69 Coronet 440 project

[BigBlock61]

I got the trunk extension burned in today. Well at least partly burned in. I came home from work and went straight to the garage still in my work clothes. I got the holes drilled and the front and back welded but to weld the extension to the trunk floor I will have to sit on the floor. I'm not doing that in work clothes. My thinking is that the trunk floor is square and centered. the extensions have to line up with the wheel wells, trunk floor and the bumper mount. Everything else lines up to that combination. As long as the floor, extensions and wheel wells are solid the tail panel and quarters will have a solid foundation.

 

[BigBlock61]

Finished the welding in the trunk extension on the drivers side. I have a few more things to finish welding up on this side and then sand and cover in primer. I got the trunk lock bracket welded to the tail panel and the tail panel set in place for fitment. I also got the drivers quarter out the the rafters so I can get it mocked up and see what I'm going to need to do to make it fit. Hopefully it will begin looking like a car by the end of summer. Maybe dare I even say it, the metal work could be finished by the end of summer? Stay Tuned!

 

[BigBlock61]

I figured I'd try my hand at lead work. I've never done thin before so I know I made many mistakes. I learned a lot from this and the next time I think it will go smoother.

I need to learn to put on way more than I think I'll need the first time. Going back and trying to readd lead really turned into a mess.

I decided to smooth out what I had and skim coat it with bondo. That worked out really well for my first try.

 

[showard]

It looks good to me. I have never tried to lead before.

 

[BigBlock61]

It looks good to me. I have never tried to lead before.

Thanks showard, I have never done this before either but thought what the hell how hard could it actually be? The only problem I can say I ran into was not adding enough lead the first time. when you try and go back to add more the thinner layer of lead you just smoothed out melts and you have to start everything over again.

 

[BigBlock61]

Yesterday I got the floor on the passenger side finished and the trunk drop off installed This drop off was one of the first pieces that I bought when I got the car and decided to start in the back. The part was from Shermans and it was a total piece of garbage. I had to cut it all apart and reweld it together to make it fit. Some places I had to lengthen it and some places I had to shorten it but it finally matches the other side and fits perfectly. This is, so far the only piece I got from Shermans that was this bad, the other parts I bought from them fit perfectly. I have since, gone to AMD for most things as the metal is a little thicker. Today is smoothing out the parts of the wheel wells that you will be able to see and get then in primer because you know what comes after that? Quarters, tail panel and decklid.

 

[BigBlock61]

Well I got the quarters and tail panel installed so I can see how they fit and what I will have to fix.

Things started off looking great. How often do lines match up?

dusty but still looking good.

It looks like I have a bit more masagging to do on the trunk drop down. it doesnt match up with the quarter at all. This is the one I had to rebuild so I was expecting this.

Tail panel looks really good and the lines seem to match up well. I still need to fit the endcaps to see how they will fit but still ok.

Now on to the hell that is the Drivers side! Nothing fits right and its all my fault.

Yes that is the wheel well poking through. It's sitting too low. I didn't mock up the quarter when I mounted the Wheel well originally. That will teach me. Now I have to fix it. The dutchman panel is too long on the drivers side so I'll have to cut it and weld it back together in the right place. Lets not forget about the trunk drop off that also doesn't line up with the quarter. More cutting and fixing.

Other than that it doesn't look too bad for the first mock up. It probably could have been worse but I also know that this is what happens when you build a car from the ground up. I will make it work LOL! I do have my trusty sidekick and his frisbee.

 

[BigBlock61]

I know I may be getting ahead of myself here but I had to see how the gaps look and what I will need to do to fix any issues. So far the trunk gaps look pretty good. The passenger quarter is real close to welding. I did find issues with the back window corner and the lower back door corner that will probably need some massaging.

 

[BigBlock61]

The drivers side quarter is a permanent part of the Coronet now. This part was a little scary since I didnt know how it would turn out. Slow welding and constant checking made this go alot easier. I have a couple of gaps to fill where the quarter meets the dutchman panel but they are not too bad. Not a bad way to spend an Easter

 

[showard]

Great job!

 

[hunt2elk]

Nice progress. It sure is a good feeling when big peices are getting welded on. Starting to look like a car again.

 

[BigBlock61]

Great job!

Thanks

Nice progress. It sure is a good feeling when big pieces are getting welded on. Starting to look like a car again.

It really was a good feeling when I got the last weld done. I sat back and just looked at it for a few minutes. the fun part will be when I weld in the Charger gas cap.

 

[BigBlock61]

At what point do you give up on a part and say F*ck it I'm just replacing it. The passenger side trunk drop off is again showing, that it doesn't want to cooperate with me. When lining up the quarter, it sticks out past the drop off by 3/4 of an inch. I measured the drop off and yes it's 3/4 of an inch too short. I'm trying to lengthen it but I'm really starting to wonder if it's worth it and maybe I should just order an AMD part. Right now I'm piecing things together and burning holes in the metal. Time for a break to center myself and attack it tomorrow. Time for a beer run!

 

[showard]

It looks like what you are doing will work. I know that sometimes taking a day off can help. It is frustrating that that part is so far off.
Keep up the good work!

 

[BigBlock61]

I finally got the train wreck that is my passenger side trunk drop down dealt with and went to mock up the passenger side quarter for welding. Something must have shifted when I welded up the drivers side quarter because now the trunk doesnt line up right. I spent yesterday cutting the welds off the drivers quarter to try and line it back up again. I cut welds from the back until I could get it to move the amount I needed it to move. You can feel that the quarter is under tension so I'll probably have to cut even more welds and remeasure both sides again. It also hit me that I should probably break out the rear window trim to see the fit of the back window. More to come as I figure this out.

 

[BigBlock61]

The Coronet has an *** now! I ended up cutting off the drivers quarter and rewelding it on today along with the passenger side and tail panel. I tacked in some supports to keep the rear in line when I welded everything together. I still have some finish welding to do but its all in place now.

 

[showard]

Excellent work!

 

[BigBlock61]

Excellent work!

And I now have the welders burn to prove it lol. Spent Sunday finish welding the bottom of the quarters and fixing the mess I made removing the drivers quarter. Never remove expensive body panels when angry! I now have to fill my argon bottle again. I cant believe I went through a bottle of gas in under a month.

 

[BigBlock61]

Wow its been over a year since I last posted about the Coronet. That's due to frustration. After getting the rear quarters and tail panel in place I turned the car around in my garage. When I did that I was able to see that the drivers side quarter is noticeably higher than the passenger side. So after careful measurements I still got it wrong lol. I'm not looking forward to redoing the drivers side but its going to have to be done. In the meantime I decided to stop the body work and work on something else for the Coronet. I bought a shortened Dana 60 axle a few years back that was out of a Chevy S10 race truck. I cut off the 4 link mounts and took out the 5:12 gears and spool. I cleaned up the housing and noticed the axle tubes were bent forward. This weekend I made a stand to support the axle and made it to fit in my 20 ton press. I now have a straight axle housing for the 4:10 gearset and Track Loc I acquired for it. The stand will also be used as a build stand for the Dana.

Drivers side is off a little

This side is really off

First side done.

One straight axle housing.

 

[BigBlock61]

Finished to Dana 60 for the Coronet today 4.10 with a Trac Loc 35 spline axles. I got it placed on the springs but still need to go out and get another U bolt so I can bolt the axle down properly. I like the way it came out