If you live in the northern climes, you are familiar with the effects of salt-covered winter roads. Our Challenger had spent most of its existence in the northeast, and was in dire need of some fresh sheetmetal.
In typical fashion, the lower half of the rear quarters, where salt and water can accumulate, showed the worst rot, and we wanted to attack that before the problem grew worse. Fortunately, the aftermarket has begun to offer some interesting replacement parts for this purpose. To repair the outer wheel housings and lower quarters, we looked to The Paddock. And since we were concerned only with the lower half of the quarters, we had the perfect opportunity to try out Eastwood's PN 31102 No-Weld kit.
In recent years, many body shops have turned to adhesive technology in situations where welding is not mandatory. Lower quarters are one such area. Benefits include the elimination of tin corrosion at the panel joint, the prevention of heat warpage in the panels (a possibility when welding), and an improved safety factor (no sparks when working around fuel tanks).
The Eastwood kit contained most of the tools and enough adhesive material to do a 1x1 square-foot patch; we ordered 10 additional packages of adhesive so we would have more than enough for two 6-foot lower rear-quarters and the outer wheelhouses. Now follow along as Jeff Cox gets into the sticky business of panel replacement.
