I'm getting close to cutting the rusty quarter off of my car, i am only going to cut what i need to replace. The outer and inner wheel arch seem to be pretty far gone in addition to the typical honda/acura spot on the quarter panel. Is there anything i need to be concerned with, using an air cut off wheel, cutting around the gas filler? There is still gas in the car, i plan on cutting this portion out, any tips?

 

I just went at it, but some will say its best to drop the tank and all fuel to be safe. I literally put the template up, sharpie for the lines and started cutting. I got an air powered cutter but my tank is too small, think the minimum is 20lbs for a tank. Going back and forth with a battery powered cutter sucked a little but it got the job done. I wasn't planning on doing cuts for a long period of time so it worked for me. Best of luck!

 

I'd really like to not drop the tank, just because this aftermarket tank doesnt have a drain plug on it. I've also read that having some fuel in the tank isnt a big deal and it actually helps with the vapors? Who knows, you can write anything on the internet lol

 

I didn't drop mine, it was a local guy I was talking to about some fabrication work. He said when cars come into his shop they all have dropped tanks due to liability but all he does is restoration projects. I was pricing out the fabrication at one point just to see how much it was vs my time. Last thing I wanted to do was throw 10K at the car to have structural issues down the road so I was just seeing worst case what that would be. My situation was 2-3k of work but I've got rust in lots of areas some I think I can handle myself but like I said this guy does this professionally and for some time. I didn't drop the tank and didn't see any issues when I cut both quarters up. Didn't smell gas or anything like that as well. Check the gas cap, no leaks anywhere so I felt ok about doing the cuts. Now that I've got my fuel lines open its another story - I won't be doing any cutting until my fuel lines are off and tank is out but I was planning on replacing all those at some point.

Honestly draw your marks and make your cuts, Your going to want to drill out any spot welds too. There was a nice write up on HT and I think one of my posts had a link to this guys post about his process. There is also a guide on a forum called civic-eg.com or something like that.

 

you start cutting it yet

 

not yet, my harness replacement is taking longer than i expected. Cutting up that quarter and replacing it is next after i finish swapping cabin harnesses and put that back together.

 

Hear you on that, With limited time in my garage this rebuild of mine is taking time as well. Working on removing the heater core under the dash myself.