Fixing Rust

[Backlash2032]

Is there any place I could buy patch panels for the rear wheel wells?? Or do I have to make them myself?

Just wondering because I found rust in the rear quarters, and behind the little plastic cover in front of the rear wheels, not sure about behind the rear bumper, but yeah. I have my work cut out for me.

 

[hvyman]

Other than junkyards or people parting out cars on here no.

Might be better off swapping chassis with a better one andn using the parts off the current one if the interior is good. Just an option its upt o you on what you want to do,

 

[Grandavi]

Check your wheel wells too. Mine were perforated allowing water/dust into the quarter panel area (you can access it from the door in the hatch area). Once dirt/water starts sitting in there.. it can get pretty bad quickly. In general, (for Canada anyway) I use the $ point of about 2500.00 per side to seal them right if you cant do it yourself. So, yeah.. if you can get a shell, your better off providing it doesnt have the same problem. I hunted everywhere for a patch panel and also new wheel wells (to just do a cutout, reweld). They dont exist. While your checking.. pull your spare tire out and look under it for rust as well. You may have water in the spare tire hold which is common. Hatch seal or brake light seals can be the culprit for allowing water in. Probably the worst point on the MKIII is the quarter panel issues. The rest, to me, is all livable and doable.

 

[spencyg]

There is no supplier for any patch panels on the MK3. I'm right in the middle of rebuilding both wheel wells and arches on my car at the moment. It is painstaking work, but necessary if you want to keep your car any longer than a couple seasons. Up here in the Northeast, we don't have the option of just finding a rust-free shell...they don't exist. You fix what you have, or you don't have. Look at the Sweedish mk3 rebuild project on the build-up forum....lots of great detail on everything involved in rebuilding the rear wells.

Good luck...you're gunna need it!

SG in NE

 

[Grandavi]

Also, just to move you ahead a little (dont want to scare you with doom and gloom on the quarter panels), you should note that hand shaping the edge of the wheel well area on the quarter is difficult. (probably the hardest part) So if you want to have it done properly, and are only "mediocre" at shaping.. get that part done professionally by somebody very good if you want a non "wavy" body line there. Then afterwards, you can either spray the inside of the quarter with rust proofing or just dump oil on it (engine oil works) to help prevent moisture from reoccurring on the inside of the quarter). There is a wide body rear body part at Shine auto (fibreglass I believe) that I am probably putting on mine but first I am making sure the base is clean as possible (the previous owner used what looks like 1/8th inch of body fill on the entire quarter to shape it.. and I detest that approach.. lol.

 

[Backlash2032]

Ill try to post up some pictures within the week. The car isnt in my driveway so yeah.

Personally, I think it wouldnt be too bad making patch panels, but I guess ive never done it before. The only plus is that no one sees it. You just have to make it fit.

It was my goal to have atleast a rust free supra by the end of this winter, but im not sure if I'll be able to accomplish that. Im making very little money now..

 

[spencyg]

Fabricating patch panels is all fine and dandy until you come to a compound curve, then all hell breaks loose. I'm doing the PS fender well area right now, and can only manage to fabricate decent panels in small areas. I tried at first to tackle a larger area, but I was just going in circles. I've also been working metal for 15 years and have done MANY restorations. I haven't delved this deeply into a rust repair restoration though, so some of this stuff is new ground for me as well. I do have a suggestion on the fender arch lip re-creation. If you haven't cut and chopped yet, go out and buy a piece of 1/8x1/2 steel bar about 48 inches long. Work that to precisely re-create the arch in the fender, and then, before doing anything, cut just enough steel away in the fender arch to allow you to insert and tack in that new steel bar arch. That then defines everything moving forward and will make the end result far more precise. This is how I'm doing it.

A very good rule of thumb to work by is to never cut away more than you intend to replace in a single session. This allows you to keep fresh in your mind exactly what shape you're trying to re-create at all times. If you just remove the whole fender well or arch, you will NEVER get it back to the original shape because you've destroyed all of your guides. Methodical is key.

AND, rust repair sucks, no way around it.

 

[Grandavi]

Thats the problem the guy who fixed my quarters had as well. He did very well, but not good enough to make me happy. The lip of the wheel well is extremely difficult to hand shape because of that straight edge (the width has to be consistant) along with a bi-directional curve. Of all the cars I have owned, this is one of the most worthy of patch panels.. but Toyota never sold the tooling for the car.. so.. none available.. lol. Sucks.

 

[spencyg]

I have considered using this "oppertunity" to reshape the arches with a bit of flare, but decided against it. One thing that is going to be nice is that I am eliminating the inside "L" lip which typically hinders a tight fit with the wheel/tire combo. I'm also cutting the flare in the arch BEFORE it starts curving up into the rest of the fender in an attempt to only replace the flat(ish) section of the curve (easily replicated with a flat piece of sheetmetal bent around the arch). We shall see. If I had to replace part of that curved section, I'd probably just flare the hell out of the fender since it would be near impossible to get it to look "stock" and "right" without dumb amounts of body filler.

 

[Grandavi]

Im just going to pop the Kaze widebody fiberglass panel on the quarter and then be done with it.. lol. Its the cheapest fix for me (labor-wise) and with the front fender widebody group buy happening.. if that goes through, then the car will be done nicely.