Stress crack drivers side door

[1969CoronetR/T]

I noticed the paint was cracking (a fine line) last summer and thought nothing of it until last week. It has now chipped away and a crack in the metal is visible. I was having it dyno tuned and he suggested support connecting rails. Were the two pieces of metal welded at the factory or would they have been just placed next to each other? I would like to strengthen the joint, but I really do not want to put on connecting rails (forget their real name). What do you guys suggest to stop this stress crack and possible stop other cracks from forming?
Thanks,
Mark

 

[AR67GTX]

I wonder if the rear quarter has been replaced and they welded it in there instead of separating the old panel in the door jamb area at the spot welds? From looking at the crack does it look like there is filler there? It could be some filler that has failed from body flexing or poor workmanship.

My 67 has some paint cracks across the corners of the cowl panel that I think are from body flexing. I also know there is a problem with metal fatigue around the door strike plate area in the door jamb over time - especially on the driver side due to the frequent use. I could just be from something like that.

 

[Revhendo]

I used to refer to that as the "Charger crack". I've owned 68 and 69 Chargers that did that. I didn't know the other bodies would do that.

 

[RTSrunner]

I've seen it on several B-bodies,my '69 runner had the same crack.
RT

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

My Satellite has a similar "crack" on it. A buddy of mine, who is a bodyman, looked at it and thinks during one of its paint prep sessions, someone got a little too agressive grinding on the body panel and got it thin at the top near the corner. Anyone got an untouched car with this tear in the sheet metal?

 

[Meep-Meep]

My 69 RR had it also and I bet everyone who has experienced this crack has a hard top. Chargers? Hard top. The car in the pic? Hard top. My 69 RR? Hard top. When I was repairing it I noticed it was a weak spot because that corner flexes a lot without the support of the pillar.

 

[moopa]

My Satellite has a similar "crack" on it. A buddy of mine, who is a bodyman, looked at it and thinks during one of its paint prep sessions, someone got a little too agressive grinding on the body panel and got it thin at the top near the corner. Anyone got an untouched car with this tear in the sheet metal?

Yes my 69 Charger Survivor original paint, has this crack.

 

[69 mayflower]

Yep,My 69 Sport Satellite had the same crack on the passenger side.My 68 Satellite parts car has the same crack on the driver side.Very common in hardtop b-bodies.I'm sure frame connectors would help.Although I have never put them on my car.Body flex is the culprit.

 

[Mr4Speed]

Had the same with my 68 Charger;
You could get some frameconnectors that are fixed with bolts instead of the weld-in-versions. That would be sufficient in my opinion, and you can alwaus remove them again.

Marcel

 

[70rr-brian]

There is a fair amount of rust there. I suspect that crack had been forming there for quite some time and just needed a little nudge to become visible. That might have shown up by using a floor jack on one side of the car or even driving over uneven pavement.

 

[dfarmercse]

Just repainted my 68 gtx and had this crack on the driverside.

Dave F

 

[b-body-bob]

69 road runner here with that crack but it had been been fixed before. They had bent the metal down and filled it up with brass. Now I'm sort of screwed because I need to replace the jamb and can't weld around that brass. I'm trying to carefully grind the brass out but I figure there's a good chance I'll kill the quarter before I'm done.

How are you folks fixing those cracks on your cars?

At my age this is probably my last b-body, but if not it's definitely my last hardtop.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

I noticed a slight line in the paint last summer and my uncle used a floor jack on the drivers side when we were working on it a few weeks ago. I have to check my Super Bee for stress cracks now. I will have to fix it during the coming winter and hope it does not spread.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[moparstuart]

yes most non post cars this happens to , especially if you add more horse power
Sub frame connectors will solve this problem

 

[YY1]

Hmm. Wonder why 66/67s don't do that? Same basic unit body.

66/67 Chargers do rust in that area, but it comes out in BB to nickel sized round or round-ish holes. Most Coronets and B body Plymouths don't do that.

That cowl stress crack does suck. hard to get away from that one.
Mostly better to leave it alone.
Most I've seen fixed come right back worse.

 

[383man]

One of the reasons I tied my frame together and installed my 6 point rollbar into the unibody frame to help strenthen the car. Many cars get the cracks in the B-pillars if you race them. Launching a car on slicks or drag radials is very hard on the chassis. Driving normal on street tires it is unusal for cracks in the B pillar or where you all have them. Ron

 

[b-body-bob]

My car was definitely run with slicks before the frame was tied.

 

[Garys1969RR]

HAS THE CAR BEEN ON A CHASSIS DYNO? This could add stress to that area, especially w/o frame connectors. And if you are putting out alot of torque, that would tend to make the problem worse. Keep us posted if you find a solution. This is good info as I have a 69 Road Runner about to get a new (hopefully) high torque/ high horse power 451 stroker installed.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

It was used for drag racing in the eighties according to the guy who restored it with his father. I will put the bolt on frame connectors from Mancini racing on tomorrow. Hope it does not develop any other stress cracks.

The crack appeared before I sent it to be dyno tuned. It was running rich in the lower RPM range and leaving carbon deposits in my exhaust tips. It produced 400 HP with TTI headers, Edelbrock intake and a bigger camshaft. Now it runs stronger than my Demon 340 stroker that I sold a few weeks ago.

 

[Photon440]

Me too, had that crack. Passenger side of my '70 RR hard top. It was there for a long time, I first noticed it back in 1978.

-=Photon=-