My GY8 '71 Road Runner

[blue69runner]

Yep you will find a lot of par's do not fit like the original part's. My drop down's did not meet up with the fender well area and had to make a piece to fill that area. Trunk pan was longer on one side and short on the other so had to cut it off and weld it back to the other side. Now you know why the body shop's take so long to get these car's done. Looking good on what you have done. Wishing you luck and take your time. blue69runner

 

[ct71rr]

Yep you will find a lot of par's do not fit like the original part's. My drop down's did not meet up with the fender well area and had to make a piece to fill that area. Trunk pan was longer on one side and short on the other so had to cut it off and weld it back to the other side. Now you know why the body shop's take so long to get these car's done. Looking good on what you have done. Wishing you luck and take your time. blue69runner

Thank you! When I saw the gap my heart sank. I was thinking “oh ****, what did I F up”. This is definitely all new to me. I’m just trying to take my time and think through things.

 

[ct71rr]

I had some time today so I mounted the trunk lid and quarter to make sure everything is lining up. I used tekscrews to hold everything together temporarily. I’m going to have to do the same for the other side, as well. I still need to remove & replace the inner and outer wheel well on the left side and repair some rot on the left side rocker.

Quarter roughed on:

The trunk floor extension was a little too far forward:

Reset it, all better:

Gap’s not too bad either:

 

[chargervert]

Looking good,its exciting to see new full rear quarters going on. I have a 71 Charger R/T that I am doing the same thing to,I haven't touched it since last fall I hope to get back to work on it at some point!

 

[ct71rr]

Very nice! My first car was a ‘73 Charger

 

[ct71rr]

I’m still at it. Today I patched the left side inner and outer rocker. I also hosed down the inside of the rocker with Eastwoods internal frame coating. I attached a thin wood dowel to the hose that connects to the can. It worked much better this way. I also sprayed the inside of the windshield frames, as well.

Left rocker rot:

Inner rocker patched first:

Posterboard template:

Welded in:

Eastwoods inner frame coating:

Inside of rocker (hard to see in there):

I also spayed the back of the patch with the coating before welding it in.

 

[ct71rr]

I had some time today so, I removed the left inner & outer wheel wells. I removed it in one piece. It came out easier than I anticipated. I also added a brace to keep the deck filler/top of trunk opening from moving.

 

[ct71rr]

Today I pulled the right quarter off and mocked in the outer wheel well to check fitment with the quarter back on. It all fits pretty good. I then moved onto the left side. I mocked in the outer and inner wheel wells, as well. The left side trunk extension really gave me a fit. I had to adjust the bend where it meets the inside of the wheel well. I was also having some issues with the gap at the bottom corner of the trunk lid. After playing around with the left gutter, I finally got a better gap. I’m going to have to add a small patch where the left trunk extension meets the outer wheel well. The fitment of the AMD panel is not very good in this area. I’m also going to replace the right side trunk gutter, that is for another day.

Right quarter with outer wheel well:

Left quarter with outer and inner wheel wells:

Getting this gap acceptable was not fun:

Better:

And a welcome addition to the garage:

All in all, the AMD panels fit pretty good. The left trunk extension needs work and was the only part that I’ve had real problems with. I’ve never done this type of work before so I’m learning by doing (and by the many posts/projects on this site). I still have to play around with the inner and outer wheel wells on the left side. I think they’re sitting a little low. I also need to adjust the doors a bit to fit better with the quarters. Hopefully I’ll be able to start welding once I get it all lined up.

 

[chargervert]

You are making fantastic progress,it's great when they start looking like a whole car again!

 

[Grabbergreendream]

Looking good!
I had the same problem with the trunk extension and had to heat both the ext, & the outer WH & "massage"it closer together. Took more work than making the quarter fit the car...
Also had the same issue with the gap in the outer trunk gutter area... Mine pulled in after welding up to it as I adjusted along the way(difficult to do but closed trunk to check on each spotweld).
I left that area for last because of the rearest flange on the tailpanel that welds in arpund the back corner. I replaced both gutters & put the quarters in 1st, then worked the gutters up in. It was the only way I found to do it with everything else in place where it needed to be...
Don't let aftermarket parts get you discouraged. I'm rooting for you to start welding in! I'm racing you actually!

 

[chargervert]

It's not unusual to have to tweak or even manhandle the panels to insure proper fitment,even with original or NOS panels. Keep on mind that these cars are 50 plus years old,and have been twisted,torqued,rusted,rotted and damaged,no two are the exact same,and the more panels,and rails that have been replaced,the harder it is to get them all properly aligned. An 1/8th inch off over here,can end up being a 1/2 inch off three pieces later.

 

[ct71rr]

[QUOTE="Grabbergreendream, post: 911936066, member: 27396"Looking good!...
I left that area for last because of the rearest flange on the tailpanel that welds in arpund the back corner. I replaced both gutters & put the quarters in 1st, then worked the gutters up in. It was the only way I found to do it with everything else in place where it needed to be...
Don't let aftermarket parts get you discouraged. I'm rooting for you to start welding in! I'm racing you actually![/QUOTE]

Thanks John and chargervert! I found tucking the gutter in and under after the quarter was on much easier too. I’m going to do the same with the right side. The original is still on and pretty chewed up.

 

[ct71rr]

Wow! It’s been almost a month since my last update. I was on away on vacation for the first week of July but have been plugging away on my car when I can. The past couple of Saturdays I’ve been getting the quarters mocked in. I’ve had the left side off and on about 20 times already. Fun stuff! I also mocked on the rear valance to check fitment. The valance (AMD) fits pretty well except for the top corner of the right side. It looks like I’ll need to slice about an 1/8th out of the corner and re-weld it. My original valance was not on my car when I purchased it so I have no reference. I’ve been looking at numerous pics on the internet an it appears that there is about a 1/4” or so gap between the quarter panel and rear valance so, that’s what I’m running with . I’ll also have to weld up the screw holes used for attaching the valance and re-drill them as none of the pre-drilled holes are lining up.

Rear Valance left side:

Rear valance right side:

Silver marker line is where I need to cut:

Examples of rear valance fitment:

Thanks for looking!

 

[HawkRod]

Wow! It’s been almost a month since my last update. I was on away on vacation for the first week of July but have been plugging away on my car when I can. The past couple of Saturdays I’ve been getting the quarters mocked in. I’ve had the left side off and on about 20 times already. Fun stuff! I also mocked on the rear valance to check fitment. The valance (AMD) fits pretty well except for the top corner of the right side. It looks like I’ll need to slice about an 1/8th out of the corner and re-weld it. My original valance was not on my car when I purchased it so I have no reference. I’ve been looking at numerous pics on the internet an it appears that there is about a 1/4” or so gap between the quarter panel and rear valance so, that’s what I’m running with . I’ll also have to weld up the screw holes used for attaching the valance and re-drill them as none of the pre-drilled holes are lining up.

View attachment 1143121

View attachment 1143122

Rear Valance left side:
View attachment 1143123

Rear valance right side:
View attachment 1143124

Silver marker line is where I need to cut:
View attachment 1143125

Examples of rear valance fitment:
View attachment 1143127

View attachment 1143128

Thanks for looking!

Nice work and looks like you are doing your research to get it right. Measure (and research) twice and cut once!

 

[poconos_power]

Wow, this is amazing work! I just joined with my recently acquired `71 satellite that, well, needs a little work. I totally get the feeling I'll be using your examples here as a guide. Since I've never welded or done body work before

How hard was it to find the donor trunk section (whatever it's called)? Mine is mostly good, I think, I'll know when I strip the paint a little, but the little lip that curls over is definitely rotten a bit.

 

[ct71rr]

Nice work and looks like you are doing your research to get it right. Measure (and research) twice and cut once!

Thanks Hawk, I appreciate it! It feels like all I do is measure, check other side and measure, check other side and measure again...It's tedious but needs to be done. I'm trying to avoid surprises down the road (pun intended).

 

[ct71rr]

Wow, this is amazing work! I just joined with my recently acquired `71 satellite that, well, needs a little work. I totally get the feeling I'll be using your examples here as a guide. Since I've never welded or done body work before

How hard was it to find the donor trunk section (whatever it's called)? Mine is mostly good, I think, I'll know when I strip the paint a little, but the little lip that curls over is definitely rotten a bit.

Welcome to the site and thanks. I've never done this before either and learning as I go. This site is a wealth of knowledge. It has helped me a lot.

I believe I got the back section of the trunk (if that's what you mean) from a member on here. It was a while ago. There are a few members who part out cars on here. Moparmark is a good resource for parts too.

 

[ct71rr]

A little more progress; I was planning on removing the 1/4’s, blasting everything and then getting everything in epoxy primer but that didn’t quite work out. SPI is out of epoxy primer and does not know when they’ll have it back in stock. So, I decided to work on my cowl. This part is not reproduced for my car and solid ones are hard to find (apparently). I’m going to try to save mine. I made a patch for it a while back but was never satisfied with how the bottom left corner looked, where there is a bead in it. I was originally going to buy am E Body cowl, the bottom halves of the cowl are the same, and cut off the sections I need. They are about $300.00 so I decided to attempt my hand at fabricating a patch. I purchased a Woodward Fab bead roller off the internet. I got it for a good price, $165.00. I figured that if I couldn’t do a decent job of it, I would sell it. After practicing on several pieces of scrap, I made a decent patch, I think anyway.

Practice:

Rough template made:

Rolled out:

Cut to size:

Roughed in:

I still have some work to do on it but I think it came out pretty good. I will have to add a small patch to the top left of this patch. I keep blowing through thin metal in that area. Thanks for looking!

 

[HawkRod]

A little more progress; I was planning on removing the 1/4’s, blasting everything and then getting everything in epoxy primer but that didn’t quite work out. SPI is out of epoxy primer and does not know when they’ll have it back in stock. So, I decided to work on my cowl. This part is not reproduced for my car and solid ones are hard to find (apparently). I’m going to try to save mine. I made a patch for it a while back but was never satisfied with how the bottom left corner looked, where there is a bead in it. I was originally going to buy am E Body cowl, the bottom halves of the cowl are the same, and cut off the sections I need. They are about $300.00 so I decided to attempt my hand at fabricating a patch. I purchased a Woodward Fab bead roller off the internet. I got it for a good price, $165.00. I figured that if I couldn’t do a decent job of it, I would sell it. After practicing on several pieces of scrap, I made a decent patch, I think anyway.

Practice:
View attachment 1149305

Rough template made:
View attachment 1149306
Rolled out:
View attachment 1149307

Cut to size:
View attachment 1149308

Roughed in:
View attachment 1149309

I still have some work to do on it but I think it came out pretty good. I will have to add a small patch to the top left of this patch. I keep blowing through thin metal in that area. Thanks for looking!

This is great stuff!

I am slowly trying to learn some basic metal working skills. I have purchased a brake, a shrinker/ stretcher combo and a sand bag and hammer to try my hand at some patches. It is rough going at first, but eventually I am getting some OK shapes out of it.

Keep it up - you're doing a great job at it from my vantage point!

 

[ct71rr]

Thanks Hawk! It’s definitely a learn by doing thing.