Debate with myself over plastic filler vs metal on a classic car repair

So I'm working on a 1970 Chevelle that came in with a rusted out quarter panel, right near the wheel arch. Part of me thinks I should patch it with new metal, weld it in proper, spend the extra 10 hours of labor. But the other half of my brain is like, just use quality plastic filler and move on, the customer won't notice under the paint and it saves them $600. I went with the metal route this time, spent last Thursday cutting and shaping a replacement panel from a donor car. But now I'm second guessing - what if it warps under heat from the welds? What if the guy just wanted a cheap fix and I'm pricing him out of the job? Anyone else struggle with this choice on older cars? What do you usually pick when the budget is tight but the car deserves respect?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina1474d ago

My buddy Dave did metal repair on a '68 Mustang once and the heat warped it so bad he had to cut the whole thing out again and start over. Took him twice as long and the customer was not happy about the extra bill.

gavin_reed4d ago

Had the same thing happen on a '70 Charger quarter panel @nina147. What finally worked was using a wet rag on the surrounding metal and keeping the torch moving in tight circles instead of holding it in one spot. Also used a heat sink bar clamped right behind the weld area to pull heat away. Kept the warping down to almost nothing after that.