Don's 69 Charger Rust Belt restoration

[mopar4don]

Thanks Charlie.

Speaking of awesomeness, THAT IS ONE MEAN WHEELY MACHINE! 

[mopar4don]

I didn't like the looks of the lock pillar down where it transitions into the rocker.
The outer edge was a bit banged up and to sharp

[mopar4don]

So I made a slice and hammered it down softening that edge
then welded it and finished it off

[mopar4don]

When I get to the body work stage I will come back and fix the edges

[mopar4don]

Not to much excitement but I did finally get the cowl to apron bracket welded on

[mopar4don]

I do know how to make sparks 

[mopar4don]

I hit another bump in the road!  
While fitting the quarter extensions I found they have a gap at the bottom edge!

   See it here (Paint, Body & Trim thread) and help me solve the problem.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,140945.0.html

[Stevearino]

Looking good Don.

[aerolith]

Keep going Don!

The back of the quarter panel should be almost vertical and square.

Slice along the top 'by the fold' and remove a small sliver and reweld it back together!

Done a few of these and its a common fault with aftermarket quarters...

[mopar4don]

Keep going Don!

The back of the quarter panel should be almost vertical and square.

Slice along the top 'by the fold' and remove a small sliver and reweld it back together!

Done a few of these and its a common fault with aftermarket quarters...

Do you have a picture showing where to slice? I'm not sure what you mean when you say "by the fold"

[mopar4don]

So I decided to take a brake from the quarter extensions and fix my hood. It had been hit in the front and someone attempted to fix it but needed more attention.
I tried pulling it out...... but that was a wast of time!

[mopar4don]

So because the damage was along the leading edge where it is double walled, I decided to separate the inner from the outer skin.
1st I drilled 1/8 holes and added the clecos. I wanted to be absolutely sure that everything would be aligned when it went back together.

[mopar4don]

After drilling out the spotwelds around the perimeter, I used a long sawsall blade and cut the old seam sealer in-between the two halfs

[mopar4don]

Then it came apart.................

[mopar4don]

Did you see the mouse nest?

[charger_fan_4ever]

My 70 hood had the same nest lol

[mopar4don]

I made a profile template from another hood I have and used it to check the front edge.
I slit the fold and pushed the contoured edge until it matched the template then tacked it. Kept working the edge until it matched my template then welded it up and ground it down

[panhead]

That's some really nice work   

Curt

[mopar4don]

That's some really nice work   

Curt

Thanks Curt

[mopar4don]

I wasn't happy with the sloppiness of my trunk hinges so I made some bushings and welded them in.

[mopar4don]

Then I epoxy sprayed the inner structure

[mopar4don]

and prepped the outer skin with Auto Tech Rust Prep.
This is the same stuff I used when I did the roof.

Before and after applying the Rust Prep

[mopar4don]

Then I epoxy sprayed the outer hood skin and trunk hinges

[mopar4don]

Before assembling the inner and outer pieces I made a cradle to support the outer skin.
And prepped them with weld through primer

[mopar4don]

I used 3M NVH Dampening Material 04274 as the bonding material between the inner and outer.
(1 tube was enough) Unfortunately I did not get any pics! Or of the 2 half's together. Sorry
But I can say it went together very well.
I aligned the holes with my clecos and welded the 2 half's back together.

This is the only pic I have of the hood with my toothless grandson