69 gtx

[northerndave]

That's gonna be one stiff B-body! Looking good!

 

[tallhair]

That's gonna be one stiff B-body! Looking good!

X2 .. I'm watching this one closely. Interesting to see the stiffening in the front shock tower esp

 

[HT413]

Lol, i found myself checking out the local college for welding classes JUST because of this thread.

 

[Budnicks]

As for all the bracing I want a super healthy motor. Want to try and get 5-600 HP and throw a 150-200 shot of Nos on top of that when things get serious. Probably a 500 inch stroker. Want to just have a hint of rumble from the cam. Going automatic with a gear vender OD with I'm thinking 3:54-73 gears. Been looking at the S60's will most likely order a complete drop in rear. I want it to be bullit proof so I can drive it like a mad man on street or strip ;0)

Sounds like a man with a good plan... super sleeper

 

[69 GTX]

Minor delay this week with all the rain/flooding we've had here in Iowa. Nothing at my place other than frogs moving into the yard for a swim;0) Rest of my AMD sheet metal is coming Mon. Gotta fill the gas bottle on the welder, put the .023 wire back in and hopefully start screwing some panels on for fit. Gotta get the doors hung first. I saved the very front pieces of the quarters so I could match the doors back up to them, and then when I hang the 1/4s should be close on gappage/alignment. Anyone out there with helpful hints please chime in with any helpful advise!!! This is my first big sheetmetal replacement attempt. trying to think about 3 steps ahead but know that somewhere I'll probably miss something. BTW my dans 60 deal fell through damn!:angryfire: so still in the market for that. I'll try to get pictures of anything anyone wants for better detail. Just taking a few random ones as I go.

 

[Propwash]

What works for me in the past is mounting the doors to set your gap/alignment of your new quarters. Set your door to rocker gap where you want it, straight and level as well as making sure the top of the door up front is sitting level in coordination with the outer cowl. Fenders on helps dialing it in even better. The door jam panel will give you a fairly good idea of where that quarter will lay in. Those AMD quarters are definitely workable where they transition lip into the jam and having the door gaps forward and to the rocker set right will allow you to set the quarter to door gap, height, and body flow/arc correctly to match. All gaps are critical for proper alignment around the car, but a quarter not matching forward of the jam will create all kinds of issues trying to compensate forward of that, starting with the doors, then fenders, then cowl, then hood..ect...ect...

You definitely have the right idea "screwing panels on"..... What ever you do, do not rush to strike and arc on your quarter panels. Expect to take them on and off at least Several times to tweak this or that. It's a tedious process and will probably get on your nerves a bit, but don't fire up that welder until you are 110% happy with your gaps/fit. Also, you're going to want play with your decklid fit as well as the transition in your rear window channel. Use your rear window trim to see if the quarter to roof transition in the window channel is where you want it. Best of luck to you, hope it works out well. If questions arise along the way, there's a lot of good guys here that know there stuff and will be willing to help.

 

[69 GTX]

Thanks Prop. Thats what I did today

Put the piece of quarter I saved back on to help line up the door.

Lined door up with cowl then made sure bottom gap was parallel. Then tied to get the gap and bodylines matched at the 1/4's. Should be a good starting point.

BTW who ever has the sheetmatal fairy, send her my way, I laid out some of the trunk panels. I left the door open, welder plugged in, and a plate of cookies.

On a serious note Kevin came through with my Dana 60, I'm so happy it's exactly the combo I wanted 3.73 gears posi & strange axles. Should be bullet proof!

 

[Propwash]

Good work 69 GTX. Great to see that fresh tin in there.

 

[69 GTX]

Picked up my Dana today its 1.75 narrower than my stock axle, Perfect!!!! :hello2:I can open up the wheel tubs a little so I can have all kinds of tire clearance for any powerslides without worrying about cutting my sidewalls!! Not to mention dropping it a couple inches. My tires section width is 13" so I'll go from about 3/8" to 1 1/4! Might even be able to sneek the next size bigger in after I wear out the first set. Good timing too as I can make all the necessary fab work before I get to far in. Going to do some research on brakes as these had 10" drums. would like to switch to 12 drums min. if not disc's. I just don't want to have to run a power booster. Anyone have any good sources for info on this? Also got a good idea of how to put a pinion snubber on as I think this was a truck dana.

 

[Budnicks]

Picked up my Dana today its 1.75 narrower than my stock axle, Perfect!!!! :hello2:I can open up the wheel tubs a little so I can have all kinds of tire clearance for any powerslides without worrying about cutting my sidewalls!! Not to mention dropping it a couple inches. My tires section width is 13" so I'll go from about 3/8" to 1 1/4! Might even be able to sneek the next size bigger in after I wear out the first set. Good timing too as I can make all the necessary fab work before I get to far in. Going to do some research on brakes as these had 10" drums. would like to switch to 12 drums min. if not disc's. I just don't want to have to run a power booster. Anyone have any good sources for info on this? Also got a good idea of how to put a pinion snubber on as I think this was a truck dana.

Try look @ Doctor Diff @ www.DoctorDiff.com/ look at his stuff in his E-bay listing, his site isn't that good but knows his chit about rear ends & brakes, really reasonable in price & you can use stock style tapered bearing too...

 

[69 GTX]

Thanks Budnicks will check it out!!!!

 

[69 GTX]

Got my brake kit from Right Stuff through Summit (free shipping now for orders over 99$) 11" rotors with E brake calps & cables with all the misc. for about $400! Looks like everything bolts up good on the loose mock up!
Getting the calps painted today. Gotta cut off the spring perches and clean up the housing and bolt her all together to get a solid wheel dim. for my wheelhouses. Hope to get that done by Sun so I can post some pics Mon.

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Well I just found your thread and got up to speed with your progress, this is and awesome project and really looking forward to seeing it move forward. Great work! :icon_thumleft:

And x2 to the amazement of "shade tree" bodywork. My Charger was hiding a lot of horrible stuff once I started tearing into it, aka makeshift sheet metal patches over the top of rotted quarters, lopsided plasma-cut side marker holes, bondo, etc. Glad to see you're doing it right!

 

[69 GTX]

Love your Avatar!! One of my top ten favorite car movies!!!!

 

[69 GTX]

Well back on track now. Picked up bearing flange gaskets, and got my studs finished. Axles had 5/8 studs so had to turn and rethread to 1/2-20. Should be able to mount up the tires & wheels soon to get a hard number before I start on the sheetmetal. Really ready to get some sheetmetal back on her. For those of you who have Vintage Wheels magnum 500 look alikes, be advised that they use 14" centers. Had just minimal interferance with caliper. Made a .2 spacer to clear. Maybe thinner after I run it a little and get the brakes seated.

 

[Budnicks]

Well back on track now. Picked up bearing flange gaskets, and got my studs finished. Axles had 5/8 studs so had to turn and rethread to 1/2-20. Should be able to mount up the tires & wheels soon to get a hard number before I start on the sheetmetal. Really ready to get some sheetmetal back on her. For those of you who have Vintage Wheels magnum 500 look alikes, be advised that they use 14" centers. Had just minimal interferance with caliper. Made a .2 spacer to clear. Maybe thinner after I run it a little and get the brakes seated.

Yeah... I always thought that they look like the centers were pretty small for the outer rim size, I don't use them thou, but it's good to know...

 

[69 GTX]

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Got my brakes mocked up. Had to make some new brackets to bring the calipers closer to the centerline of the axle. I think that stockon use the same centers on their 14 & 15 inch wheels. I don't think it'd be a issue with most 15's. I used the Right Stuff brake kit and would give it a 9/10 rating.

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As you can see I'm trying to stuff the max tire in there!

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As soon as I get the rearend squared away 100% I can start putting the sheetmetal on!

 

[MT_Mopar]

Looking good, those Mickey Thompson's are just right - very nice. Keep up the good work.

 

[747mopar]

Man that pic of the car with only frame rails brings back memories, it will definetly be stiffer than ever. I like the plan, sounds like it will be a blast to drive. Excellent work

 

[Ron 73]

Looking good! That is some serious rubber on there..