels for the 1970 Plymouth GTX arrived at Goacher Street Legends, they were quickly mocked up for evaluation. GSL owner Mike Goacher concluded that fit and quality were excellent, virtually equivalent to an N.O.S. panel.2 Goacher decided to paint the backs of the new quarter-panels prior to installing them to get maximum access for maximum coverage. He first prepped the metal and sprayed 3M Weld Thru II primer on the perimeter edges of the quarter. After drying, he masked off those edges with 1-inch masking tape.3 The back of the quarter-panel was prepped and primed with PPG DP50LF epoxy primer. Goacher then applied PPG Deltron basecoat in Rallye Red. When the paint was sufficiently dry, he removed the masking tape. The panel was now sealed and pretty.4 Just prior to installation, Goacher stripped the exterior edges of the quarter-panel to create a clean surface for TIG welding.5 During disassembly, all necessary reference points and mating locations were marked. The rear cove panel had remained attached to the left and right trunk gutters in order to properly relocate the new quarter-panels.6 Great care and planning was exercised in the installation of the new metal. Prior to installing the rear cove panel, Goacher simply put the quarter up for reference and visualized how the rear portion of the GTX would come together.7 Goacher had help from son Dylan, who placed the rear cove taillight panel with trunk gutters in position while Goacher attached the panel in the exact factory location with sheetmetal screws. The sheetmetal screws are removed as the panels are welded on the body.8 In order to set the exact location for the quarter-panels, Goacher installed sheetmetal screws along the bottom of the taillight panel.9 With the taillight panel in place, the men positioned the passenger-side quarter-panel for installation. The trunk lid gap is checked prior to any screws being installed. Once satisfied with the fit, Goacher ran sheetmetal screws through the panel into the doorjamb.10 Continuing to examine the trunk lid gap, Dylan installed sheetmetal screws just above the taillight where the quarter meets the taillight panel.11 A couple of sheetmetal screws were installed in the gutters where the quarters meet the trunk gutters. Again, the trunk lid gap is examined for correct alignment.12 The same procedure employed for the passenger-side quarter is now employed for the driver side. If the panels do not align, the sheetmetal screws are removed and the panels are tweaked into position.13 Goacher is holding the AMD rear deck filler panel, which receives the same 3M Weld-Thru II primer along the edges and the PPG DP50LF and Deltron Rallye Red basecoat. The Dutchman panel is slid into position and attached with sheetmetal screws.14 Still prior to any welding, the quarter-panel extensions must be installed on each side to ensure proper panel alignment. Patience in the pursuit of perfection is the goal.15 When all the panels were properly fitted and aligned, Dylan TIG-welded the factory quarter-panel to the C-pillar seem using a Miller Syncrowave 200 TIG welder. Plug welds nicely simulate the factory spot welds.16 The jamb is also TIG welded with plug welds. Strong, clean welds and new AMD metal brought the unibody shell back to better-than-new condition.
