57 Nomad Quarter panels replacement

[Hawaiian]

This is only my second post.
Can't find anyone who sell a full quarter panels for a 57 nomad. I need some advice. Could i use a 2 door hard top panels and cut, butt weld the top area, and also around the fin area.... or there is and other way. Sure could use some advice.:???::
Thanks,
Hawaiian

[Michaelmotorcycle]

Two different builds that are documented online...Google:
Chevynut, picturetrail, nomad

...and then google:
Wade linger, nomad

You'll find a wealth of information at their websites documenting their Nomad builds. Sorry I didn't post any links. I'm on my phone and it is difficult to navigate between pages and remain logged in so I can paste the links.

[567chevys]

Hi Hawaiian .

Here are a couple of links that might help you !
First one is the replacement part.
Second one is step by step replacement .

http://www.rustrepair.com/55_57_chevy_quarter_panels.htm

http://www.tachrev.com/JeffLilly/quarter_replace.pdf


Sid

[chevynut]

To my knowledge here are no wagon quarters repopped, except for the '55 Nomad quarters. I replaced both quarters on my '56 Nomad using HT quarters, and had to cut the "dip" out to make them wagon quarters.


First of all, DO NOT make a diagonal cut on the quarter as is often recommended (see pic below). I cut my passenger quarter that way, and it caused a lot more warpage than I expected. On the driver's quarter, I made a 90 degree cut, with a larger radius at the corner. I also cut both sides about 5/8" behind the door jamb. This is because on my car, the quarters were way too long. It may not be a problem on a 57, so you could use the jamb area. However, usually the bend at that location isn't as sharp as the stock quarters.

I think there's a lot less welding on a 57, since the tail fin is split and covered with trim. I ended up leaving my original driver's tailight opening in place, since the new ones were poorly formed on the new quarters.

Here's a pic of how I did mine.

Again, DO NOT do it like this:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/277186766.jpg

Here's some pics of my driver's quarter replacement:

In the first pic, you can see the cut line on what's left of the quarter...
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/357619739.jpg

Then I fitted and tacked the new quarter in place...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/357944906.jpg

Finally, I welded and planished the entire weld...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/358579293.jpg

Then I epoxy primed it...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/366103670.jpg
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/366103688.jpg


If I were to do it again, I might remove the dip and add the new formed piece to the quarter before fitting it to the car. That way, you can planish and shrink the quarter a lot easier with it off the car.

[Hawaiian]

To my knowledge here are no wagon quarters repopped, except for the '55 Nomad quarters. I replaced both quarters on my '56 Nomad using HT quarters, and had to cut the "dip" out to make them wagon quarters.


First of all, DO NOT make a diagonal cut on the quarter as is often recommended (see pic below). I cut my passenger quarter that way, and it caused a lot more warpage than I expected. On the driver's quarter, I made a 90 degree cut, with a larger radius at the corner. I also cut both sides about 5/8" behind the door jamb. This is because on my car, the quarters were way too long. It may not be a problem on a 57, so you could use the jamb area. However, usually the bend at that location isn't as sharp as the stock quarters.

I think there's a lot less welding on a 57, since the tail fin is split and covered with trim. I ended up leaving my original driver's tailight opening in place, since the new ones were poorly formed on the new quarters.

Here's a pic of how I did mine.

Again, DO NOT do it like this:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/277186766.jpg

Here's some pics of my driver's quarter replacement:

In the first pic, you can see the cut line on what's left of the quarter...
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/357619739.jpg

Then I fitted and tacked the new quarter in place...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/357944906.jpg

Finally, I welded and planished the entire weld...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/358579293.jpg

Then I epoxy primed it...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/366103670.jpg
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL97/465705/4009142/366103688.jpg


If I were to do it again, I might remove the dip and add the new formed piece to the quarter before fitting it to the car. That way, you can planish and shrink the quarter a lot easier with it off the car.

Thank You All for your suggestion. I guess i have a lot of work ahead of me. Which company quarter panels should i get? There is a lot of people selling these quarter panels.
Thanks Guys
Mahalo,
Hawaiian

[chevynut]

I have only used the CARS quarters, so I can't comment on the others. I think Sherman makes one quarter that's sold by many distributors and dealers including CARS, while some Taiwan outfit named "Goldstar" makes the others. The Taiwan ones are black EDP, while the Sherman quarters are bare steel.

The quality of the Sherman quarters leaves a lot to be desired, IMO. As I mentioned, the 56 quarters are too long, the door openings are too rounded, and the taillight openings plain suck. I think I even had to re-bend the rocker area a little. At least we have something to work with....but for $750 you'd think they'd be better.

Good luck. Be sure to ask if you have any questions. Remember, go slow and planish all welds as you go.

[Rick_L]

I had similar problems to Chevynut with my Sherman/EMI quarters on my 55 door sedan, except they were not the wrong length, and the taillight openings weren't all that bad. I kept my taillight openings though because I had already fixed the factory's ill fitting openings. What I did have to work on was the detail around the wheel cutout, and the rocker area was not bent far enough. Other than that I used the same methods.

EMI (Experi Metal Inc) makes the US made panels that CARS, Danchuk, and Eckler's sell, as well as others. Eckler's and Danchuk sell Goldstar also.

I don't think Goldstar has any 56 panels yet. Reports are their 55 2 door sedan panels seem to have similar problems to the EMI panels in the wheel cutout and maybe other areas. I don't know anything about their 57 2 door sedan panels. On a wagon/Nomad, you're up against the same problems on the belt line with either supplier.

[chevynut]

Yes Rick, you're right. I had in my head that Sherman made the US panels, but it is EMI. In fact, I saw them at SEMA in the Roadster Shop booth with a new 55 convertible body and talked to one of the reps. I think Sherman is a wholesaler/distributor, and CARS is a dealer, or something like that. Who knows how this distribution network stuff is set up. Actually I think one of them is the designer/tooling guys and the other is the actual stamping facility.

And I believe you're right about Goldstar not making 56 quarter panels yet. I haven't kept up to date on that. So the EMI/Sherman panels that are available from dozens of daelers are your only choice for a 56.

But I know that Goldstar makes 57 quarters for both sedans and hardtops. I'm not sure which I'd choose for a wagon application, but I think I'd go with the sedan quarter since the dip isn't so pronounced. To me, that implies a smaller cutout area....I think.

[Rick_L]

I don't know the whole mfr/distributor/jobber/retailer structure on the US made panels, but EMI is the manufacturer, and Sherman is a distributor, there may be others. I got my 55 panels from H&H, and they were drop shipped from Sherman. But I think you can buy from Sherman. You won't save any money if you order from a good retailer.

I think there's a similar network for the Goldstar panels.

You're right, the dip in the belt line is farther back on the sedan vs. the hardtop. For a wagon, you're going to cut away the window frame area and the trunk lid area of a Goldstar quarter anyway. I don't think the location of the dip is as critical in making the choice as the other details. If those choices were the same, then the ht panel would cover more of the wagon's quarter panel area.

[chevynut]

I just took a look at the quarter on my 56 2-door sedan, and it would have been a LOT easier to use it on my Nomad than a HT quarter. The dip is about the same length (~17") but much less pronounced in depth. In fact, the top of the door is level, just like a wagon door. You could get away with only cutting down about 4" from the beltline, and even leave 2-3" behind the door jamb to help maintain shape. That would kep the welds in the curved area, making it a lot easier to keep the shape. Welding and planishing in the flat area of the panel is tough, and some warpage and oilcanning is almost sure to happen. I ended up doing some shrinking in the cut area at the radius, but not much. I pretty much had to cut all the way down to the upper trim line to get the dip out.

After looking at this, I think I'd surely go with the sedan quarter if I was to do this on a wagon, and the sedan quarter was available. I can't find 57 sedan quarters...are they made?

[Rick_L]

Resto World and others have the 57 2 door sedan quarters. I've never seen detailed feedback on the quality like I have the 55 sedan quarters.

[Hawaiian]

Should i get the "Two Door Hard Top,or the Two Door Sedan Quarter panels? I guess it would not matter, Right?
Hawaiian

[chevynut]

Hawaiian, per my post above it looks to me like you'd have a lot less cutting and welding with the 2-door sedan quarter panels. The dip is a lot smaller and on my 56 you would only have to cut about 4" down from the beltline to eliminate the dip. I would also leave 2-3" behind the door jamb in the dip area, and go back about 17" from the door jamb. That's the same distance I went back on my HT quarters. So you should end up with only a 4"x14" cutout, which should be easy to replace.

If you use the HT quarters, you're going to have a cutout of about 12"x17" or so. I don't rememer how far down I had to go to get rid of the dip, but it's a lot more than on a sedan quarter.

That said, I have not heard a thing about the quality of the sedan quarters. So proceed at your own risk.

[Michaelmotorcycle]

Another things to do before you remove your taillights and begin removing the stock full quarter panels is to check how well the taillight housings fit on the body. I say this because I purchased new 1957 Chevrolet taillight housings from Danchuk and the driver's side did not fit correctly. Upon doing some research, I found that I was not the only one that was having an issue with how the taillights fitted. I had a spare set in addition to the ones I removed and the new ones I had just purchased. I compared my new taillight housings to the old sets I had and it turned out that none of the taillights fit perfectly. On the drivers side between the tailgate and the taillight housing, the taillight housing overlaps the body by about 1/2". This 1957 Chevrolet is the straighest one I have ever owned (I have owned three 1957 Chevrolets) and from what I can tell from inspecting the car every time I work on it, I am certain it has never had any wrecks or damage to the quarter panels (aside from someone leaning up against the car or something equivelent). I haven't begun my full quarter panel replacement for this car; however, when I do, this is one issue I will be addressing. Just a heads up for you.

[Rick_L]

Seems this is a common problem with 57s, quarter panel replacement or not. If that area is not damaged, I'd get a taillight assembly to fit before cutting the old quarter off.

[Hawaiian]

Seems this is a common problem with 57s, quarter panel replacement or not. If that area is not damaged, I'd get a taillight assembly to fit before cutting the old quarter off.
The reason i am replacing the panel, cause the last person who repaired the panels put a skin on top of the original panels....
Hawaiian

[Rick_L]

Then just start over.