What company would you guys recommend going through for new rear quarters? I'm trying to get an idea of how much the total cost will be per side to have new quarters put on my Duster, and I've already got a quote (minus parts) from the local body shop, who I'll have install the panels.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

AFAIK there isn't much variety in choice of manufacturer; all the repro panels are junk compared to the original metal, but they're better than nothing and a good panelbeater can make them fit and look right with a few hours' work. The main difference is in the customer service behaviour of the vendor from whom you buy them, so Year One is "yes" and Layson is "hell no" (in my book, Mitchell is also "hell no", but there's at least one individual on the forum here who thinks they're great).

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

FYI, a few years back (try 5), a couple of local kids had their Dad's 1976 Dart Sport restored by Salem Auto Body, they couldn't get a set of good quarters cut from a car, so they bought the Year One Panels, which worked fine after 8 hours of labor per side, getting them to fit right and look good... Sadly with Year One have a video game ready, when I ordered parts from them back in 2000 it took me 1 hour on hold to finally talk to someone and get my stuff ordered.


-D.Idiot

"...Patience?!?! How Long Will THAT Take?!!?"
-Ed Grubermann "Boot To The Head"

All the quarters I know of are made by the same company, so I guess as Dan said, it comes down to service. I was going to go with year one myself, unless I can make a run to Indy and pick up my set at Paddock, I've had good service from both, but year one is less expensive, unless I can save the shipping cost (Paddock). Depending on when you were going to do the work, you could check with Goodmark, they keep saying they are going to do some A body stuff, but I don't know when. It will be a while before I get that far with my Duster and MAYBE by then Goodmark will have the good stuff....

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There are 3 things that will live forever, cockroaches, Keith Richards, and Slant Six Dusters !!!

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/slantasaurus/

take a look around

Finding quality replacement sheetmetal has always been an uphill battle. When these cars were current, the assembly-line rejects wound up stamped with a p/n and sold as replacement parts via the Mopar parts system!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have a pair of Year One panels on my Duster. I actually got 2 for the price of 1 because of some special they were running at the time. They fit well, and were in good shape when they got here. Also, watch Moparts for a discount code. One gets posted about every 6 weeks and it will save you some dough.

One thing you have to remember, any panel you get is really a patch panel and not a full 1/4 panel.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Just fyi, ask around, your city might have a local dealer that sells sheetmetal & will order them on their next shipment reducing your costs. Wichita Kansas has such a place -- so check around--- all of the repop's are pretty much the same.
Other places sherman & associates, the paddock & of course the dreaded Layson's.
Since you have some time that can save $$ if you plan well-- good luck, Lawrence

Nobody has mentioned Auto Body Specialties...http://www.autobodyspecialt.com/.

I ordered front floorpans for my '63 Dart and recieved them in three days at a price of $99 each ($40 less than the next competitor). I was pleased with the quality of the pieces.

Year One, Layson's, etc. must get their parts from somewhere because I don't think too many places are making '63 Dart floorpans. Maybe Auto Body Specialties is it because of the low price eliminating the middleman. Perhaps it is all Chinese stuff but either way I got new thick sheetmetal that drops right in.

'74 Duster rear quarter skins are listed at $179.

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If I keep my car for 20 years, I just might finish it.

None of the sheetmetal parts I know of are made in China (yet), but many are made in other 3rd world places like Canada (j/k SSD)

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There are 3 things that will live forever, cockroaches, Keith Richards, and Slant Six Dusters !!!

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/slantasaurus/

take a look around

I see that Goodmark has full quarters for '74 Dusters for $220. Looks like pretty decent quality, but it's not like you can really tell a whole lot from the pic.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

Looks just like what I got from Year One for my Duster.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

How's the quality and thickness?

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

First thing you have to remember is that they really are not a full quarter, only a patch skin. Quality on what I got was good. They went on well, and I got lucky in that they didn't get beat up in shipping.

When I bought mine YO had them on special, plus I had a discount for being a Chicagoland Mopar Connection member. I ended up giving like $195 for the pair shipped to the shop the car is at.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

That looks like the same piece that Year One and Paddock sell for about $180 (last I checked). If Goodmark offered a "full" quarter, it should include part of the sail panel and part of the trunk edge/lip. Their Cuda and Challenger quarters are like that, "full" quarters, our A bodys aren't as important, so we get knock off pieces.

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There are 3 things that will live forever, cockroaches, Keith Richards, and Slant Six Dusters !!!

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/slantasaurus/

take a look around

Several years ago, I ordered a '74 Dart rear quarter panel from one of the nationally advertised Dodge/Mopar Performance dealers, thinking it was a factory approved part. It came in a Mopar box, but it was thin and flimsy, and obviously of third-world origin. It was extremely hard to clamp into position because of warpage, and of course it was difficult to weld the much thinner metal to the original.

I finally got it looking presentable, but it took a lot of patience, and a lot more Bondo than I was expecting to use on a full panel replacement.