Don's 69 Charger Rust Belt restoration

[mopar4don]

Then I cut them into 3 pieces that would fit inside the pillars.
Think of it as an internal sleeve.

[mopar4don]

Drilled some holes, and welded the tabs in

[Dino]

Awesome work!

I'm a little over an hour from Kalamazoo so thanks for the tip on the blaster!

[mopar4don]

Awesome work!

I'm a little over an hour from Kalamazoo so thanks for the tip on the blaster!

Great Dino, glad to be of help.
I need to get back there myself. It seems like a never ending list of parts to blast!

[mopar4don]

more pics.....

[mopar4don]

This is what I use to grind down the welds to just above the surface, then I switched to a 90 and blended them in.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

I want the sectioned a-pillar joints to be as strong as possible.
A friend at work had this idea. Thanks Ralph!

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before but what about something like this:
http://tama.com.au/tama_jogglerpunch.php

[green69rt]

I want the sectioned a-pillar joints to be as strong as possible.
A friend at work had this idea. Thanks Ralph!

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before but what about something like this:
http://tama.com.au/tama_jogglerpunch.php

You have to real careful on how you use such a tool (experience!!)   It works fine on very flat pieces but not so well on curved surfaces.  That's because the jaws tend to flatten out the area around the hole or under the flange (depending on which side of the jaws you use.)  That creates distortion in the piece.  I used it on a fender and created considerable oil canning.  Notice the pics in the ad only show flat pieces.

[Stevearino]

The way Don is doing it would be the preferred method. Sleeving makes for a very strong joint.

[mopar4don]

I would'nt mind having that tool for punching out holes.....

[green69rt]

The way Don is doing it would be the preferred method. Sleeving makes for a very strong joint.

Very much agree.

[mopar4don]

Used some screws to temporarily hold the pillars. This helped for adjusting the alignment

[mopar4don]

I used this piece of oak (that was dead straight) to help alignment
Also, notice the 2x6 piece of wood. I used this to spacer the roof up above the cowl

[mopar4don]

Then I used this template I had made earlier to check alignment the other way

[mopar4don]

One I liked the alignment I tacked it in place

[Fitz73Chrgr]

  Awesome work.

[Homerr]

Are you able to lay the windshield in during all this for an alignment/size check?

Love watching all this unfold!

[mopar4don]

Thanks Fitz,

Are you able to lay the windshield in during all this for an alignment/size check?

Love watching all this unfold!

I did not put the windshield in the opening. But I did take measurments of the opening before, and after the fix, they are spot on!

[lexxman]

Great work,but I'M still blown away with the amount of work your taking on.

[mopar4don]

Yeah, I keep telling myself its NOT A JOB, IT IS AN ADVENTURE! 

[fy469rtse]

 
keep posting don.
people are going to be amazed when this starts looking like a car again , and then all the panels fit perfectly 

[mopar4don]

That is my plan!

[tan top]

  nice 

[Bobs69]

You are obviously possessed!  A greater being is controlling you!

Nice work.

[mopar4don]

Ok now that I have the a-pillars tacked on it is time to join them to the front clip at the lower cowl. Remember, I had rotated the front clip out of the way so I had room to join the a-pillars. Now that I had them roughed in, I lifted and sat the front of the roof support on 4x4's (to clear the cowl) while I rotated the front clip back into position.
Next I needed to lift the entire roof support with the the back end higher than the front so I could kind of "hook" the knuckle end of the a-pillars into the opening of the upper cowl. (Hope your following me) This would be a real pain in the rear by myself, and I didn't have 3 friends to call (1 on each corner) so this is what I came up with ...............