I need to repair the piece below on my 1994 Civic hatch. Rusted out due to 15 years of rain leaking and pooling in the corner before I sealed it (poor original seal by Honda).

The local j-yard told me I could cut off a slice of their junkers for FREE to replace it. I'd like to know if there are any tricks or details I should know before I go hacking up one of their cars.... ie., how much should I take, what lines should I cut along to make it easiest to replace, etc. etc. I'm a n00b at paint & body so bear with me, and thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Make sure you seal the patch from the inside and not just the outside. Seen countless patch that rust from the inside out because of improper precautions taken after the patch is finished. I use an epoxy primer, then on all the welded edges, use a weather resistent caulk to prevent water from coming in through any open edges.

 

I say if they're letting you have it for free then measure out what you think you'll need, then take an extra foot. The last thing you want to do is end up wishing you had taken more of the panel from them when you have to cut more of your car than you intended.

In fact it would be best to actually cut into your car and find out exactly how far the rust goes before you even touch the junkyard cars.

 

thats yuckie!

if you remove the interior quarter/ trunk trim on the inside and that weatherstrip you should be able to see the factory seem where the quarter panel was spot welded on.

thats where you should remove/ replace the old piece.

as far as how much to cut, here's a link to the pic of replacement quater panel...
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...y5=OUTER+PANEL

i would get as much of the # 2 or 6 as possible

you might need part of the tail lamp pocket also

hope this helps

 

Good ideas. Yes, I'll take that quarter panel trim out and the tail lamp to have a good look around. I do know it's a really awkward piece to work with - the corner is pretty inaccessible from the inside.

Also, for future patching in other areas of the underbody - what grade/gauge of sheet metal should I be using?

 

WOuld be better cutting it off that rusted metal and put some new metal sheeting. That's one of the worst rust you will ever have because it have already eating the metal. I have rust like that and have grind it off but the rust still there. There are good sheeting metal out there you can use but it expensive, I just use the home depot sheeting metal which around 20 or 22 guage. It not the best but it what i can afford. = ( If you know how to weld and do have one then your o.k

 

I cut a slice from a junkyard Civic, and had someone take apart the jigsaw puzzle and put it back together. Project not finished - still needs paint and putty - but it's better than it was before.

Existing piece cut out:


Replacement piece going in (tacked in place):