It sounds like you have "full" quarter panels - like OE style to the roof, right?       It's kinda hard to say without seeing it, but here are some thoughts.   If you can pick up what you need from the wheelhouse opening without affecting the panel alignment vertically on the car or overly-reducing the amount of material in the wheel lip, you're possibly in good shape.      Is this a vinyl top car?   Could you add that 1" to the panel at the roof and slide it under?     

Mike,

My first suggestion is to take it slow.    This is your first quarter panel, and there are about a million little things to watch out for.    First off, you should fit the quarter to the rear of the car, clamp / screw it in place, then fit the doors, then the fenders, decklid... pretty much everything.     The theory is that the quarter can't be adjusted later, but all the rest of the sheetmetal can, so now's your chance to make sure the whole car fits right. 

Once you're sure everything fits, then you can start your strategy on how it's all going to weld together.     The trunk side drops, wheelhouses, and trunk floor can be pretty tricky.    I'd send you the pic you're looking for on the Olds, but the car is at the media blaster... (I wanted to post it last week, but the car is taking a little longer than expected at the blaster.. go figure!)

I can snap a couple pics of the '69 Chevelle SS496 today at the shop to try to illustrate the areas you're asking about.       The wheelhouses all fit together pretty good, but the trunk floor extensions ("drops") are kind of vague as to how they fit.    Keep in mind that the seams are meant to be filled with seam sealer, so some overlap / gaps are going to be filled in, which will make things look better.     

We'll have more on this later tonight with pics.

Thanks!

- KO

We found that putting the car on the jig and aligning the panels can be a problem with convertibles, as they tend to bow when they're put back on the original frame.     Hardtops are not quite as flexible, so you should be OK.     Have you cut the quarters off both sides at this point?    That may have allowed the body to shift if it was not reinforced... it all depends on how much was cut.

I think the factory recommended an 3/16" gap on removable panels.    Do you have a factory Fisher body manual?    It will show you the gaps, dimensions, and the methods for attaching the panels.     You can get reprints if you need one from places like YearOne.

Mike,

There are some documents out there called "crash sheets" - they are used by body shops to align and straighten cars.    Search eBay and you may find them listed as "1968 GTO crash sheets".      Performance Years Pontiac may have them also, I'm not sure.    We used the crash sheets to build the Camaro jig.

You say the reinforcements didn't hold up?   Do you think the structure of the car shifted at all? 

Hey Mike - any progress / photos on your project?

Hey Mike -

Those panels mount to the top of the rocker area, and in different ways depending on the length of the panel.   Some are nice and long and fold inward, in which case you punch holes in them and plug-weld them to the top of the rocker area down through the window regulator mechanism hole.   Others are not as long and can be MIGd along the edge that folds in.     Are you referring to your '72 Olds?     As an aside, We're going to be posting the video on the full quarter on our '65 Chevelle soon.