DIY Quarter Panel Replacement - So Fun

[Maverick Grabber]

Working on Mavie 2 today - another employee wreck. Video coming soon. I can verify that it is 100% bolt on and no spot welds. Hey I'm going glass half full lol. Thought everyone would enjoy seeing the skeleton on the rear of the Maverick. My warped mind also thought it wouldn't be that hard to produce some bolt on panels that turned it into a step side

So that's the key to it.

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[RichardCranium]

Maybe a widebody kit and duals on the back?

Asking for a friend. HRG

If they only made 3D printers that big, you would probably be finding designs all over Thingiverse. There would probably even be a quarter panel with a built in taco rack or chicken nugget holder.

 

[TomD]

Working on Mavie 2 today - another employee wreck. Video coming soon. I can verify that it is 100% bolt on and no spot welds. Hey I'm going glass half full lol. Thought everyone would enjoy seeing the skeleton on the rear of the Maverick. My warped mind also thought it wouldn't be that hard to produce some bolt on panels that turned it into a step side

Now that you have opened Pandora’s box do you feel that undercoating would be worth the cost? I am 70 years old and would like my truck to outlive me.
I have also chewed on coating the underside with the box coating to lessen the rattles.
I need a good paint coating the undercoat and the bottom coating. Where I live there is an incredible amount of price gouging and those of us that are not doctors lawyers and Indian chiefs have to drive miles to up for it.

 

[Redneck Garage]

Now that you have opened Pandora’s box do you feel that undercoating would be worth the cost? I am 70 years old and would like my truck to outlive me.
I have also chewed on coating the underside with the box coating to lessen the rattles.
I need a good paint coating the undercoat and the bottom coating. Where I live there is an incredible amount of price gouging and those of us that are not doctors lawyers and Indian chiefs have to drive miles to up for it.

Man that's a good question. From doing Jeep restorations for 40 years I'm fairly familiar with frame rust and undercoating rust. Most of the damage done is from the salt being able to just stay on the frame indefinitely. If after a good snow or a few snows where they've salted you wash it down underneath well and flush the frame ( with the Maverick basically take a pressure washer and spray everything underneath the wheel wells and underneath ) The rust is minimal. Jeep frames rust out mostly because the salt gets inside the frame and it rust from the inside out. Unless you internally coat the frame external frame coating does very little.
If you're willing to do a little bit of maintenance as in washing your frame off then really you don't have to have undercoating. I also would suggest if you're handy you can purchase products from Eastwood that you can spray on yourself for protection.
As the Maverick has no frame personally I would never pay for undercoating from a shop. I would just make sure to buy a $99 pressure washer and flush the crap out of it whenever salt gets on it. The phosphate coating the truck is dipped in at the factory is really quite good. Rust protection has come a long way in the last 20 years and a dunk in a paint tank is pretty cool. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Fcnrwy]

This post (Thank You for doing this) shows how ALL of our vehicles are "slapped together".
I (since I was a little kid) was always amazed after seeing the "insides" of one of our families' first cars.
How the thing, looks so smooth and sleek on the "outside" and is a "jigsaw puzzle/hack job" on the inside.
And all those holes for attaching, current and possible future parts and those (rust collecting) cracks and crevasse's.

I still think our Vehicles (Mav's) are Engineering Marvels, Getting us from A to B, in pretty much safety and comfort and the basic design (4 Wheels/2 Seats/1 Motor and a Steering Wheel) hasn't changed in over 100 years...

Jerry

 

[Phileaux]

Dang! Bolt on panels? Who needs a body shop any more?? Probably cheaper to replace the whole thing then have dents fixed.

Tru' dat. Neighbor is having issues finding a body man to fix rust hole in newly acquired '74 Grand Marquis.

 

[Maverickman74]

I am not sure that the unibody inner structure can withstand the stress of the storage compartments body PLUS the weight of tools and supply by simply bolting this on like the rear quarter panels do.

Well back in the early days I think they planned in just that. To some degree at least. They released that builders guide that fave dimensions and such for building out the Maverick. The diagrams showed it with and without the bed. Suggesting that if you need it you can truly "Make it with Maverick".

 

[Bob The Builder]

Man that's a good question. From doing Jeep restorations for 40 years I'm fairly familiar with frame rust and undercoating rust. Most of the damage done is from the salt being able to just stay on the frame indefinitely. If after a good snow or a few snows where they've salted you wash it down underneath well and flush the frame ( with the Maverick basically take a pressure washer and spray everything underneath the wheel wells and underneath ) The rust is minimal. Jeep frames rust out mostly because the salt gets inside the frame and it rust from the inside out. Unless you internally coat the frame external frame coating does very little.
If you're willing to do a little bit of maintenance as in washing your frame off then really you don't have to have undercoating. I also would suggest if you're handy you can purchase products from Eastwood that you can spray on yourself for protection.
As the Maverick has no frame personally I would never pay for undercoating from a shop. I would just make sure to buy a $99 pressure washer and flush the crap out of it whenever salt gets on it. The phosphate coating the truck is dipped in at the factory is really quite good. Rust protection has come a long way in the last 20 years and a dunk in a paint tank is pretty cool. Just my 2 cents.

Great info on the coating. The problem for us up here is the fact salt is just one part of the equation. Brine is used extensively up here and part of the formula is Magnesium Chloride, which is even more corrosive than Sodium Chloride.

I am very pleased to get a lesson on the Zinc coating these trucks receive, but for me this will be considered my second line of defense against rust. Black formula Fluid Film will be my first line of defense in all hidden areas and CRC SP400 applied to the exposed areas.

Not a cheap proposition at $550.00 but in this day and age not much more than a half dozen bags of groceries.

 

[Maverickman74]

This post (Thank You for doing this) shows how ALL of our vehicles are "slapped together".
I (since I was a little kid) was always amazed after seeing the "insides" of one of our families' first cars.
How the thing, looks so smooth and sleek on the "outside" and is a "jigsaw puzzle/hack job" on the inside.
And all those holes for attaching, current and possible future parts and those (rust collecting) cracks and crevasse's.

I still think our Vehicles (Mav's) are Engineering Marvels, Getting us from A to B, in pretty much safety and comfort and the basic design (4 Wheels/2 Seats/1 Motor and a Steering Wheel) hasn't changed in over 100 years...

Jerry

I had a 95 E150 conversion van. Probably cost the original owner $10,000 over the van cost. One day I had to fiddle with the electric lock on the barn doors. When I pulled off the plush velour panel with real oak wood trim. I saw that to fit the recessed cup holder into the door panel. They absolutely used a sawzall, pliers and a hammer to make the cutout. It appears they took several tries to get it to fit gauging from the several scratches on the back of the plastic cup holder housing. Absolutely luxury hacked.

 

[RLmesc]

I had a 95 E150 conversion van. Probably cost the original owner $10,000 over the van cost. One day I had to fiddle with the electric lock on the barn doors. When I pulled off the plush velour panel with real oak wood trim. I saw that to fit the recessed cup holder into the door panel. They absolutely used a sawzall, pliers and a hammer to make the cutout. It appears they took several tries to get it to fit gauging from the several scratches on the back of the plastic cup holder housing. Absolutely luxury hacked.

That is why so many of those conversion van builders opened and closed every two years in Elkhart Indiana so as to avoid warranty claims that were certain to follow. A buddy had one he bought new from a Chevy dealer who rejected any claim for non oem workmanship. They even messed with the engine and drivetrain components voiding every warranty except for the tires. Sheesh, I am so glad that dad has passed.

 

[Guv]

One thing, if it really was the El Cheapo Little Bugga some claim it is, those rear fenders would be spot welded on not bolted in place.

 

[Barksdale123]

That is like accidentally seeing your own mom naked!

Mods watch this guy. That's the weirdest thing I've seen here.

 

[Montana]

Holy crap. I think I'd just buy an on frame truck and remove the bed...

 

[wax87]

Working on Mavie 2 today - another employee wreck. Video coming soon. I can verify that it is 100% bolt on and no spot welds. Hey I'm going glass half full lol. Thought everyone would enjoy seeing the skeleton on the rear of the Maverick. My warped mind also thought it wouldn't be that hard to produce some bolt on panels that turned it into a step side

I want to turn this into a cubby

 

[wax87]

Now that you have opened Pandora’s box do you feel that undercoating would be worth the cost? I am 70 years old and would like my truck to outlive me.
I have also chewed on coating the underside with the box coating to lessen the rattles.
I need a good paint coating the undercoat and the bottom coating. Where I live there is an incredible amount of price gouging and those of us that are not doctors lawyers and Indian chiefs have to drive miles to up for it.

I was thinking the EXACT same thing here

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