Anyone have any experience putting Tabco Quarter Panels on a 1970? The wheel lip on these is about one inch wider than the factory panel I removed. My question is, do I trim the wheel lip or leave it as is, wide? The only problem with trimming it is, the back of the wheel lip turns into a flange to connect the trunk drop off. If I trim the wheel lip, I’ll have to cut some of the flange in the back. It can be done but I wanted to hear if any others have wrestled through this yet.
Are the Tabco panels made to the 69 or 70 specs? 70 have a digger wheel opening then the 69 ones do. That was done due to the plans to offer 15 inch wheels in 70. But that never happened.
I have recently used a set. And yes I cut the lip down to the the stock width. Another problem that you will have is the wheel well. I think the quarters were designed to fit a 69 wheel well? Which is smaller than your 70’s. If possible I would use the tabco panel only for patches. Thats what I normally do. And retain as much of your origonal quarter panel as possible. I flatten the bottom of the quarter behind the wheel(were it attaches to the trunk drop off)And then reshape it like the origonal.
If you look closely you can see that this quarterpanel is four different pieces flush welded together
I’ve heard that they aren’t quite right for either 69 or 70, they need some modification either way. Bummer, but at least there’s something available.
Hello. Yes, they are the ones made for both the 1969 and 1970. I had to extend the rocker panel (move it back) about a half inch so it matched the quarter panel in that area.
Awesome. Thank you. You told me exactly what i wanted to know. Unfortunately I need to use most of the panel. I cut it just below the upper body line.
Another area that does not fit too great is in the door jam. the top is tight but not the bottom. But I am getting it pretty close, it will just take some patience.
Correct, they split the difference between the two years. As Badcatt mentioned, 70s have a wider wheel opening than the 69 to accommodate larger tires. So regardless of what company makes them, if they are being advertised as fitting both years, they are not right for either year. I knew this going in though and I was not overly concerned because the wheelhouse lips needed remade anyway. My choice for the quarter panel replacement was these panels or two OEM panels that a guy is selling for $1,500 each. So I chose the cheaper route.
Be aware that due to their more rounded front and back bends they can be a 1/4 inch longer. Ran into this with the Mustang quarters in the early 80s. Its best to keep the original door jamb bend for correct look.