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Has anyone done this without replacing the leather?
My leather appears to be in pretty good shape... just the typical warping under the quarter window. I was hoping to pull the leather back a little, flatten/reinforce the fiberboard and reapply the existing leather.
The problem you may run into is the leather shrinks. That is what causes the quarter panel to warp in the first place. I had one panel that warped really badly. On the other quarter panel the staples that held the leather in place came undone early in the shrinking process so the panel itself wasn't terribly warped, but the leather had simply shrunk so much there was not enough leather to wrap back around the panel once it was straightened.
You can hope you have enough leather to re-wrap once the panel is straightened, but be prepared to have the panels recovered in new vinyl.
Here's a few pix of the finished panels. Not an easy job.
I'd recommend to everyone that if you RQPs are showing signs of warping, FIX THEM NOW, treat the leather and keep doing it. The longer you wait the worse the'll get and good used ones are becoming harder to find.
I have a pair of Quarter panels for sale, green vinyl, but the foam/board under is in perfect condition. I believe these were out of a garaged '79 car if memory serves. I'd be happy with $100 + shipping costs.
Mark
Last edited by MarkRobinson; 01-20-2012 at 01:13 PM.
Knock knock 13 years later. Just wanted to thank Rob and others here. Applying this technique in my garage now and the results are fantastic.
1986.5 928S rear passenger interior quarter panel being straightened.
I found the application of slightly soapy water into the channel created by clamping supports and then hitting it with the heat gun is working great. Thinking about permanemtly installing a strip of aluminum bar to hold the shape before covering with foam.