Rear window panel

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Joined
Nov 15, 2016
Messages
652
Reaction score
15
Location
Australia
My Car
1972 Mustang Coupe 302 Auto RHD
Was just getting to the last of the body shell work thinking I was over the major repairs after replacing all floors and a couple of quarter patches.

Stripped the roof and quarters which weren't bad but when I started to strip the panel between the rear window and trunk lid I was shocked at the amount of body filler I had to get through. How it got damaged like this is a mystery maybe something dropped on it?

Once I discovered the mountain range below with its highs and lows I had a go at shrinking some of it with a MAPP torch, wet rag at the same time jacking the panel up a little and although I succeeded in getting the panel to sit up a little better my efforts at shrinking, although bringing down some high spots ,managed to create some rather  large creases as in the picture below. Not pretty!

One problem is apart from my lack of skill is there is virtually no access below to use a dolly.

Wondering if anyone has tackled this panel before or can offer advice.

The way I see it I have a few options but obviously not the shrink, hammer & dolly option

1. Buy shares in a Bondo company as the share price will surely rise if I go the Bondo route - not a good option as over half inch deep in spots

2. Weld in a flat rectangular patch near the perimeter rather than replace the entire panel(no repop available) - lot of welding/grinding which I'm used to by now but risk of buckling if not careful - perhaps weld some reinforcement underneath?

3. Remove entire panel and find someone who can fold up a new one - probably best option if I can find someone to do it

One last request from any coupe owner - as you can see the ruler in the photo showing the ravine below can someone be so good as to let me know if a good panel is flat all the way across or if not what is the depth in the center?

Thanks in advance

Mick

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Hello OzCoupe72,

I recommend to find a good donor car. Since you are in Australia, that may prove to be a bit difficult. That is what I had to do. Here is my thread on that project. I am going to send your thread to my body man to see what he recommends.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-dese...ight=panel

mustang7173

 
Hello OzCoupe72,

I recommend to  find a good donor car. Since you are in Australia, that may prove to be a bit difficult. That is what I had to do. Here is my thread on that project. I am going to send your thread to my body man to see what he recommends.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-dese...ight=panel

mustang7173
Thanks mustang7173

You are correct that a donor car is near impossible over my way and shipping a panel from the US would be very expensive

The link to your thread didn't work but will try to find it

I do know a restoration guy an hour from here who makes many of his own panels and has all the tooling

He is always in demand but might be my best option

The main problem might be as in my last question is if an original panel has a dip in it or is flat, if flat won't be too difficult, if curved I could probably still get away with a flat panel any sheet metal shop could easily do except for the corner troughs but I can weld my old ones to it easy enough

Anyway will be interesting to see what comes from your body man

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks again your thread had some good pics to get an idea of what is involved

Can you tell me if the panel is actually flat across the top?

Don't want to think about getting one from the US due to shipping costs

I might talk to the restoration guy first to see if it can be made if not then option 2

Here's an interesting video of his showing how make repair panels with simple tools -


Also here is some pics of some work he's done on a 72 Mach 1RHD - http://www.tealecustomauto.com/current-projects/25-mustang

Thanks again

 
Yup, it is fairly easy and amazing what one can do with basic hand tools, a sheet of metal, and lots of patience. I used to do this all the time instead of using reproduction patch panels.

 
Had a talk to Rob today who gave me some advice

He could make the panel but would need to fabricate some tooling which will be costly or

Either remove the whole panel and dolly it back into shape or my option 2 of welding in a flat patch leaving about 1/2 inch edge on original panel and lap welding 1/4 inch in or I could flange it also for a better edge. With the lap weld it was suggested to lightly tap each weld as I go to bring it down slightly

Can also just butt weld it  but more chance of warping I reckon not to mention all the holes I will blow in the old metal

Only problem he mentioned would be if the panel is not completely flat but with a slight curve hence my previous question

So if any of you many coupe/grande owners would be kind enough to let me know or post a photo similar to my photo indicating if flat, curved or whatever would be greatly appreciated although I will reinstall the trunk lid  for a visual it would be nice to know in advance

Oh and if anyone looked at his video the music is from his customer with the Mach 1 which is still in Rob's garage not progressing due to him putting his funds into his music - got his priorities wrong I reckon although I do like his music

 
Yup, it is fairly easy and amazing what one can do with basic hand tools, a sheet of metal, and lots of patience.  I used to do this all the time instead of using reproduction patch panels.
Agree entirely but not everyone has the patience or skill to do it

I'm happy to make small patches so far and will attempt this larger one

Worst that can happen is I remove my mistake, learn and start again

Enjoy your posts especially electrical stuff and I'm not far off doing the wiring and dash so might bug you occasionally, sorry

 
OzCoupe72,

According to my body man that replaced mine, there is a curve to it.

mustang7173
Thanks mustang7173

I will probably have to install the trunk lid to get an idea of the curve required but would have been handy to have a good panel or vehicle to get some measurements from

 
OzCoupe72,

I spoke to my body man again and he stated that the trunk lid has the same curve. It almost looks flat. Good luck, and keeps posted with pictures.

mustang7173

 
OzCoupe72,

I spoke to my body man again and he stated that the trunk lid has the same curve. It almost looks flat. Good luck, and keeps posted with pictures.

mustang7173
Thanks again, I had a look at my trunk lid and yes it has a slight curve on the top of the front edge but the curve I've been asking about all along is the inwards curve from front to back as in my photo which shows a ruler across the middle of the panel

It would be handy to know what is the curve and maximum depth in the center of the panel or is it actually flat?

Perhaps you don't have your vehicle with you so if anyone else can check this and perhaps a photo I would be grateful

I will create a thread on this repair next couple of weeks

 
Finally got a new section welded in.

I decided to cut out a section and flange the edges for a more even lap weld, note the angles at the corners to allow the flange tool to work

I usually butt weld but in this case decided a lap weld with a few plug welds for good measure would work better

The marks you can see in the last photo are from the shrinking disc as I ended up with a lot of oil canning

I can vouch for the shrinking disc, works great, but took me a couple of hours to get it right

I will need to use a fair bit of body filler unfortunately as the edges had sunk lower than expected due to the welding but I'm not about to redo this so will just take my time and layer it putting a first layer of fiber fill

Not the ideal repair but can't get a replacement panel and I want to get on with the rest of my project after this little hurdle

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