I've got an '07.5 that both rear wheel arches have rusted out pretty badly. The better side has a hole right into the wheel well. I've attached a picture of the worse side (from inside the wheel well.) I live in New England, so finding a rust-free bed I can afford isn't really in the cards. I did some exploratory surgery on the worse side and the rust looks to be pretty limited to the skin right around the arch and the outermost part of the wheel well. The inner wheelhouses look to be in good shape. Very little rust on the rest of the truck. I've never dealt with patch panels before (or any body welding,) so wanted to get some advice before getting started. I'm not looking to get the truck looking like new, just get it looking decent and to pass inspection for the next few years.
First question is what panels do I need? I'm pretty sure I need the Upper wheel arches / Wheel opening panel (name depends where ordering from) obviously, and outer wheelhouses.
Second question is where should I get them from?
Right now I'm leaning towards Raybuck. Their prices are good, and the wheel arches extend past the crease near the bottom of the body, so I'll have something to line up the panels with.
Fixmyrust is a bit cheaper, but their wheelhouses are smaller, and don't look to extend to the crease, so it'll be a little trickier to get lined up right.
LMC truck I've heard good things about, but they don't have actual photos of the parts, and the passenger side arch (56-9329 WHEEL OPENING PANEL-RH) is out of stock right now. Also, what they show as being the larger panels (that look like they should extend beyond the crease,) are cheaper than the smaller panels (which they call WHEEL ARCH REPAIR PANEL), and I worry if their catalog has things backwards and I might not get what I was looking for. (no part photos on their site.)
I'll have more questions later I'm sure (like the order and how to fit up the inner parts, etc.) but right now I need to get some stuff ordered if I'm going to have any hope of getting these ready for paint before it's too cold.
Thanks in advance.
I do plan on documenting this a bit for the amusement of those in the know, and maybe to give some other bodywork noobs an idea of what they're in for if they try this.
First question is what panels do I need? I'm pretty sure I need the Upper wheel arches / Wheel opening panel (name depends where ordering from) obviously, and outer wheelhouses.
Second question is where should I get them from?
Right now I'm leaning towards Raybuck. Their prices are good, and the wheel arches extend past the crease near the bottom of the body, so I'll have something to line up the panels with.
Fixmyrust is a bit cheaper, but their wheelhouses are smaller, and don't look to extend to the crease, so it'll be a little trickier to get lined up right.
LMC truck I've heard good things about, but they don't have actual photos of the parts, and the passenger side arch (56-9329 WHEEL OPENING PANEL-RH) is out of stock right now. Also, what they show as being the larger panels (that look like they should extend beyond the crease,) are cheaper than the smaller panels (which they call WHEEL ARCH REPAIR PANEL), and I worry if their catalog has things backwards and I might not get what I was looking for. (no part photos on their site.)
I'll have more questions later I'm sure (like the order and how to fit up the inner parts, etc.) but right now I need to get some stuff ordered if I'm going to have any hope of getting these ready for paint before it's too cold.
Thanks in advance.
I do plan on documenting this a bit for the amusement of those in the know, and maybe to give some other bodywork noobs an idea of what they're in for if they try this.