Don's 69 Charger Rust Belt restoration

[mopar4don]

In this pic you can see how the a-pillar knuckle is hooked in.

[RallyeMike]

This build is insane. I salute you 

[mopar4don]

Now that I have the roof back on the jig. Its to time to permanatly attach the a-pillars to the cowl.
Notice that I had to peel back the upper cowl so I could get the "knuckle" of the a-pillar to seat.
After that, it was a lot of hammering, clamping and bending to get the metal where it needed to be.
Oh yeah, an a bit of welding

[mopar4don]

more

[mopar4don]

and 3 more....

[mopar4don]

Just to show how tough the epoxy primer is, notice what looks to be scratches in the paint?
Those are from the results of all that hammering, and bending and clamping. The scratches did not go down to metal.
Its like if you scratch it it's a greyish color. And it did NOT chip!
This epoxy primer is TOUGH!

[Pat1973charger]

That's awesome Don! I have been watching all these resto threads and everyone is using this black epoxy primer and the parts look so nice when it applied. My question is where can I get it? Would NAPA carry it? Is it weld thru or do you have to clean it off where you weld to it? An what are you using to spray it? A regular paint gun?

[mopar4don]

That's awesome Don! I have been watching all these resto threads and everyone is using this black epoxy primer and the parts look so nice when it applied. My question is where can I get it? Would NAPA carry it? Is it weld thru or do you have to clean it off where you weld to it? An what are you using to spray it? A regular paint gun?

Hi Pat.
I work at a shop that has a paint booth so our painter (a great guy, not to mention my bosses) shoots it for me with a HVLP paint gun, or sometimes he gets me setup and I shoot it.
I bought the paint at our local painters supply. Just call some local body shops and find out where they buy ther paint.
This is primer (JP377) that has a hardner (JH3770) that gets mixed into the paint. and the finished product is TOUGH!
It is NOT to be used as weld thru primer, but if you look back through my posts I did use it like a weld thru.  I left the epoxy primer on the mating surfaces, with the exception that I cleaned out the spot drill hole down to bear metal, and then plug welded it. The epoxy did not burn off.
Hope this helps

[green69rt]

 I have used the SHOPLINE products.  I don't know where they fall as far as quality goes but I have used them on the underside and passenger compartment. I plan to use them in the trunk and roof (under a vinyl top.)    I wonder if they are top of the line but they seem to do the job.  They work well with an amateur like me.

Oh, and I use the grey version.  Any PPG distributor.

[500Jon]

Merry Christmas to the METAL MAGICIAN that is DON!!!

I think there's a Guy in Canada with a 69 Charger that needs your skills TOO!
He has approx 25% of the original car left intact, so every piece needs to be saved.

'Is it worth it', I hear you say?
Sure is, its one of 503 made LOL!!!

Keep up the good work Don, you is da Man!!!

DayJona

[mopar4don]

Merry Christmas to the METAL MAGICIAN that is DON!!!

I think there's a Guy in Canada with a 69 Charger that needs your skills TOO!
He has approx 25% of the original car left intact, so every piece needs to be saved.

'Is it worth it', I hear you say?
Sure is, its one of 503 made LOL!!!

Keep up the good work Don, you is da Man!!!

DayJona

Thanks for the compliments DayJona,

[jww426]

572 Hemi please!

[mopar4don]

572 Hemi please!

I am accepting donations as per your request 

[REED]

This is insane.

In what world are you a beginner?

Master welder apparently.

Can't wait for more progress!

[Bobs69]

Basically you've turned the car inside out knocked the rust off and are putting it back together.

[mopar4don]

This is insane.
In what world are you a beginner?
Master welder apparently.
Can't wait for more progress!

Thanks for the compliment REED, But yes I am a beginner. This shows by how long it takes me to get something done!
Master welder NOT! It still aggravates me when I blow through when welding! 

Basically you've turned the car inside out knocked the rust off and are putting it back together.

I guess that's one way to look at it!

I am still trying to get this thread up to date.... but here is a little teaser

Look what I got for Christmas

[tan top]

  charger parts !!      good stuff 

[six-tee-nine]

Merry christmas 
You know what to do in 2015.

[fy469rtse]

Good progress, good to see it coming back together Don,
Mitch, in no way are you an amateur ,
Your thread is not for the faint hearted , your car was taken apart to almost this level 

[Bobs69]

very nice I'll be curious to see how all these parts go together and line up for you

[Pat1973charger]

Thanks for the replies about the primer, I'll have to look into it when I get back to Work next week. I have a HVLP gun and lots of air pressure / volume in my garage. Painted a couple of cars in there. I am one of those Canadian guys with less then 25% of a 69 charger, rear roof structure and upper rad support is all I can save as far as body pieces. I can't wait till the day I can get some quarters haha!! Merry Christmas all!

[mopar4don]

Merry christmas 
You know what to do in 2015.

I hope to have the suspension in and rolling in 2015! 

very nice I'll be curious to see how all these parts go together and line up for you

You and me both!

Thanks guys. Back to the updates....

I had to patch the drivers side

[green69rt]

Oh, just another suggestion.  When you get ready to put the upper cowl back on, I put the windshield wiper pivots back it the holes to act as a guide.  It helps but you still need to check other measurements.

[mopar4don]

Oh, just another suggestion.  When you get ready to put the upper cowl back on, I put the windshield wiper pivots back it the holes to act as a guide.  It helps but you still need to check other measurements.

Hi Mitch, and thanks for the tip, I will remember that when I get to that point!

[mopar4don]

I had a LOT of trouble getting these seams to blend out using disk grinders. In fact I got in trouble using them!
Because the a-pillar has a double curve I accidental put a big flat spot in it! 
To fix the problem, I used my welder and "added" metal back, then used a file to finish it down. The problem is it takes a LONG LONG time to file down welds, and get it good!
But that's what I did and this is what how it looks. (NO FILLER by the way)
I am really proud of these a-pillars! I even have a hard time finding where the seam is.
Up to this point. This was THE hardest and most time consuming part of the resto!