What ever you do don't cut the quarters until you have made your new piece. You can use your old to make the new and it's a lot easier to do it while it's on the cruiser.
What I did.
Weld some braces on your tub to keep it from moving. Make sure they crisscross the body.
I used 16ga which is thicker than stock. 18ga is closer to stock. I wanted something that was beefier.
First thing to do is get the rear radius made. I cut a piece that was taller than what I was going to need and longer as well. Took a piece of 2 inch pipe and strapped it to one sawhorse and formed my rear radius from just bending it slightly and testing the fit. I would think a 3 or 4 inch piece of PVC would be even better.
Once that is done you have to get the curve above the bumper done so you can start the forming of the rest of the panel. Use a piece of cardboard and trace out the curve. Leave enough material 1/2- 3/4 inch to make the lip on the bottom. You have to use a hammer and dolly to make this section. You just need to do enough to make the panel sit where it can be held in place. I used sheet metal screws to hold it in place. The idea is to have enough material on the top edge that you will eventually have to cut it off.
Now comes the fun part. Basically your using your old quarter as the pattern. Trace out the quarter and then add 1/2-3/4 of metal for the lip on the bottom. Don't do anything with the sides or top yet. Cut the bottom profile. Then take out a hammer and start forming the edge. A hammer and dolly work well when your beating this out. The object is to get it fairly close. Make some slits in the bottom curves to give the metal some relief. Once you have it pretty well roughed out you can take it off and work it with a hammer and dolly. A big brick chisel works well for pounding on the back of the bends you just made to make the 90 degree angles more defined.
Once you have the bottom done you can do the top. Put the skin back on using the sheet metal holes you original used. Make a line where you want to cut off the top part. I think I did mine around a half inch from where the radius for the hard top starts. Take a cutoff wheel and follow this line cutting though your new sheet metal as well as the old but not through the backside sheet metal; that is the backside of the hardtop channel. On mine I left area around the gas tank filler alone. This makes it easier for you so you don't have to form that as well.
Once cut you can take the new sheet metal off and start working on taking the old sheet metal off. I used an air chisel getting mine off. A spot weld bit or even just a drill bit works. Now that it is off your new sheet metal should fit perfectly.
Now all you need to do is bend the ends. Honestly I just marked mine and took them to a sheet metal guy and had him bend them. If you want to go another route you could use a vise and a hammer and bend them. Then finish the 90 degree angles with the chisel. All you have to do then is cut them to length.
Takes about 3 hrs to make a panel and a whole hell of a lot of hammering.
What I did.
Weld some braces on your tub to keep it from moving. Make sure they crisscross the body.
I used 16ga which is thicker than stock. 18ga is closer to stock. I wanted something that was beefier.
First thing to do is get the rear radius made. I cut a piece that was taller than what I was going to need and longer as well. Took a piece of 2 inch pipe and strapped it to one sawhorse and formed my rear radius from just bending it slightly and testing the fit. I would think a 3 or 4 inch piece of PVC would be even better.
Once that is done you have to get the curve above the bumper done so you can start the forming of the rest of the panel. Use a piece of cardboard and trace out the curve. Leave enough material 1/2- 3/4 inch to make the lip on the bottom. You have to use a hammer and dolly to make this section. You just need to do enough to make the panel sit where it can be held in place. I used sheet metal screws to hold it in place. The idea is to have enough material on the top edge that you will eventually have to cut it off.
Now comes the fun part. Basically your using your old quarter as the pattern. Trace out the quarter and then add 1/2-3/4 of metal for the lip on the bottom. Don't do anything with the sides or top yet. Cut the bottom profile. Then take out a hammer and start forming the edge. A hammer and dolly work well when your beating this out. The object is to get it fairly close. Make some slits in the bottom curves to give the metal some relief. Once you have it pretty well roughed out you can take it off and work it with a hammer and dolly. A big brick chisel works well for pounding on the back of the bends you just made to make the 90 degree angles more defined.
Once you have the bottom done you can do the top. Put the skin back on using the sheet metal holes you original used. Make a line where you want to cut off the top part. I think I did mine around a half inch from where the radius for the hard top starts. Take a cutoff wheel and follow this line cutting though your new sheet metal as well as the old but not through the backside sheet metal; that is the backside of the hardtop channel. On mine I left area around the gas tank filler alone. This makes it easier for you so you don't have to form that as well.
Once cut you can take the new sheet metal off and start working on taking the old sheet metal off. I used an air chisel getting mine off. A spot weld bit or even just a drill bit works. Now that it is off your new sheet metal should fit perfectly.
Now all you need to do is bend the ends. Honestly I just marked mine and took them to a sheet metal guy and had him bend them. If you want to go another route you could use a vise and a hammer and bend them. Then finish the 90 degree angles with the chisel. All you have to do then is cut them to length.
Takes about 3 hrs to make a panel and a whole hell of a lot of hammering.
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