Sheetmetal work

I ordered the new quarter panel for the passenger side and it's the usual piece that goes about halfway up the side between the wheel well and the seam by the rear window. My body guy seems worried about it because he would prefer to weld on the seam instead of on the flat side of the body (by seam, I mean the edge where the side transitions to the fastback). How big of a deal is this? Should I be worried about body filler in that area potentially failing at some point? I figure that if he preps it correctly then there should be nothing to worry about, right?

There should be very little filler if done correctly. If he is hesitant about it maybe you should consider another body man. I stitch weld mine with a TIG and have no problems. I have done a lot of quarters and patch panels and the only filler I use is for grind marks.

So nothing to worry about then...that's what I thought but I wanted to make sure. To be honest, I'm curious why he's hesitant about it. He does good work, I know several people that have had him do their bodywork (including a member of this forum), so it just makes me wonder.

Probably because the cut is a very large line to weld. As Caspian said if done correctly it is not to big of a deal at all. This is one of those things that should be done with care and take time to do.

i have same quarters to put on. what is a good price per hour to install sheet metal?

I'm getting charged $40/hr. He quoted me 25 hours to replace the quarter panel and outer wheel housing, including all body work. Paint was part of the base quote.

Probably because the cut is a very large line to weld. As Caspian said if done correctly it is not to big of a deal at all. This is one of those things that should be done with care and take time to do.

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Yeah, that's why I'm not concerned with the time...I'd rather pay a bit more and get a quality job done.