We’ve removed the quarter panel on the 66 Mustang rebuild to find much more rust.  I think I need to check better for rust in future restoration jobs and I encourage you to do the same. The problem is that rust always spreads more than you see.  Just venting….I guess rust is something that you’re going to have after that many years.  Now that the quarter panel is removed, we found that the outer wheelhouse panel is rusted and needs to be replaced.

Removing The Quarter Glass

Before  we start taking the outer wheelhouse off, we’ll need to remove the quarter glass.  If we were repairing the Mustang in a garage, we would have already removed the glass.  However, we wanted to leave it in as long as possible to prevent the inside from getting wet.

We had the advantage of having the quarter off, which gave us easy access to the glass.  Although, this provides good photos to show where the bolts are located.  In the above photo you can see the two upper bolts holding the window regulator.

We already removed the inside quarter trim.  If the trim has not been removed, it will need to be removed to access the quarter glass bolts.  Once removed, you can use a 1/2 inch socket with an extension to remove the two upper bolts.

Lower Bolts

Once the upper bolts are removed, the lower bolts can be removed.  You can look at the pic to the left to see their location.

Locating Spot Welds

The side glass has been removed and now we can start removing the rusted outer wheelhouse.  To do this we will need to drill out more spot welds.  Once trick to help located the spot welds is by sanding over the spot weld locations.  This will highlight the spot welds making them easier to see.

Drilling Spot Welds

  Once the spot welds are located, we can use a center punch and hammer to made an indention in the center of the spot weld.  This will help seat the drill bit to prevent in from walking when drilling the spot weld.  This is important because if the hole is not drilled in the center of the weld, the spot weld will not be completely drilled out properly.

 

To remove all of the spot welds, follow along the flange on the entire length of the wheelhouse.  The method we are using to remove the spot welds is to drill using a small 9/64 inch followed by a bigger 5/16 inch bit.  Remember to use a cutting paste and use slow rpm when drilling.    There are other methods that can be used, such as a c-clamp style spot welder cutter.  However, without an air compressor, the cordless drill and drill bits will work fine.

Remove Outer Wheelhouse

   Once all spot weld have been drilled out, a seam buster can be used to separate the panels.  An air hammer can be used for this step, which can speed up the process, however can cause more damage than the seam buster.  I would prefer using a seam buster even if I am at a shop.

Some of the spot welds were separated from inside the car.  Once all of the spot welds are separated, we removed the outer wheelhouse.  Next, we will repair the flanges and prepare them for the new wheelhouse.

The Steps We Took

1. Remove the upper and lower bolts holding the rear quarter glass regulator.

2. Remove the quarter glass and regulator.

3. Locate spot weld locations holding the outer wheelhouse.

4. Indent the center of spot welds using a center punch and hammer.

5. Drill spot welds using 9/64 inch followed by 5/16 inch drill bits.

6. Separate the outer wheelhouse using a seam buster.