Cutting the Rear Quarter Panels

I found a few threads about cutting and folding the rear quarter panels. I noticed that a few people welded it back together. I would like to do the same thing, but looking at the driver's side has me a little worried about welding so close to the gas tank filler. Did anybody have any problems or suggestions about welding around there? I would prefer not to blow myself up in the process. :flame:

Thanks,
William Crawley

It's not quite as close as it looks. If you pull the inside panel off and stick a bunch of wet towels down there, it'll help. You'll need to pull these panels off anyway so you don't light the insulation on fire (like I did :anon: )
Billy

drop the tank.

it takes 15 minutes


at the very very very least, make sure you have no leaks. (no $4it right?)

When I did mine I just wrapped the hose and stuffed the area well with wet rags.

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the suggestions.

William Crawley

I plan to weld mine back together as well. After welding it up I was planning on using the thick sealant like they used from the factory on the seams. The stuff looks like roof tar but I know it's not. Where is the best/cheapest place to get the stuff? What gauge is the body panels? I've heard 22 but I'm not sure. Since the stuff is so hin isn't the best way to weld it up a series of spot welds? I was thinking the spot welds spaced apart because if you tried to weld the whole seam in a continuous bead it may get too hot and burn through? I plan on using a Miller 135. Thanks.

-Mike

welding anywhere on the body is a PIA... i usually run spot welds...one guy i know can do it on one pass but usually ends up with a lot of holes....the black tar glue that i use is made by 3M and its weather stripping adhesive

I cut and folded my rear quarter panels and it is not a big deal to weld them back together. I have a Hobart handler 175 and set the heat on 1 and did a S#!T load of spot welds and did not lite my jeep on fire once. After that I smoothed everything out with a grinder and a little bit of bondo. Just be careful and don't rush it.