Don's 69 Charger Rust Belt restoration

[mopar4don]

It's time for another update.

The last thing on the list (I HOPE) before I can start welding everything is the doors.
Now with 3 sets of doors to choose from, you would think I could get one decent set? AH NO!
I won't bore you with a bunch of pics, but I ended up de-skining each door, looking for something to use. I ended up buying AMD door skins and picking the best inner doors I could. Unfortunately they needed patching.
SO HERE WE GO AGAIN
Both inner's need new metal along the bottom, so I bent some strips up and went to work.

[birdsandbees]

 

[Bronzedodge]

Bravo man!  I admire your dedication.   

[mopar4don]

more pics of fixing inner door metal

pic3 Measured and transfered the holes for the door seal

[mopar4don]

OK, I epoxy primed the inner doors and reinstalled the door reinforcement plates and internal brackets

[birdsandbees]

As I said over there... you're doing some GREAT metal work Don! Keep making progress.. 

[mopar4don]

As I said over there... you're doing some GREAT metal work Don! Keep making progress.. 

Thank you sir! I work on it a couple of hours at a time!

[birdsandbees]

Thank you sir! I work on it a couple of hours at a time!

Better than what I've spent the last 4 days on.. Corporate tax returns.. 

[mopar4don]

Thank you sir! I work on it a couple of hours at a time!

Better than what I've spent the last 4 days on.. Corporate tax returns.. 

YOU GOT ME THERE! 

[mopar4don]

Look what the big brown truck brought me! My AMD door skins! And they look good!

[mopar4don]

I had to remove these brackets from the top window edge of the old door skins
*Note how they were located with the notch

[orange383]

Real good work going on here! I'm always checking for updates on this thread!

[CDN72SE]

Always enjoy your work, keep it up.

[mopar4don]

Real good work going on here! I'm always checking for updates on this thread!

Thank you sir. I just wish I could go faster!

Always enjoy your work, keep it up.

Thanks

[mopar4don]

So once I got them were I liked them I welded them in.
(I had to assemble the glass and vent wing to make sure they were in position)

[mopar4don]

Then I punched some holes in around the perimeter of the door skin (for plug welding)
pic1

Next I installed the sound deadening pads
pic2-3

[mopar4don]

And then I installed the skin, bending over the lip.
I used a hammer and dolly, and a hockey puck for a dolly. I was very careful bending a little at a time. Checking my progress along the bottom with a straight edge. (level)

[mopar4don]

I will hold off on welding the door skin until I get all of the panels on and fitted. This will give me a little bit of adjustment with the skin.
It all turned out very well!   

[Stevearino]

Amazing to see how far you have come Don. This is really starting to take shape. Note of caution. Don't lean too hard on those doors. My AMD skins were very weak compared to the spring steel that the old stuff was made out of. I understand that softer metal is used to preserve the life of the dies and they look great. I am also grateful they make the dang things. Just saying when I was buffing out my roof my thigh made an impression on the door that I had to work out very carefully after the finish paint. Awesome job as always. 

[cdr]

As always, AWESOME work Don !!!!!   

[keepat]

Great job Don! Looks awesome!
Pat

[mopar4don]

Amazing to see how far you have come Don. This is really starting to take shape. Note of caution. Don't lean too hard on those doors. My AMD skins were very weak compared to the spring steel that the old stuff was made out of. I understand that softer metal is used to preserve the life of the dies and they look great. I am also grateful they make the dang things. Just saying when I was buffing out my roof my thigh made an impression on the door that I had to work out very carefully after the finish paint. Awesome job as always. 

WOW, I had no idea the steel was different. But what you say about the softer metal preserving the dies does make sense.
I will keep this in mind when working around the body panels. Thank you so much!!

As always, AWESOME work Don !!!!!   

Much appreciated

Great job Don! Looks awesome!
Pat

Thank you Pat

[hemi-hampton]

Wow, That's a lot of work on one car. Luckily you can do it yourself instead of having to pay some one. Curious if you know how many hours you have into it or if your even keeping track. Nice work. LEON.

[mopar4don]

Wow, That's a lot of work on one car. Luckily you can do it yourself instead of having to pay some one. Curious if you know how many hours you have into it or if your even keeping track. Nice work. LEON.

Thanks Leon,
When I started this project I knew what I was getting into..... well maybe I thought I knew what I was getting into
It has been a real eye opener for me, especially when I think about how much time it takes to get something done! Like redoing the fenders, I think that took me all winter! 4+ months    so to answer your question, I have not kept track of hours, but it seems like a LOT!
Don

[mopar4don]

Update-
I layed out my steering column parts to reassemble.

note: I used this article to help me in reassembly
http://moparconnectionmagazine.com/...-restoration-turn-signal-switch-installation/