Vl rear ended badly. opinions on cutting out and welding in new panels

[88-SERIES200]

Hey everyone.. yesterday i bought another vl series 200. however this one is wrecked. i originally bought it to strip for spares and use the head off it for my turbo motor however after buying it and having a better look i think it would be a shame to strip it and let the shell be crushed as the rest of the car is in good condition (mostly).

I want to get the rear panels off a wrecked vl and get them welded in place of the damaged area. i dont care about paint at this stage as i just want the damage fixed neatly and to worry about the paint later. I was thinking to do it neatly it should be cut right in the middle of the wheel arch or the seam inside the rear door frame and then just below the rear pillar as well as how far is needed along the rear bumper area. the roof, body and pillars all seem straight and not twisted and the doors all close fine. can anyone tell me how this can all be done judging by the pics and info. and how much i may be up for not including buying the panels which i will find myself. and also how this can be done should i get someone i know that can weld well to do it. it would have to be checked by an engineer of course. remember i want to keep this shell not get another one. any decent info and suggestions would be much appreiciated

[VN_Luke]

Might pay to go visit some repair shops that have been around for a while and used to repair VL's when they were still reasonably new

I remember some panel beater telling me that they used to have competitions on 'pulling' the boots back out of VN's after they'd been rear ended. - Said that they'd come up pretty close to perfect with only minor finishing touches needed...

Not sure how true that story is, but it seems feasible.

either way - I'd definately be getting the rear of the car pulled out as much as possible, then re-examine the rear 1/4's and see if you can just get away with a sectionalised repair, or even some panel beating and filler.

[88-SERIES200]

ok so i have decided to repair the damage. I have just heard back from the insurance company and they classed the car as a non economical writeoff and said they havent put it on the write off register so it wont have to be taken off and i can just repair the damage and re register the car.
Im getting a complete rear cut off a guy close by for $100 and i have a mig welder on lend. does anyone know how i can get the gass i need for it without having an account? or should i get some gasless mig wire?? is this stuff any good and where can you buy it?

[detox_nath83]

can u hire a bottle of Argon. from like JC hire??

[jatsvl]

the only real problem I see is that dent on the drivers side above the filler door, which should be able to be pulled out. then look at replacing or repairing the rear section.
also if you were looking at replacing the rear quarter, then yes inside the lower door arch and at the bottom of the rear window pillar un do the seams and reweld there.