Yeah I'm with PIGDOG just make sure you have done your homework regarding what to remove and what to leave and you will need a large selection of clamps. Lengths of flat bar come in handy to clamp behind areas to weld to help keep things all true.

seems like theres a fair bit of work involved but im a datto lover so im keen lol.. might aswell give it a go, dad knows a few panel beaters aswell so they won't mind givng me a hand anyways. cheers guys!

Agree with Bruce, also a bit of cutting fluid helps longevity. Give it a crack mate! Whats the worst that can happen? Lol
Measure, measure and measure before welding!

most panel beaters should be able to sharpen them. atleast thats the only place ive heard of. but yeah they arent really easy to sharpen. hence why i gave up on them

i either do as i described above, if i dont need the panel that im cutting out...as its a very destructive process. and i usually only do it when there are not that many spot welds

or i get a die grinder with a rounded head on it and just die grind the spot welded section away

but yeah the spot weld drill bits work well when they are new, but as soon as that centre bit gets blunt they just get annoying

just to add my 2 cents worth about using the spot weld drill bits. The key to getting longevity out of the drill bit is not to have the drill going too fast.
After you have done a couple, you will find that it is a pretty quick process to get through them
cheers
Bruce

Pigdog- that sounds like bloody hard work! I do agree with cutting bits off with the angle grinder first as it does make certain bits easier. The spot welds holding the ute quarters on are very "soft" for want of a better term welds. As long as you've even half centred the hole they let go. A few of the welds connecting the tail light panel and the quarter even let go with a good firm yank.
Anyone know where you can get spot weld bits sharpened? You can buy a sharpener on Ebay for about $2500!! The bits are too expensive to just use once.

i got over spot weld drill bits on the roof of my car and ended up just cutting the majority of it off. then cutting between all the spot welds so that you only have a spot weld sized bit of metal left then just grind it off

new spot weld drill bits work well, but as soon as they start to go slightly bunt on the centre cutting tip they are #OOPS#
either way you would want to just cut the majority of the pannel off first so its out of the way

I'm in the middle of my first rear quarter panel replacement and so far the biggest hurdle has been previous repairs slowing things up. Someone has welded the outer gaurd to the inner gaurd making removal very difficult.
The hardest sections to make fit looks to be where the rear quarter meets the sill panel in the bottom corner of the door opening and re braising (brass stick welded) section at the top of the panel under the side vent.
Hot Rocket is dead right, I bought 4 spot weld bits for removing the hundreds of spot welds that hold them on. Get a short one and a long one at the very least. Just centre punch the middle of the weld and drill. As soon as you see a puff of rust dust you know you're through!!
Where the panel mates to the tail light housing is a bit hard to find the spot welds as they've been ground completely flush with the panel unlike all the others. I just pulled the panel out firmly so it stretched a bit and showed where the welds are.

Welding them back on should be quite easy apart from the tricky bits mentioned. Get 4 large panel locking pliers (vice grips) so you can hold the panel in place prior to welding it back up.

I reckon give it a go, you can't damage too much taking it off (make sure you get your new quarter first so you can see where to cut the old one around where it meets the sill panel) but if it gets too hard you can always take the new panel and the ute to a panel beater and get it done properly!

I hope that helps!

i wouldnt cut them off, buy a spot weld drill bit, pay about $20-30 for one, much easy and cleaner, ive seen ppl use hammer and chisel what a mess they make......goodluck

i cut most of the guard off and then slid a screw driver inbetween each spot weld and grab plyers, gripped the 1cm ish width edges of metal and peeling it back. but i wouldnt recomend it becasue it left MASSIVE contortions and bends on the outside of the tray. another way i heard about is an air chisel hooked up to a compressor. but dont rely on my advice hahahaha .. someone else should post a "normal, easier way" up....

nick