I think i have a problem, 73 i am looking at

I think i found another good deal however the rear quarter pic attached is puzzling me.  I am not overly familiar with the 73's but is the very bottom of the quarter panel behind the tire usually turned up?  I thought they were flat (parallel to the ground) where the quarter and outer wheelhouse are welded together. My 71's are flat.  Current owner said car was restored by a guy who owned a body shop as a father/son project at least 10 yrs ago and used all Ford body parts.  If it isn't all bondo'd then it is a good deal.  Not wanting to road trip for disappointment.  Current owner is not a car guy so he doesn't have much add'l info on the car.



There also appears to be either rust bubbling or bad paint on rocker panel in pic below on the left/rear portion.....any thoughts?

I see what you mean about turned up.

A bad pic...



In my experience which is not a lot, bubbling of paint is usually rust. But some memory from a long time ago also says it could be poor surface prep, such as a chemical left on.

If the rockers have bubbles then it has really bad rust. They are the last place you see bubbles. They were the only coated steel used on our cars.

Go look in person for sure. No regrets.

A little light on.

I asked for and got a cupla pics.



Also asked for another of the rocker. Looks like rust has set in.....



The car is an 8 hr drive and not sure it is worth the drive. Interior is in very nice shape and someone dropped in a 429 from a T-bird (C6). You can see the old school traction bar in the one pic. Contemplating doing a cheap Marti on it. Any additional thoughts/comments appreciated. Thx for the ones so far

I wonder if reproduction quarter panels have the turned up flange?

Looks like a bad spot for rust. Still kinda looks solid, with the pinch welds on the bottom of the rocker visible through the paint.

A 429 sounds like a whole lotta fun!

Looks like a hole lot of Bondo to me.

Looks like a hole lot of Bondo to me.

Click to expand...

+ 1

Got pics of inside of the qtr panels. Some evidence of mice. Looks like an old weld repair on outer wheelhouse. That being said there doesn't appear to be a bondo craze on either of them. Thoughts?

I don’t know for sure what to think of the photos. The quarter panels look similar to the Dynacorn ones since they seem to have that “signature” of the upward lip at the rear wheel well where the stock ones don’t.

In the last two picture it looks like there may be a lap joint of some sort on the trunk drop with some sort of seam sealer?

If it had rust bad enough years ago to justify double quarter panel replacement it might be worth taking a bore scope with you if you choose to look at the car in person. Looking in the trunk, I would take a hard look at the outer wheel house / quarter panel with a bore scope. Tail panel to quarter panel spot welds may also tell a tale. If at all possible I would try to look inside the rocker, seat belt bolt hole and bore scope...

It does seem like someone was pretty liberal with undercoating, liberal enough to possibly cover up things like lap joints.

How much is value affected if it is a patch that has a lap joint? It has to be better than bondo filling rust holes. Not as good as a NOS qtr panel replacement.

If they did not weld the lap joint solid water will get between the metal and make the filler and paint bubble. When someone does a half job one place you can bet the whole car is that way. Too many good ones out there to take a pig in a poke.