SGTPauls 68 Charger RT project

[Donny]

Looking good bud! What I was saying was install the inner wheelhouse, hang the qtr, then slip the outer wheelhouse in place, just don't weld anything until all fit in correctly. Cheers!

 

[SGTPaul]

Looking good bud! What I was saying was install the inner wheelhouse, hang the qtr, then slip the outer wheelhouse in place, just don't weld anything until all fit in correctly. Cheers!

Thanks and understood. Was making sure things aligned and fit before I slid the quarters on. Lots of clamps and screws in use at this time.

 

[SGTPaul]

Thanks for the comments. A bit of a slow week on the R/T this week. As with most of the country the heat rolled in and I slow down in the heat. Work for the week included repairing both outer roof supports at the wheelhouses (more bad body work from the previous body man :angry9, ground down the spot welds from the quarter removals, blasted down the trunk gutters and lock support, and did a little more fitting / marking on the right wheel houses. Got the answers I needed on the rear valance and valance corners from AMD. Posted that info on my thread in the bodywork forum. Reconfirmed my trunk area measurements on a unmolested 68 charger so I know I’m good to go in the department. Happy Independence Day to all!!

 

[SGTPaul]

Quartered!

Hi all. With a break in the heat I was able to get a bit of work done on the R/T this week. Had a good conversation with one of the techs at AMD to go over quarter panel installation. AMD’s suggestion for installation is to clamp in the trunk drop off and wheel houses, slide the quarter on, loosen up the clamps, adjust all the panel and then re-clamp. They said to then remove the quarter and weld in the wheelhouses and drop offs. Donny I know this differs from your suggestion but it seems to work and working by myself it made it a bit easier since getting the outer wheelhouse in and aligned without the quarter on was a bit of a struggle as it was. I was able to get both quarters on and clamped but discovered some of my target dims are not being met and my driver’s door gap evaporated. Lesson learned is to constantly check all your dims. So back to square 2 and try it again. Based on the effort I’ve gone thru on the panel adjustments so far I think I will remove the quarters and weld in the wheelhouses to the quarter window panel (next to the back seat) and weld the rest after the all the panels are back in place. Any comments on the path of my madness? A few progress pics below.

 

[roadrunnerman]

looks good.Just asking a question here.Is that the proper procedure is to put the taillight panel first and then weld on the quarters?Again, i am asking for my own information.

 

[Donny]

Man, looks good, whatever works!

 

[detmatt1]

Man, looks good, whatever works!

I agree Donny!
Paul your work looks fantastic! Keep up the good work!

 

[HRDCHGR]

Looking great!! I finally got along to patching my drivers side floor pan.. now I have to cut the roof skin off and then do some lower patches on the rear quarters.

I am sure I will have a lot of areas that could be touched up, but This guy is lacking the confidence.. when it comes to cutting and welding.

 

[SGTPaul]

looks good.Just asking a question here.Is that the proper procedure is to put the taillight panel first and then weld on the quarters?Again, i am asking for my own information.

roadrunnerman, I'm using the tail panel to locate the ends of the quarter panel. I have various dimensions around the trunk opening to help guide the quarter panels into place. Everything is loose. Once it’s all set then it gets welded in. Hope that answers your question and thanks for the comment.

 

[Propwash]

Looking good SGT! Looks like a Charger again....Gets a guy recharged putting fresh tin on, even if it is temporary with vise grips.

Critical areas for fit would be; line up at the door, then the tail panel and the deck lid opening as well. Work those three out and your sitting pretty good

.......

 

[roadrunnerman]

thanks sgtpaul, that does answer my question.I didn't know if some guys put quarters on first,then line up the rear panel or vise-versa.

 

[smyythe68]

Very exciting stuff, looking good! I'm getting close to quarter panel time myself. Probably do one side at a time, starting with the Driver side. Just working on installing the outer wheelhouse. AMD says not to weld until all is clamped together? I was hoping to weld my outer in tomorrow. All my alignment holes line up..... :shruggy:. Probably very satisfying seeing a solid quarter go on with no rust spots at all. Keep up the goood work, good luck!

 

[SGTPaul]

That is the skinny I was provided. They actually said don’t be surprised is the wheelhouse alignment holes don’t align. Mine are close, but the outer wheelhouses did need to shift a bit to align with the wheel opening in the quarters. Still tweaking the quarters before I tack in the wheelhouses. Thanks for the comments and well wishes!

 

[Donny]

yup, basically ignore the alignment holes.

 

[SGTPaul]

Thanks for the comments all. This week I was able to work out the fit and gap issues I believe. Locked in my wheelhouses and trunk drop offs and got most of those pieces welded in. Took off the quarters, tail, and deck filler panel to allow for welding the wheelhouses in. Small report but a lot of work was accomplished.

 

[Homerr]

Awesome work SGTPaul! I did a 69 Charger resto 20 years ago, it's a great memory jogging exercise to have just read this thread. I did all the grunt work with pro body and paint by others so I wasn't doing any of the welding. But I'm here now reading up with the possibility of jumping in on a similar endeavor.

Do you have the rear window glass to fit before welding the rear deck panel? And the decklid for that matter.

My car back then just had the more typical, and less extensive, rot so I didn't have to replace the whole back end. Are you going to splice in the body number on the left trunk opening (where the weatherstrip goes), or is that just additional PITA to deal with? Same deal on the core support (I think there on a 68 too.)

 

[SGTPaul]

Hey Homerr. Thanks for the comments! I do have the glass to test fit before all the welding begins. Good point! I’ve been checking the trunk opening with the deck lid to make sure it’s all ok. I was able to save the original trunk gutters so I don’t have to splice in the body number. My car didn’t have a body number on the radiator support. Matt said his was a similar configuration. The parts car I had #’s all around.

I talked to a couple people about the body # thing and they all said about the same thing. Getting more body # on the car started in 68 so it was spotty. My car is a December build to is was in the 1st half of the year. I understand a lot of 68 engines don’t have vin numbers as well. By 69 they had #’s on everything.

 

[SGTPaul]

This week I wrapped up welding in the wheelhouses and trunk extensions. Started on the quarter panel prepping so I can install them soon. Will be scuffing up the inside of all the panels, drilling the holes for welding, applying the weld thru primer, and welding on the rear valance corners and trunk gutters onto the quarters before installing them based on my test fitting. Also identified that there are three brackets on the left side of the trunk to mount the bumper jack into. Of course my car was missing these so I have no reference point for installing these. I found some pics on the net but nothing as to where they are located. Especially the forward bracket that goes on the wheelhouse I’m guessing? Can anyone help with a little intel? Couple of progress pics below.

Oh and I hit the 10,000+ views milestone! Thanks everyone for checking out my progress and all the comments / suggestions!

 

[roadrunnerman]

sgtpaul,i see a few places where you didn't put a clamp in.I see you are up to your usual excellence in metal work.

 

[Donny]

I can see I need to raid the local tool store for Vise Grips! Nice job!