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Hi all, so I have to replace both rear quarter panels on my EG hatch. Looking online and there is lots of info regarding this so wasn’t looking for a link on how to.My questions are more in line with recommendations based on your experiences with fixing the wheel wells and what products helped you along the way.
Is there some type of remanufactured wheel well patch kit out there? Searched but couldn’t locate anything. Wondering if everyone is just making their own stuff out of sheet metal.
When I go to replace some of the small patches (like between the rear quarter panel and the door on the lower side of the car) what thickness metal did you guys use. The quarter panel replacement pieces are very thin compared to the factory metal from the car.
Are there any off the shelf products that helped you in the process? Like noticed there are some rust converters at Pep Boys but honestly not sure if it’s best to simply cut or grind away the rust versus spray some product on it and wait.
Any recommendations on what you did in terms of welding a flat piece to the car versus crimping the metal on the car then laying over it the new panel (seen both methods online)? Seems like the crimping might be easier in terms of having the panel flush but I could also see just using magnets on the inside of the car too. Curious on your experiences and recommendations.
In terms of fixing this rust issue I was planning on welding it all down, grind then add some rust inhibitor or sealer in place to prevent it going forward (wouldn’t mind a recommendation of product either). www.civic-eg.com has a pretty good write up on the steps so I feel good about that just wondering some of the finder details and your experiences.Called around lots of body shops and to my surprise no one is willing to take on this line of business for whatever reason...sort of disappointed in that but I don’t mind doing the work myself. Its fun learning new stuff on the car for sure.Some pics below of what I am up against.I can post some other ones too if someone has a specific response or wanted to know the extent of the rust.Much appreciated gents!
even though you are replacing the rear quarter panel with a new one there is still rust at the tire well and corner, in front of the rear tire. Honestly, if it was me, I would ditch the car and find another one. You're in ATL, I'm sure there are plenty of Civic hatchbacks in good condition, with no rust.
Appreciate the suggestion on getting a no rust ride but I was anticipating doing this level of work on the car when I bought it. Its a project car for the long term for me so I was looking forward to taking on new experiences with welding and body fabrication. Car is gutted and I was planning on doing a full restoration on the entire car anyways. This will be a track car sitting in my garage most likely never to see wet conditions. Was hoping there would be somebody out there that might make a wheel well replacement part for it since it would cut down my custom fabrication time but if I am going to making it piece by piece so be it. But agree with you easy way out would be to ditch it and get a no rust EG.
If you saw a picture of the other side I think you would puke for sure, the side I posted I actually think isn't so bad. I know I saw another post of a guy who had similar issues and did a full body restoration on his (I think it was an EK) a while back, was hoping he might chime in. I'll try to look up his post....maybe I'll PM him if I could figure out the member.
Tackling rust repair has never been something I want to deal with. If you see rust at one spot, likely there will be other places, especially in an area hidden from plain sight. Up to you really.
Added some more pics just because I was curious on what the local fabrication cost might be so I got some quotes (if I got lazy and it was reasonable). Initial price was $3,500 to do the work and that is with me providing both panels and rockers. Looks like I'll be doing this myself as its all in labor hours. Checked some of the other areas on the frame and the frame looks fine unless you guys see any other issues that I may not be seeing. Some areas that I noticed will need to be cleaned up are where the bottom of the rockers connect the metal is shot towards both rear wheel wells but its not longer then 12 inches so I figured I could fabricate those pieces and then weld to the frame.
Took both doors off and front fenders to further inspect any potential rust damage, nothing crazy which is good. Few spots of rust but I sanded them down to the metal and nothing was thru. Might need some work on the front driver side fender section but nothing huge like the rear of the car and the rockers. Most of it I can handle. Finally got another quote for the panel work 1,500 to 2,000 which isn't too bad and a lot cheaper then my first quote of $3,600 since I was weighing up my options for months of fabrication vs one week. Not in a rush to get this on the road but would be nice to work on the fun stuff vs the stuff behind the drywall sort of speak. Posted some pics too. If anyone cares to wonder each door weighs ~48 pounds. Was tossing up the idea of CF doors but not sure if its worth the $2k for them, still researching other options and also cutting down my doors some.
For base primer paint napa sells a 2 part epoxy CP400 crossfire it is great for bare metal tough as nails never had it fail and rust on the salty roads in Ohio. Best part it is cheap easy to apply.
Thanks for the suggestion, still going thru the web and researching the best stuff to use. This car will most likely never see any snow or rain since its a weekend track car for fun but I still plan to prep it well so this rust never comes back again. I haven't yet decided if I will source out the metal work or not. I feel I can handle the smaller stuff like in the engine bay etc and sand as much down to prep it just in case I do decided to have a local guy build out the metal. We shall see...
You probably already know this, but just to point out - CF doors won't protect you for **** in a collision. Would also make it harder to run windows that can be scrolled up/down, not even sure if that's possible (I seem to remember one brand of CF doors being advertised as supporting this, but it'd definitely add complication to that system). You said this is a wekend/track car so that may not concern you much.
For the cost of outsourcing the metal work you could easily just buy another hatch shell, but props to you if you can save/salvage it. The more of these chassis that can be kept on the road and in good condition the better. You're definitely going to have to be forming, cutting, and welding a lot of sheet metal for those quarter panels.
Anyway, best of luck to you. I hope something works out.
Figured as much with the CF doors but really just tossing around best ways to get the weight down as much as possible. Since I have the doors off now I'll take a closer look to see what I can cut out or even if I go CF route for the doors. Keep tossing around the fuel cell idea too with a lighter unit with less capacity. Yes, figured I could at this stage just get another hatch that has no rust but this project was intended to restore the car and not give up on it. Purpose was a longer term project with my kids so getting them and myself exposed to some metal work would be fun. I do at times get overwhelmed at the volume of custom metal work which is why I've reached out to some folks locally to see what it would cost. Little pieces here and there haven't been too bad. Plus piecing together a car like this is very enjoyable too, as in building every little piece together versus getting a fresh car ready to drop a motor in etc and it will give me the opportunity to experience new things on the hatch as well.
Sanded down the front fender frames and they look in decent shape. Some areas where there was rust just needed to be sanded down to metal. Inside the car is gutted now with the exception of the dash which will be next week. Floors look like decent shape small rust spots that I can patch myself. Then I'll take the motor out and de-grease this bizznatch. I couldn't believe the amount of dirt and crap in all the small areas of this car. There are so many areas where the previous owner literally cut corners to put patches on the to get things fixed BUT its been fun replacing these small pieces. In the end it will be rebuilt right and I'll know it will be a solid ride with many more fun years to come. I'll post some more pics of the fender frames soon.
That is pretty much the game plan. All rust out and restore to her old glory. Rust proof the sh$t out of her before a new paint job. There are some spots in the engine bay too but they seem very doable. I'll take some pics later tonight and post them. Should have started a build thread but this isn't getting worked on every weekend and there is too much to order to have this running up in the near term. Got new front fenders though.
Did some more sanding this past weekend. Conclusion rockers are really bad shape but I bought replacements for those (check box). I think I can handle fixing the wheel wells from a fabrication standpoint so going to attempt them over the next week or so then I'll tackle the rockers or get help. Areas that seem tough to reconstruct will be the sections where the rockers connect to both rear wheel wells as those ares from the pics are in pretty bad shape. Fender sections seem like decent shape from the pics there was some visible rust but I managed to sand everything out (planning on getting front fender wheel wells replaced too since the car never had them and I don't need any moisture getting in that section.
Request from anyone who has a gutted ride and could take a picture but I have no clue how the section where the rocker connects to the rear wheel well should look like because mines all rusted out. Trying to get an idea of the fabrication involved on what it should look like from the factory. Slim chance someone has a pic but worth a try. I'll try to look around the internet for a pic of it also. Also, if anyone has a pic of the rear section of the wheel well I wouldn't mind that also since mine is completely missing from rust.
I definitely do NOT recommend using the panel adhesive for this that we were talking about in your other thread. i'm not very good at fabbing up repair metal for those types of repairs, so i would most likely be sitting back looking at the car scratching my head lol.
Yeah I figured as much, at this point I pretty much tossed out that idea. I was just vetting out my options and gathering opinions before I go ahead and do something to only reverse it and go another route. No doubt all this will need to be welded together. I've only used a welder literally once before and it didn't come out too bad. I plugged up the antenna hole with a metal patch since I won't need it anymore (prefer the shaved look vs $5 antenna cover). Having a tough time dialing in the welder but I am sure I'll get the hang of it sooner rather then later. Once I get home I'll post a pick of the antenna now patched up since I sanded it now. Hopefully I won't get hit over the head with too many opinions on the welding product.
Here are the pics of the welder I am using. Got some more sanding done around the wheel wells on the front of the car. Driver side looks ok but Passenger side needs some work. Screwdriver went right thru a section but looks very do able. For all the rusted sections its nice to get some clean sections too once I busted out the degreaser and cleaned her up some. Pulled back both wiring harnesses going to the headlights and cleaned all surface areas and inspected for more sections with potential rust. Most of it just sanded off before it got worse.
Currently in the process of taking out the motor so I can get a better idea of any other rust issues around the engine bay. Will post something over the next two or so weeks. On a side note I was trying to finally get the wheels off and put this thing on jack stands but am a little unsure on what you think might work best. I get really nervous using jack stands (4 of them) squared out over the middle of the chassis and was wondering if you guys might have some suggestions. Bascially looking to stand the car up on its own with no wheels but having it secure enough because I've got three little kids at home and they always go into the garage and get into the car. I'll search around online too but maybe someone had a sturdy suggestion, was looking into putting stands on the front and rear of the car too so its really sturdy and won't jolt if bumped up against.
Up for this thread. I have the same problem but hopefully mine isn't as worse as yours. Very helpful guide tho, looking forward to tackling my rust bucket soon before it rusts away. LOL
Thanks for the bump and I think this section of the forum really doesn't seem to get too much activity or posts.
Good luck on your rust bucket project, take your time and do it right the first go and you'll be in good shape. Mine is going to take some time but this was expected, no rush on my end. It will be a great day when I remove all the rust, fabrication is done and I have a clean painted shell sitting in my garage - then the fun can begin....sort of speak.
Updates 4/15/19 - no pictures but removed the following:
1. Radiator removed and inspected areas on front frame for rust. Little spots here and there which can be sanded down. Not too bad relative to the rest of the ride.
2. Harness removal, all has been pulled back to the door frames with the exception of one or two connections under the IM
3. 2 additional mounts removed (tranny what is the AC mount) - no signs of rust around the frame where the mounts connect.
4. Valve cover, cam caps, cam removed. Tossed into trash.
Next plans are to take the head off, IM off and eventually drop the fuel tank for a replacement. Initially going to upgrade to a 5/7 gallon unit but I think with all the gutting going on and I am not trying to break any NA records I will settle upon a new replacement which is much cheaper then spending $500 and will do just fine.
Question though on folks who have had bent radiator frames. Mine looks like someone hit the bottom (most likely because the car sits just above the ground on the front lower portion of the radiator support. Have any of you rebent it by chance? I have seen some folks simply cut it off and install a new bar across the bottom. I don't plan on using the bottom bar anyways since I was planning a tucked radiator setup just curious on what you've done and what worked for your application.
03-07-2019, 06:49 AM
EG quarter panel suggestions (rust)
