Holes in my wheel wells beside rear seat hooks. 1969 charger

[Slob]

Hi there. Can anyone tell me what the holes are for in my wheel wells just below the lower hooks for the rear seat. Thanks again

 

[kiwigtx]

Hi there. Can anyone tell me what the holes are for in my wheel wells just below the lower hooks for the rear seat. Thanks again

Without a picture, I'm going to take a stab here - Did Dougie Death from Rotorua dip the body? If so, the holes are to release air when lowered into the tank.

 

[Slob]

Without a picture, I'm going to take a stab here - Did Dougie Death from Rotorua dip the body? If so, the holes are to release air when lowered into the tank.

No he didnt mate. These are factory holes that go from the inside part of the wheel well . Ill put up a pic Cheers

 

[kiwigtx]

No he didnt mate. These are factory holes that go from the inside part of the wheel well . Ill put up a pic Cheers

View attachment 1366233

That really is an odd place for a hole.

Maybe someone had non-factory seat belts or a harness fitted at some stage.

 

[Slob]

Yea there is one on each side and they are pushed holes not like they have been drilled out

 

[1STMP]

Could be holes used on body jig to line up for
welding. Curious to know if anyone elses' car
has the same holes. Those are factory
punched.

 

[Slob]

So if thats the case then a couple of rubber plugs to seal them up?

 

[1STMP]

So if thats the case then a couple of rubber plugs to seal them up?

Shouldn't be a problem unless there's a
possibility of trapping dirt or water. The
factory may have left them open for a
reason. Judging from the pic, they do seem
to be at the lowest point in the trough.
If you haven't had any rust out issues to
this point, closing them off may be
detrimental.

 

[Kern Dog]

What kind of car is this? Those don't look like a Mopar factory hole.

 

[1STMP]

What kind of car is this? Those don't look like a Mopar factory hole.

Hello KD,
The only thing that leads me to believe these
may be factory, or maybe even a body shop
created hole would be the countersink. Not
many home builders would have the tools
to create such a hole, nor the inclination.
Can't think of anything that would be
attached in that location that necessitates
a countersunk hole other than factory or
a bodyshop that may be replacing rusted
out sheetmetal and are using that hole for
positioning during a welding process.
Just my .02.....
I'm in agreement these holes aren't factory
and at some point in time, these wheelwells
have been replaced. Just from the OP's pics, the metal looks new.

 

[moparedtn]

Shotgun slug holes.
Oh wait...

 

[Triplegreen500]

Yeah, that looks too irregular to be machined or drilled or punched...

Shotgun slug holes.
Oh wait...

That honestly DOES look like a bullet hole to me. Had a customer (no kidding) come in with power windows inop on her Subaru. Tech pulled the door panel and found a hole in the sheetmetal, and a frayed harness.

And a .45 round rolling around in the bottom of the door.

Turns out...the car HAD been shot. In through the passenger door, through the driver door panel, but not out the door (nobody was in the car - it was parked outside a bar at the time). Insurance and the body shop fixed the passenger door, and the driver door trim panel...but never dug into the harness nor found the bullet.

But we did.

And the hole through the inner drivers door sheetmetal...looked just about like the one pictured above.

 

[440 4 speed]

The 66-67 Chargers have holes in that area, this was to help attach the inner panel to the body.

 

[moparedtn]

Yeah, that looks too irregular to be machined or drilled or punched...


That honestly DOES look like a bullet hole to me. Had a customer (no kidding) come in with power windows inop on her Subaru. Tech pulled the door panel and found a hole in the sheetmetal, and a frayed harness.

Oh, I know it does - put many a dozen in metal, wood, heck....trees, whatever - over the years.
Shotgun slugs are about perfect "wadcutters", just in jumbo size. Perfect little .690" holes...

 

[Slob]

Hello KD,
The only thing that leads me to believe these
may be factory, or maybe even a body shop
created hole would be the countersink. Not
many home builders would have the tools
to create such a hole, nor the inclination.
Can't think of anything that would be
attached in that location that necessitates
a countersunk hole other than factory or
a bodyshop that may be replacing rusted
out sheetmetal and are using that hole for
positioning during a welding process.
Just my .02.....
I'm in agreement these holes aren't factory
and at some point in time, these wheelwells
have been replaced. Just from the OP's pics, the metal looks new.

Hi there. Its a 1969 Dodge charger. Wheel wells are original to car and have not been replaced. The car was purchased as a rolling body fro Arizona with original paint on it. Thanks again for your help

 

[Richard Cranium]

That honestly DOES look like a bullet hole to me.

The culprit .....

 

[kiwigtx]

I'm going to play my 'Phone a friend' ......I think my painter buddy has seen these holes on a similar car.

I'll update later.

 

[kiwigtx]

I'm going to play my 'Phone a friend' ......I think my painter buddy has seen these holes on a similar car.

I'll update later.

I can confirm that after talking with my friendly painter, he saw the exact same holes on his son's '69 Coronet. He had asked me at the time about the holes (now that I think back) but I couldn't offer any good advice or opinions. It is possible that this was a factory specific method of panel alignment during the chassis welding process. I'm not sure if I saved the pictures he sent me a few years ago.....but they look almost the same from memory.

He ended up just hammering the area to shape and Tigging the holes up. No point in allowing water to get in the car from the rear well.

So yes, they are factory holes......probably only happened at one plant.

 

[Slob]

Hi there. Its a 1969 Dodge charger. Wheel wells are original to car and have not been replaced. The car was purchased as a rolling body fro Arizona with original paint on it. Thanks again for your help

I just found this photo before i stripped car down. Shows a bolt and nut but dont know what it would fasten inside. Looks like factory nut etc seat retainer??

 

[WileE]