Body Panels for 1997 Celica Convertible..., Are The Available??? Options

[FrankB2]

I scraped the very bottom of the passenger side front fender on Thanksgiving. My wife had to have Starbucks, and I heard a grinding noise as I pulled alongside the curb! A mechanic friend told me that Japanese cars rust easily and quickly, so I slapped some beeswax on the area until I feel like taking it to a body shop (probably tomorrow).

In the meantime, I've been looking at various parts suppliers for fenders and rear quarter panels. They're listed as "available, except for convertible". I don't see why the front fender would be any different on a convertible, but... Anyway, am I stuck with junkyard body panels for a convertible? There don't seem to have been very many 1997 verts made, so junkyards could be tough as well. I dunno......

This post has been edited by FrankB2: Dec 5, 2012 - 2:52 PM

[FrankB2]

Thanks Edy! The scrape on the front fender is along the very bottom, and I would have normally slapped on some Bondo and paint (it's black, so that easy), but we love this car too much. A friend of the family has a body shop, and I called him the day after it happened. He told me to lightly apply whatever I had, and bring it in when I was ready. I've been second guessing myself on this car since we bought it in early October, but in 34 years of driving, I've never need any sort of body panel.

I decided to check the rest of the body panels as closely as possible, and found zero rust. Of course the trunk has access panels, but I loosened the wheel well liners enough to get a good look in the areas that you'd expect to find rust, and the car is pretty clean! My mechanic friend insisted that if the fender was dented, it would rust from the inside out within two months. The dent is about 3/16" deep, and 3 inches long. It begins just in front of the wheel well lip, so I could see the paint on the inside of the fender hadn't been chipped or cracked. I'll be sure to check it in two months ($100 bet we made ).