I'll take your word for it. My car doesnt have the seam. Rubber baby buggy bumpers, remember?

 

whatever it is, that gap needs to be closed up. i did see a NOS tail panel at Carlisle last weekend, $450..........ouch. it makes me appreciate all the NOS sheet metal we have for the '68.

 

It seams you have the skill to get it done and the car will be nicer for it. I wouldnt cut the tail pan back out. Thinking back you said they used a lot of mud to fix this to begin with. So the quarter being the same it is probably that.

 

well, unfortunately some areas are gonna still get a good amount of mud. i just can't replace every panel on the car. i'm just trying to keep it to a minimum. the really bad areas, that's what i'm replacing. but one of the areas just happens to be the drivers door frame and rocker.

 

I bent pieces for the rocker in my '78. It was rusted right in the same area. Still a lot of mud here and there but hey Boyd did it too.

 

Nothing wrong with filler. Only how much, or how thick. So far I've never done a car and not had a little filler on it.

 

They come from the factory that way. I agree, my rust free car has some issues on the doors and fenders that is gonna require a skim coat to fix. Multiple pin dents and a crease or two. I bought a stud gun and it gets the dents up to a level that doesnt need much filler. I wish I had the skill to work the metal without filler but I'm dreaming. Even with years of fixing trim in a polish shop I cant seem to get the hammer dolly chit down.

 

that's the truth. everything always has a little filler someplace. keep it as thin as possible. metal work is definitely an art. some people have it and some don't. but half the battle is understanding the proprieties of metal and how it shrinks/stretches, the effects of bending, etc. etc.

 

I sure don't have the art of working metal down! I can get it pretty close, but the last car I had painted I told the painter to go over my work first. He and a helper spent a couple hours perfecting it, so I felt good it only took them that long! LOL

 

Right! I have confirmed if I ever want my car the way I see it in my head. I better bust out my check book and write a large one! I have primed it. Left all the dents so the painter will see whats what. If they want to strip my primer off so be it. But I just need to drive this thing.