The team at Far From Factory (F3) have removed the
damaged sections of the driver’s side rear quarter structure....
Closer inspection of the damaged and donor sheet metal
sections reveal that many of the panels will have to be grafted together from
bits of each group to arrive at solid replacements. As an example, the donor
wheelhouse outer lip wasn’t nearly as solid as the outer lip of the removed
tub. When the Torino was originally repaired years ago, the outer wheelhouse
was replaced with a new OEM unit along with the new outer quarter panel skin.
Evidently the car saw limited weather after the repair because the outer wheelhouse
was extremely solid. Had it not been blacksmithed to accommodate use of the
original (damaged) inner quarter structure, it could have been reused. Adam
plans to cut out the good section of the outer lip and graft it into the donor
wheelhouse. A similar situation is being experienced at the replacement section
of the roof header.
After talking with Adam about his plans to create solid
replacement panels from the bits and pieces available, I feel I made the right decision to turn the body and paint
over to the craftsmen at F3!!
Stay tuned for more….
ZEBRA 3 OUT
