I live in Maine and have a 92hatch with a built a6/z6 motor and a custom turbo setup. My rear quarter panel on the drivers side is shot. The part of the lip is completely gone and inside the gas door is rusted also. The passenger side quarter panel isnt rusted that bad but will eventually need replacing.

Also the roof has a section that is rusted where the molding is it starts where the roof and windshield meet and is about 7 inchces long, I tried to wire brush it and was going to have it painted but the rust went through so i slapped some bondo in there and sealed the molding back down.

My question is should i replace the rear quarter panels and then have the roof fixed or do you guys think thats too much money to put into a hatch? There are 0 hatches in Maine without rust so its either fix this one or drive to where it doesnt snow and buy another one and then swap my motor and everything into it.

If I have this fixed I am going to have new rear quarter panels welded in. If the cost is too much to fix both rear quarter panels and the roof i will just have the one rear quarter done and the roof and then save more to do the other side. Right now i have 2k to spend on the body work. So the question is do i fix this one or buy another one in a state where it does snow? I figure if i fix this one then i know what I have versus buying another one in a different state that could have rust in places i cant see or having it rust here in Maine because its 12 year old metal.

 

TTT

 

Unless you have something that you absolutely love and cant get rid of, strip what you have and find a clean shell.

Rich

 

I am just trying to figure out if i should buy a new one or fix this one because i have suspension and stuff to put on but dont want to have to switch everything over if i buy a new car. I figure if i fix what i have for 2k then it might be worth keeping because i only payed 500 for it and i dont think i could find another mint car that needs no work for 2500 considering i would have to take time off of work and go pretty far south to find a decent hatch.

 

Replace them. The way the panel is engineered with the rest of the rear end, water and **** collects in this pocked by the wheelwell and has nowhere to escape. Hence the typical honda quarterpanel rust.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SJcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Unless you have something that you absolutely love and cant get rid of, strip what you have and find a clean shell.

Rich</TD></TR></TABLE>

I work at a body shop and have known people in the field my whole life and thats your best option
And to prevent it wash your car well, wheel wells behind bumpers and so on, that will pretty much keep a car from rusting.

 

If all hondas rust by the wheel wells then wouldnt it be better to fix what i have for 2k then buy a new hatch for 2k? I mean even if i do find a hatch with no rust for 2k, the hatch with no rust IS going to rust before the one with brand new rear quarters in it i would think. Remember i live in Maine.

 

it's the salt that makes it rust go with what kid honda said and by a new shell and keep it washed if you can afford to do it. it's the best long term fix. you just gotta better evaluate your options. replacing entire qtr panels is not a small job in any way. in fact its kinda ****** difficult. just fixing by welding in a patch of new sheet metel is also one of your options. BUT rust is like ****** car cancer. it vary rarely ever goes away completely. choose the option that best fits you budget and/or skills with a welder. personally, i would just weld in some new sheet metel. i've welded in new sheet metel lotsa times and painted my fair share of cars so it's no big deal if it comes back.... which it will. do what's best for your situation/skills/budget.

-david

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JakeIsCool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Replace them. The way the panel is engineered with the rest of the rear end, water and **** collects in this pocked by the wheelwell and has nowhere to escape. Hence the typical honda quarterpanel rust.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is key and the engineered design will rust in time if you live in a snow state. Period. You just can't escape it unless you garage your car the entire winter.

I've got quotes from various body shops to weld in new panels between 300-$400/side.

I actually plan on just cutting out the entire rusted area and fabricating fiberglass panels and mold it into place.

 

I like the new shell idea. I mean this is gonna be a 300whp street car. cars crash, cars get hit. civic are super cheap, you could get a whole new car and all types of replacement parts for 2k easily. Then you have 2 and 2 is better than 1.

Also I dont think the overall conditon of your hatch warrents doing a full overhaul of the rear when the rest of it needs work too. if it was mint besides the rust maybe...well i wouldent, but I wouldent make fun of you like I will if you get both sides replaced

 

civic quarters dont rot from being dirty,, they rot from the plastic wheelwell trim and from the roof gutter tubes leaking into the rocker/wheelwheel, which has no drains. there is a plastic plug but its 2" off the bottom.

if you ever find a clean EF, immediately remove the plastic wheelwell strips, pop out the plastic quarter vent plugs and drill some holes in the bottom of the rocker. they rot from the inside out.

also, coathanger your gutter drain tubes every so often.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bailhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I like the new shell idea. I mean this is gonna be a 300whp street car. cars crash, cars get hit. civic are super cheap, you could get a whole new car and all types of replacement parts for 2k easily. Then you have 2 and 2 is better than 1.

Also I dont think the overall conditon of your hatch warrents doing a full overhaul of the rear when the rest of it needs work too. if it was mint besides the rust maybe...well i wouldent, but I wouldent make fun of you like I will if you get both sides replaced </TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you trying to say my cars a piece of ****? LOL

I kinda like the idea of the rust....total sleeper haha.

Oh and by the way, i seriously dont think im going to have new rear quarters put in because the guy at the body shop said 1200 a side which includes new rear quarters, labor and the paint. I think ill just cut the rust out and weld new pieces in or make bailhatch do it I just dont want to have a 300hp car all rusted out. i want it to look atleast half decent.

In the mean time ill just keep my eyes peeled for a decent hatch, i have the money to buy one but i would rather not buy one up here because of the salt and **** making them rust. Its impossible to find a hatch up here with absolutely no rust on it. So its either keep patching this shitbox up or go out west and get one.

What kind of sheet metal should i use to weld in to fix the quarter panels?

 

stock sheetmetal is paper thin. http://www.slhonda.com is one place to get a brand new oem quarter,, which is like rocker to roof, doorjam to tail light.
you could remove your entire side by drilling the spotwelds and migging new spots in. i think the qtr is around $450.

 

You also have the option to find a totalled car and cut out replacement sections.





I had a guy in california cut these out. Very good condition and i only paid $25 bucks a side. I will be having a body shop replace these on my car. Only the area that is rusted will be used. I dont want to try and place those large sections on the car.

 

thats an incredible price. i just cut a crx driver side quarter off a few days ago and wouldnt go through the effort again for less than $60.

**edit**
thinking some DA guys might read this thread,, i have a full passenger quarter for sale. doorjam to taillight, roof to rocker from a 90 integra coupe, rust free. shameless plugs feed my family.

 

I replaced mine, will get pic up ASAP... DOnt try and find a new shell. If you like/love the car keep it, just make sure the person who does the work is good and knows what their doing. Mine was replaced for about $400 and its flawless and guarenteed

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridHatchC1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I replaced mine, will get pic up ASAP... DOnt try and find a new shell. If you like/love the car keep it, just make sure the person who does the work is good and knows what their doing. Mine was replaced for about $400 and its flawless and guarenteed</TD></TR></TABLE>

did you replace the whole quarter panel or just the part that was rusted? Id like to see pics.

 

1turbosnatch, that slow grey EG around here had the rear 1/4 replaced with patches sort of like the blue ones up top. I watched them blend it in. it came out right around the "half decent" mark that you are shooting for. I think spending 3-600 on that type of thing is the way to go. I'm going to try and form my own patches, maye out of some other fender or something, since i'm shooting a little lower on the cosmetic scale than you and would rather put the $ into going fast, stopping fast, or turning fast. But for $25 a side thats a killer deal! too bad all the ones in maine are jjjjjjunk.

 

You might also want to ask around since there might be a company that just manufactures the rear wheel well section. At least that's the impression I got from the body shop that gave me an estimate before.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bailhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1turbosnatch, that slow grey EG around here had the rear 1/4 replaced with patches sort of like the blue ones up top. I watched them blend it in. it came out right around the "half decent" mark that you are shooting for. I think spending 3-600 on that type of thing is the way to go. I'm going to try and form my own patches, maye out of some other fender or something, since i'm shooting a little lower on the cosmetic scale than you and would rather put the $ into going fast, stopping fast, or turning fast. But for $25 a side thats a killer deal! too bad all the ones in maine are jjjjjjunk.</TD></TR></TABLE>


That better have been a typo LOL

If i can get the rear quarters fixed then ill do that. But my point was if im going to spend 1500+ on fixing the car im going to fix all of the rust, but if im going to just fix it to make it work or to pass inspection then ill just weld pieces in.

By the way do the junkyards cut the pieces out for you or do you have to cut them out yourself?

 

Does anyone know of a good source to get used rear quarter panels? Ive called every place in Maine with no luck. Nobody has panels that arent rusted and cant have any shipped in because no one will cut them out without the person looking at them.

Does anyone make fiberglass panels or anything?


Modified by 1TurboHatch at 1:16 PM 1/13/2005

 

most junkyards wont let customers dick with stuff like that for insurance/liability purposes. bonding fiberglass to such thin metal, especially in maine, with the frequent temperature cycles, would be tricky. it will eventually Delaminate because they dont expand and contract at the same rate. welding sheetmetal is your best bet.

 

ok then who knows any good sources to get some. Id rather not spend 400 bucks on news ones because i cant put them in myself, id rather weld in a section myself.

I need both sides but more importantly i need the drivers side, id say i need a section that includes the gas tank door and the wheel well or atleast the rear section of the wheel well.

 

I made a post on a few boards and got an email from a guy that had a totaled 92 integra hit in the front. Luckily he was willing to cut out the sections i wanted. Just make a few posts. " WTB: Rear Quarter Sections "

 

Well i decided to have the rear quarter panels replaced. When the guy from the body shop got the 1/4 panel off there was a lot of rust in the inner 1/4 panel that he had to replace with new metal patches but overall it looks great. It cost a little more than he originally told me because of the rust inside the quarter panel but atleast that got replaced too. I will post some pictures up when i get the car back.

BTW where are the drains on a 92-95 civic hatchback? I want to make sure they arent clogged or anything. I think my a/c drain is clogged because sometimes when taking corners i can hear water sloshing around. i dont have a/c anymore if that matters.


Modified by 1TurboHatch at 11:03 AM 2/12/2005


Modified by 1TurboHatch at 11:03 AM 2/12/2005