Max Wedge Plymouths have long held a special place in performance and quarter-mile history. During the 1963 model year, our sister publication, HOT ROD, ran a new '63 426 Plymouth in just about showroom trim down the dragstrip in the mid-12 second range. Since that time, any dragstrip or cruise spot will typically have at least a few '63-'65 Plymouth B-Bodies powered by Wedge or Hemi engines drawing a crowd.

For the guys trying to breathe new life into one of these Plymouth examples, finding body parts has typically been much harder for them than their Mopar colleagues with '66-'74 B-Bodies. The solution has long been to keep searching for restorable sheetmetal from donor cars or repair what they've got.

Now, Auto Metal Direct (AMD) has come to the rescue with brand-new OE-style quarter-panels for '63-'65 two-door Plymouth B-Bodies. These new AMD quarter-panels have been patterned from a very difficult-to-find and pristine '64/'65 Plymouth two-door hardtop NOS panel that AMD acquired, and then perfectly reproduced, both left and right sides. AMD's part numbers for these new quarter-panels are 700-1463-L (left, driver side) and 700-1463-R (right, passenger side).

But as you'll see, AMD's new '64-'65 Plymouth hard-top panels can also be slightly modified to fit all two-door '63 Plymouths (both hard-top and sedan) as well as '64 and '65 Plymouth two-door sedans. And, of course, if you happen to have a '64 or '65 hardtop with the V-shaped rear roof pillars, the installation will be that much more straightforward.

To demonstrate the sedan installation, we watched as auto body expert Jeff Hixon added a pair of new AMD quarter-panels to a customer's low-mileage and rust-free '63 Plymouth two-door Savoy.

See all 45 photos The Auto Metal Direct (AMD) quarter-panels have all the same contours, shapes, and thickness of NOS Plymouth panels. These are direct replacements for all '64-'65 two-door hardtop models (with V-shaped C-pillars, and no post) and install just like a factory replacement quarter-panel with no other modifications. While '63 two-door hardtop models and '63-'65 two-door sedan (post models) will require minor modifications. AMD's part numbers are 700-1463-L (left, driver side) and 700-1463-R (right, passenger side).

See all 45 photos Our perfect candidate for the AMD quarter-panel install is this '63 Plymouth two-door Savoy that had endured many repairs to the original quarter-panels over the last few decades.

See all 45 photos This up-close shot shows the extensive bodywork performed over the years that left a fairly heavy coat of primer and body filler. Without the option to use AMD's new panels, lots of block sanding, added plastic body filler, and primer would probably have been required.

See all 45 photos The panels we received out of the box easily could have passed for NOS. The good news is that these brand-new OE-style quarter-panels for '63-'65 Plymouth B-Bodies are now available from Auto Metal Direct.

See all 45 photos The doorjamb area is a factory match for the '64-'65 hardtop panels. For a 1963, (or '64-'65 two-door sedan) there are some minor modifications required, plus the need for a doorjamb section from the previous panel to be used, as we'll show. Remember to check yours for any differences before discarding the old panel. And photograph all areas and keep all old sheet metal parts until the job is completed!

See all 45 photos Hixon used a cutoff wheel to trim about 85 percent of the existing panel from the car. When installing any new quarter-panel, it's best to start by leaving the attaching portions of the panel in place and then working back to remove as needed.

See all 45 photos Hixon's method was to sneak up on the cuts slowly by starting around the wheelhouse part of the front doorjamb, and cutting a rigid line right above the quarter-panel's fore-to-aft feature line.

See all 45 photos Working on both sides, the right-hand panel was first cleanly removed from the car with a cutoff wheel and an air chisel.

See all 45 photos With a fair amount of both quarter-panels removed from the 1963, Hixon was able to analyze the best attaching areas for the AMD quarter-panel to the '63 Plymouth.

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See all 45 photos One important exterior difference that all '63 (and '64-'65 two-door sedans) original panels have compared to the '64-'65 hardtop panels, are above the body feature line (see arrows 1) from the rear side window back. On all '63s (and '64-'65 two-door sedans), this area smoothly slopes up and joins the top horizontal side of the quarter-panel (transitioning to the trunk lid). Comparatively, the '64 and '65 hardtop panels have a formed line along this area (see arrows 2). Secondly, the rear roof pillar on the '64-'65 hardtop (see arrow 3) is V-shaped at the bottom and only attaches at a very small area to the top of the quarter-panel. Much different than a two-door sedan's wider C-pillar (see arrow 4), which will require a cut-to-fit modification and seam weld from the C-pillar joining areas to the rear of the car. We'll show these mods.

See all 45 photos Note the area at the base of the wide rear roof pillar (C-pillar) and the adjoining area at the top of the new quarter-panel, which has been carefully trimmed away with a cutoff wheel to remove a section of the hardtop panel's upper feature line and fit the sedan prior to welding. Next, the remainder of the upper feature line to the rear of the car will be marked and later trimmed away to fit, as generally shown with the yellow tape line placed on the out-of-the-box quarter-panel photo.

See all 45 photos As noted, the quarter-panel will need to be carefully trimmed away at the tape-line to match the rounded rear top portion of the existing sedan quarter panel before finish welding and minor body filling. This is done to remove the '64-'65 hardtop panel's upper feature line. On '64-'65 hard-top models, no modifications to the quarter-panel are necessary.

See all 45 photos The 1963's doorjamb is also slightly different where the door striker mounts and attaches. Note the two horizontal holes on top on the 1964-'65 AMD panel (left) versus the two horizontal holes on the bottom on the original 1963 (right). Before discarding the original quarter panel, Hixon removed the striker attaching section to attach in place on the new AMD quarter-panel.

See all 45 photos Two-door sedans will require maintaining the top portion of the doorjamb where it meets the bottom of the "B" pillar. This is because the AMD quarter-panel is based on an original two-door hard top quarter-panel with no "B" pillar. Hence, a slightly different doorjamb design. Check yours before installing.

See all 45 photos Note where the modified upper length of the AMD hard-top panel's hard line has been trimmed away (see arrow 1) so the hard line doesn't continue rearward from the rear of the side-back window, and instead joins the '63s and '64-'65 sedan's 45-degree small upward line (see arrow 2).

See all 45 photos From there the remainder of the upper feature line was cut away and formed to the original rounded rear upper quarter panel area all the way to the rear of the car. Again, this modification would be similar on '64 Plymouth two-door sedans. As the installation progresses, it's also very important to test fit all attaching areas; including the taillights, moldings, trunk installed and check trunk gap, and remember to have the vehicle supported on its suspension; not the frame-especially before welding. See Caption 18 for taillight fitment.

See all 45 photos With a perfect match to the body, Hixon began skip-welding each panel in place. A very important step to this is to begin the skip-weld process at points far away from each other to allow cooling and reduce the risk of warping. The new quarter-panel seam across the entire length was joined by overlapping about a 1/8-inch before welding. This was done to keep the new adjoining area as straight and manageable as possible. Butt-welding the two adjoining seams across the quarter panel's length may have risked uneven panel matching. Also check the rear-corner molding and trunk molding fitment at this point, because molding styles vary slightly depending on specific '63-'65 models.

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See all 45 photos This length of seam welding for the '63 Plymouth is completed and ground flat. Installation on '64-'65 two-door sedans are similar. The area can now be bodyworked with a minimum amount of filler and primer to produce very straight results.

See all 45 photos One important note during all installations is to check the taillight housing fitment on each side, while positioning the quarter-panel. Remember all 1963, 1964, and 1965 Plymouths use a left side and right side taillight (usually noted on the inside with an "L" or an "R") even though they appear to look identical from the outside.

See all 45 photos The top portion of the two-door sedan doorjamb requires using the original section from the previous quarter-panel and welding it in place and then bodyworking and priming.

See all 45 photos With a few modifications, some welding, and light bodywork and priming, the AMD quarter-panels installed fairly easily to the '63 Plymouth two-door sedan. Notice that the doorjamb seam with the new AMD quarter-panel installed shows a perfect factory-size gap. And if needed, AMD now offers many more sheetmetal and body products for these cars.

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See all 45 photos These brand-new AMD quarter-panels were just the ticket and added new life to this Plymouth with mirror-straight sheetmetal! Hixon's bodywork career dates back to the early '70s and he found that the AMD quarter-panels installed as well as or better than OE or NOS. The results speak for themselves. All-new quarter-panels and a perfect fit!