Some 18 year old lost his measurements.

[69 440]

To start off my first post...I bought my 1969 charger rt almost a year ago. I slowly started work on it since then. This is my first restoration and I am currently in process of replacing quarters, rear valence, tail panel, and extensions. Well we are building a new shop and in the process of moving some parts I lost some measurements...well all my measurements, the few I even had (dumb 18 year olds). So at this point I don't know where to go next. I know not all of these cars are the same but any measurements at this point would help me out.

Sorry for the desperate post, Mike.

[69charger440]

Welcome aboard!!!

Start off by listing the measurements you need, trying to get them all at once seems over whelming. I am not sure where you could get them, but maybe the dodge charger manuals. I am sure if you list the measurements you need at this current time then someone might have them...
 

[cdr]

tell me what you need & i will measure mine for you.

[69 440]

cdr, thank you, to start off I could use a measurement from the trunk floor to the gutters. And could you take them in two spots... one toward the top and the other at the bottom of the gutter. that would help me start off. then I can get the panels squared up some from there.

[richRTSE]

cdr, thank you, to start off I could use a measurement from the trunk floor to the gutters. And could you take them in two spots... one toward the top and the other at the bottom of the gutter. that would help me start off. then I can get the panels squared up some from there.

Not sure how much you already cut apart, but I'm in the middle of replacing my quarters/trunk/rear valance...the trunk latch support kinda sets the height of the taillight panel (tailpanels sits directly on top of trunk latch), which will set the height of your trunk gutters...do you have the trunk floor in yet? Maybe some pictures of where you're at might help...

[cdr]

he gave me his # & i called him & took measurements ,so we where both on the same page.

[69 440]

yep cdr helped me out a bunch. I knew I had it all close by laying it all together, but I just couldn't weld until I was sure. Just took a few adjustments and its all together.

[nvrbdn]

welcome to the show. we love pictures of projects. great to hear another charger on its way to restored health. good luck with your build.

[69 440]

Trying to post some pics.

[69 440]

I got my ugly welds grinded down last night. I need to get some more pictures.

[69 440]

sorry they are all phone pics.

[69 440]

last one for now. you can see the new building going up in the first picture.

[FrnkNsteen]

Curious how you are mating the quarter panel to the roof since you aren't replacing the roof skin. I'm in the same boat right now. Don't know if I will be able to drill out all the old spot welds and try to tuck the flange on the new quarter under it (I'd think it would be a tight squeeze).

Please let me know if you are buttwelding it to the roof panel, or trimming it enough to slip under the roof panel. Pictures would definitely help. 

[cdr]

i slipped the 1/4 under the roof. its fun

[Dino]

Do you want it stock or done right?  I ask because the factory did one heck of a hack job on these.  On mine I will cut out the seam all the way so I end up with a 1-2" gap between roof and quarter.  Then I will make a strip that fits nicely between the two and weld it shut.  All to do after that is grind and file, no lead, no filler and no more wavy c pillars, ever!

[69 440]

I am just going close to factory. drilled the spot welds and tried to replace them. Not the cleanest at all like Dino said. but it worked for me. And as cdr stated its really fun tucking the quarter into the roof seam. especially when you have to do it over and over again. I'll try to get some pics of the seam.

[Dino]

Hey at least you're having fun!      

When you're done with welding and metal shaping take some extra time to do what the factory did not.  Use the best metal filler you can afford and apply in fairly thin coats so it cures properly.  When the car is painted, get some cavity wax and go to town on that c pillar, and the rest of the car for that matter.

If you decide to use lead instead of filler, do your homework on the different types and what to do to protect yourself when using it.

[FrnkNsteen]

Great idea Dino!! A guy could carefully cut the seam out, lay the quarterpanel in, then seperate the original seam and weld the roof portion back over the quarter. It would be a little extra work, but might be easier in the long run than trying to tuck that quarter-panel flange under there over and over again.

My quandry is that I had a guy working on my body work. When I recently contacted him to see if it was nearing completion, he informed me that it was all torn apart, but that he and his wife had split up so he didn't live there anymore, or have access to work on it. SUCKED!!!  Fortunately, he was able to gain access to get my car and everything we had for it. I was worried that would be a HUGE hassle, but it worked out ok. Just got delayed for over a year because I thought he was making progress on it when he hadn't been doing anything.

So now I'm left trying to figure out how all the panels go together so I can do it myself. Starting to wonder if I shouldn't just contact someone else to do it. Just don't want to fall back into the same type situation again where time is wasted only to find out work isn't progressing. Figure I have the tools and the mechanical aptitude. Just need to take my time and check, check, and recheck before making anything permanent!