1969 Charger R/T resurrection

[747mopar]

I'm just amazed what he can do with a piece of metal. I'm also still losing sleep over the color choice. Here is a Viper & Charger painted 2013 Copperhead pearl. The lighting changes the color so much it is hard to tell what it would really look like.

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That color would look great on your car.

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All my repoped metal is AMD stuff. The kid helping me says that these quarter skins are the absolute worst he has ever seen. They are going to take alot of time to make them presentable. He told me to send them back - but I didn't. They are full of waves,buckles, and the body lines are horrendus. Someone on this site used the AMD full quarters and said they fit perfect and was able to get all the imperfections out with just high build primer. I have never seen the full ones, but I'm sure they can't be as bad as mine. I didn't go with them because the kid told me he prefers the skins because you are locked in on all sides and don't have any wiggle room with full quarters. After putting these on he said maybe we should have tried them. They are alot more money though.

That was me that used the full quarters, I was thinking about that and I think maybe one of the reasons I had good luck was that I bought mine right after they started selling them. I talked to they're guy that actually did the testing and fitting before they go into production, it's all done hear in the US and then sent overseas for production. I just wonder if after years of production and a labor force that doesn't give a #$*@ if they just have the dies all fubard. I don't no, but it makes you wonder and I'll be hesitant to buy more after hearing the misery some of you guys have had to deal with.

 

[hunt2elk]

Here is a picture of my original brackets compared to a shot from Richard's 68, and the last post from another thread I started about the console location.
"Thanks guys - especially Mr. Cranium for all the pm's. I moved my front bracket a little more to the left and twisted it slightly like dsd1967's measurement and it is going to work fine. The handle does get very close to the side cover when in reverse, but I'm fairly certain this is how it should be. We talk about poor quality control on these cars and this is a good example. When I took the console off, I noticed that one of the screws for the rear bracket wasn't even able to hit the slot. I took pictures and front to back measurements and cut them out. When I installed them after the new floor was in, I went by my pictures. It just didn't fit nice. I happened to see a picture of Richards 68 and noticed his brackets were installed different than mine. It turns out that somebody building this car in 1969 reversed the middle and rear brackets. So that is when I started this thread, to find out how they should be."

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[hunt2elk]

It doesn't look much different than 1 month ago, but in my mind we have crossed the first major hurdle. All the welding and metal grinding is done.
I want to give a big thank you to Moparmarks for setting me straight on the difference between Dodge and Plymouth rear spring perch mounts. The original frame assembly I used was from a Satellite. I wasn't aware of Dodges wheelbase being 1" longer than a Plymouth. They do this by moving the rear spring hanger sleeve back an inch and the front bolt on hangers also have the mount hole 1" farther back. Even AMD's paper catalog doesn't show 2 different rear hangers, but if you go onto the website, it shows 2 different part #'s. So if Mark hadn't enlightened me on this, I would have had a huge issue after the car was painted. We got the old ones out in pieces and the new ones welded in. It actually went better than we had thought it would.



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Grinding done. The e-coat removed from the drivers quarter is where we used a shrinking disc to remove a very bad bulge. The other side will need the same attention.



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The next plan is to put the car back on the rosisserie, get it outside and sandblast all the spot welds and burned epoxy primer. The only problem is that winter doesn't want to leave WI this year. This morning was 4 degrees below with a wind chill of minus 10. And then it seems to snow every other day on top of the cold temps. So while we wait a little while for mother nature to warm up, we are starting the bodywork on the doors, fenders, hood, and decklid. To me this is a relief to have the welder sitting idle.

 

[moparlee]

Man, I bet you are happy that all the metal work is done. You and your buddy have done a fantastic job on it. Like you say......now on to the next phase.

 

[696969]

Belated question, but what's the reason you're reenforcing your K-frame and other parts?

 

[mopar4don]

It doesn't look much different than 1 month ago, but in my mind we have crossed the first major hurdle. All the welding and metal grinding is done.
I want to give a big thank you to Moparmarks for setting me straight on the difference between Dodge and Plymouth rear spring perch mounts. The original frame assembly I used was from a Sattelite. I wasn't aware of Dodges wheelbase being 1" longer than a Plymouth. They do this by moving the rear spring hanger sleeve back an inch and the front bolt on hangers also have the mount hole 1" farther back. Even AMD's paper catalog doesn't show 2 different rear hangers, but if you go onto the website, it shows 2 different part #'s. So if Mark hadn't enlightened me on this, I would have had a huge issue after the car was painted. We got the old ones out in pieces and the new ones welded in. It actually went better than we had thought it would.

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Hi Elk,
Looking real good! Nice progress:sSig_goodjob:
I have to admit, for a few seconds you scared the heck out of me when you said you installed your rear frame rails that came from a Plymouth and the spring mounts are different by 1 inch.
I did the same thing, but then remembered my donor rails came from a 4 door Coronet..... had me for a second.

 

[hunt2elk]

Belated question, but what's the reason you're reenforcing your K-frame and other parts?

No special reason I guess - except everything is apart at this time making it easy to do. The k-frame and lower control arm were both fairly cheap and easy strengthening modifications. I think the frame connectors and torque boxes will help reduce alot of unnesssary body flex.

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Hi Elk,
Looking real good! Nice progress:sSig_goodjob:
I have to admit, for a few seconds you scared the heck out of me when you said you installed your rear frame rails that came from a Plymouth and the spring mounts are different by 1 inch.
I did the same thing, but then remembered my donor rails came from a 4 door Coronet..... had me for a second.
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Hey Don - Yeah there were a few choice words floating around when I learned of my mistake. Thankfully I caught it in time to make a fairly easy repair. It sure did suck having to cut up the nice pieces that were already on the car, but there was no way I was going to hack up my new floor and bumper braces. I have learned that when a problem arrises, you just have to deal with it and move on. It could have been alot worse.

 

[Ron 73]

No special reason I guess - except everything is apart at this time making it easy to do. The k-frame and lower control arm were both fairly cheap and easy strengthening modifications. I think the frame connectors and torque boxes will help reduce alot of unnesssary body flex.

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Hey Don - Yeah there were a few choice words floating around when I learned of my mistake. Thankfully I caught it in time to make a fairly easy repair. It sure did suck having to cut up the nice pieces that were already on the car, but there was no way I was going to hack up my new floor and bumper braces. I have learned that when a problem arrises, you just have to deal with it and move on. It could have been alot worse.

Words of wisdom! Looking great Elk!

 

[696969]

I'm really enjoying this thread and admire your talent!

 

[hunt2elk]

A couple of months ago I thought I would save a little money and ordered a shift rod - lever set from Year One. It is the gold colored ones that are a universal fit for 68-70 cars, also sold by Classic. I learned after the fact that the original 70 rods were different than the 68-69's. It did fit, but the quality was not up to my standards. The levers and rods had to much play and would have resulted in sloppiness at the handle. So I bit the bullet and ordered a set from Brewers Performance along with a rebuilt shifter. What a difference. These parts are very nice being thicker than the gold ones and they fit perfect and tight. I have always been very satisfied with stuff from Brewers and these parts are no exception. So my new gold rods and a 70 shifter I had laying around went on e- bag this morning. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now about buying cheaper parts. So now my tranny is completely done and pushed in the corner awaiting install.

 

[tallhair]

Looks sweet H2E and those rods are pretty beefy looking.

 

[MoparMitch]

Great looking trans. Looks like it'll stand the test of time, and Hard Shifts!!

 

[hunt2elk]

We decided to roll her outside to do a little spot blasting last night. By hitting the welded areas gently with some sand they really clean up nice. This takes most of the grinding marks out and will require minimal filler.

 

[daytona kid]

What type of media are you using in your blaster?

 

[hunt2elk]

What type of media are you using in your blaster?

We are just using sand that I get in bulk from the local sandblast guy.

 

[Superfreak]

The shell is looking good, great job so far. I can't wait until I get all the sheetmetal done.

 

[hunt2elk]

The shell is looking good, great job so far. I can't wait until I get all the sheetmetal done.

Thanks. It sure was a good feeling to turn off the welder, but at least it seemed like progress was being made. Not so with slinging mud. Put some on - sand it off - repeat, repeat, repeat. It will be straighter than when it left the factory though.

 

[Basket case]

patience Daniel-son........

 

[hunt2elk]

patience Daniel-son........

Good one - I was just telling my 13 year old son about this movie as he was helping scuff the fenders and hood last night. He didn't think it sounded that cool at the time.

 

[Basket case]

be sure he watches the original, much better.