57 lower quarter body line?

[Shaker71]

Hello,

I found a bondo repair on my Los Angeles 57 in the right rear lower quarter area. I ordered a lower rear patch panel and there’s a body line stamped into the panel a few inches from the panel bottom where it curves under the car.

Since most of my right quarter and all of my left quarter are intact I checked and don’t believe there was supposed to be a body line. Would someone be kind enough to look at their lower rear quarter and report back on if there’s supposed to be a body line?

Thank you,

Bill

[Rusty57]

Without a picture I am just guessing.

Is that an offset so the new and old panels overlap? That is a technique used to eliminate the need to butt weld thin steel.

[Shaker71]

No, I will use a flange tool to make that for a smooth fit.

About 4 inches from the top of the patch panel there’s a very slight crease part way through the curve of the panel. It’s like an intentional body line. I bought the panel from Thunderbird HQ in Concord, CA and it appears they got it from Casco because I can see the Casco sticker under theirs. It’s painted red oxide like an original replacement body panel, but don’t think Ford ever made one for just the back lower quarter.

When I get to the shop tomorrow I can post a photo that will show the line. I can’t imagine anyone would go to the trouble of adding this bend unless it was originally how the panel was supposed to be. It has a perfectly curved surface and then the bend creating a body line. If the 57’s had a curve and no line I’ll hammer it out before installation. If they have the line then I’ll need to rework the left quarter too.

I appreciate your reply.

[Shaker71]

Here’s a photo of the patch panel. The body line in the panel is slight right as the curve begins. I don’t have another car to compare and need the help of someone with a 57 to look at theirs.

Thank you,.

Bill

[ward 57]

I guess I'm not picturing where it's going. Here is a picture of my rear quarter panel. Lots of curves to meet up with the tail light housing.

[MarkR]

That panel should be smooth as a babies butt. Here’s a shot from Hills online catalog and a 57 I restored.

[1957Birdman]

Some of the best patch panels for early T-Birds were produced by Custom Autocrafters. The company was a father and son operation. When the son died the father chose to sell the jigs used to make the panels and close the business. The buyer was CASCO. I would think that CASCO has the same quality panels as Custom Autocrafters did, assuming they were using the new jigs. You may want to check with the CASCO tech line to confirm and ask about the body line.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

[MarkR]

Some of the best patch panels for early T-Birds were produced by Custom Autocrafters. The company was a father and son operation. When the son died the father chose to sell the jigs used to make the panels and close the business. The buyer was CASCO. I would think that CASCO has the same quality panels as Custom Autocrafters did, assuming they were using the new jigs. You may want to check with the CASCO tech line to confirm and ask about the body line.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

That’s right. 20 years ago when I was restoring our birds I bought my panels from Warren at Custom Autocrafters. It was my understanding that they had purchased the original Budd Company stamps. Budd made the 55-57 Tbird bodies for Ford. I have a friend now thinking of restoring a 57 so I tried their number, not good anymore. I posted the inquiry on another forum today and was told about Casco buying the stamps. My body shop told me they were the best panels they had ever used. I’ll find out tomorrow if the stamps at Casco are the old originals from Budd.

[MarkR]

FYI……Got an answer from Jim at CASCO on this on another forum. As Lew stated years ago they did indeed buy all the equipment, tools and instructions from Custom AutoCrafters. Good to know superior quality is still available.
It’s my experience our vendors try not to double up on reproducing parts such as body panels, interiors and many others. They sell each others instead. I think we have all received parts with tags or stickers from a different vendor than we ordered from so it’s probable most vendors are using Casco for body panels.

[Rusty57]

I will jump back in and offer a few comments. I agree with Mark that while we have choices for many reputable supply houses, there are few actual sources for most of the parts specific to these classic TBirds. The relatively low demand does not support the economics for reproducing these parts.

Body panels are a perfect example. The only reason we have access to them is because someone took action to save the tooling. Even having the tooling, the producer needs access to a large enough press and talented people who can set up and run the process.

As I look at the pictures from Shaker71 I have a few ideas to share. One is that in order to save costs the producer did not set up the final step in the stamping process. There is often one last “finishing” die to shape the final contours.

Another thought is that the tooling is wearing so it is no longer capable of producing parts with the original fit and finish.

A third is that the panel he received was handled, stored, or shipped improperly. For example, if someone tried to handle that panel horizontally by holding the lower edge, that could create the crease we are seeing.

Whatever the cause, that “body line” is not there on our ‘57.

[Shaker71]

This dialog has been very helpful. I’ve decided to strip the quarter panel to remove the Bondo and determine how high up on the quarter the rust goes. The tail lights are removed from the car so I can see the back side of the quarter panel clearly and the “Bondo patch” is small and very near the bottom as evidenced by the blobs of Bondo that oozed onto the back of the panel. I’m thinking that cutting the repair panel at the line and then the quarter with enough material left to create a flange will work out. I won’t have to worry about the line in the patch panel that way.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thank you,

Bill

[Shaker71]

I stripped the Bondo from the lower quarter then drilled out the spot welds and cut off the rusted part. It was a small 10” W x 2” tall section with rust through. The previous repair was performed by hammering in the area with the rust and then slathering a 2” thick smear of Bondo over the area. I also found the front area of the inner quarter had rust and cut that section off the formed a new replacement. Then I mated the new lower quarter with the old with a butt weld. It turned out well and the form is good. I used the fender skirt to make sure I had the correct profile. Now I need to blend the paint and move on.

[Rusty57]

Great work! Thanks for sharing.