70's Era 'Bird Resto...... (!!FINISHED!!)

[moparstuart]

great progress , love it !!!!

[CTinCT]

Lead was also removed from the front upper edge of both fenders.

Why? You know you just screwed up by removing the factory lead don't ya.I also see you dolled out the factory" rolled in" area of the pinch weld of the fenders also. NOT GOOD the nose will never fit correct without both being reduplicated.Sorry not picking on you ..........just trying to save you some trouble down the line.

Ken

              I was thinking the same thing...........

[CornDogsCharger]

Lead was also removed from the front upper edge of both fenders.

Why? You know you just screwed up by removing the factory lead don't ya.I also see you dolled out the factory" rolled in" area of the pinch weld of the fenders also. NOT GOOD the nose will never fit correct without both being reduplicated.Sorry not picking on you ..........just trying to save you some trouble down the line.

Ken

I never dollied that part of the fender.  It is exactly how it was when the fender was removed.  I did notice that one was rolled in more than the other.  Even still, it will not be a major undertaking ot roll them in where they need to be.  Not a big deal.  And as for the lead, most all of the lead was removed when the fendered were dipped.  All I did was grind off the last little remaining bit before it was e-coated.  If you look carefully at the picture before grinding, all you will see is a little bit of lead. 


Justin
"CornDog"

[Charger_Fan]

Man, all that clean metal sure is a thing of beauty!

[LoneStar Mopar]

Great work. I was wondering, did you spot weld the trunk in or drill holes in the pan and weld it in with a common welder?  If so are you just going to smooth out the welds or is there a way to grind them down and make it look like a factory spot weld?  I ask because I am working of some vehicles and when I am done I would like for the metal work to look as untouched and original as possible. Just trying to see what others are doing. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[CornDogsCharger]

Thanks for all of the comments.  As for the trunk floor.  Our spot weld machine will not reach deep enough to access all of the welds.  I layed the replacment floor in place and from the underside I traced the frame rails and cross members.  With the floor out of the car, I drilled the holes... and more hole... and more holes.  With the floor back in place I clamped it where I could and used sheetmetal screws where the clamps wouldn't reach.  I mig welded all of the holes and have ginded them down smooth.  I plan on recreating the spotwelds but I have not decided which method I will use.  I have talked with a few people all of which told me three different ways to duplicate the look of the spotweld.  I will be sure to post pictures when I dulicate the spotwelds for everyone to see.

Justin
"CornDog"

[pettybird]

how long did it take you to fix the decklid?  i have one in the same shape and it would be a shame to scrap it for the same amount of rust...

[CornDogsCharger]

I worked on the decklid off and on for 2 or 3 evenings after work, so in reality, probably 3 hours labor.  It really isn't that bad.  The biggest thing is making sure you do not get it too hot.  It's kind of a pain to grind your welds because of the tight angle that the lip is in.

Justin
"CornDog"

[LoneStar Mopar]

Thanks, CornDogs Charger. I will be looking forward to seeing the progress on this one.

[4speed]

While the fenders, doors, decklid, and the lower fender extensions were off getting e-coated I installed the trunk floor.  If anyone is considering the trunk floor from AMD, I would like to say, it fits PERFECT!!  It is an exact duplicate of the original.  I still need to install the front gas tank hanger brackets.





At one time, the car had an aftermarket A/C system.  There were three holes in the firewall/floor.  There is also a hole in the radiator support that I still need to weld up.  Here are pictures from the patched firewall.



The parts came back from being e-coated.  This is some awesome stuff.  They look like brand new parts.  The only bad thing is, between dipping and e-coating, the crew will sometimes beat and bang up your parts.  I hate that!  There were a few dents on each of the parts that I found during inspection.  It wasn't anything toooooo bad, but I still hate it. 




Since the quarters will not be here for some time, we decided to go ahead and have the rest of the body soda blasted (besides the quarters).  All of the seam sealer and undercoating was removed during this process.  I like soda blasting because it cleans the metal so nice.  It will not warp, pit or distort the metal... but..... it also will not remove rust like sand would.  Rust isn't that big of an issue for the car thought.  A little grinding here and there and you're good to go. 






Justin
"CornDog"

corndog just curious on what kind of bracing you use for the quarters while  you have every thing cut out,thanks 4speed

[CornDogsCharger]

Right now there are no supports.  The car is mounted to the rotissorie without any problems.  The body does not sag at all.  When I get ready to replace the quarters I will dismount it at the rear and sit it on jackstands.  Basically the same way it is in the picture below.

Justin
"CornDog"

[4speed]

thanks and keep the pics coming,4speed

[BB1]

Don't want to miss this. 

[mikepmcs]

 

[CornDogsCharger]

A few days ago I replaced the hood extension with one from www.wingcarfab.com  It fit really nice. 
He's pround of his stuff but I guess with a car like this, money shouldn't really be an option.  Just in case anyone else is interested.... hood extension and lower filler....... $800!

Justin
"CornDog"

[lilwendal]

Beautifull work! 
Its great to see that detail put into the metal work. Make body work later so much easier.
Keep the updates coming!!!!!

[WingCharger]

I like the original paint!! I would repaint it like it was, after the metalwork.

[redrider]

look familiar www.superbirdclub.com/customaero.html scroll down and theres an old pic of this car

[Charger_Fan]

look familiar www.superbirdclub.com/customaero.html scroll down and theres an old pic of this car

Holy crap, that's the largest collection of funky wing car pics I've seen yet. Nice find!

BTW, check out the gas price in this one...

[hemigeno]

BTW, check out the gas price in this one...

What's so unusual about $5.59 gas?   





Sad to think about gas prices being almost 10x what they were.

[CornDogsCharger]

Update is past due.  Don't worry, I have been working hard on the 'bird, just haven't had much time to keep this page updated.  I'll pick up where we left off.....  Right after the car was soda blasted I blew it off, washed it soap and water, blew it off again, and then let it dry in the 98 degree sun for the rest of the afternoon.  The body was then etched and primed.  There are a few more spots on the shell that I need to repair, but the primer will at least keep it from flash-rusting. 

Justin
"CornDog"

[CornDogsCharger]

Fenders:  The metal stripping place or the e-coating place beat up all of the fenders, doors and deckklid.  Sure there was a little bit of damage before they were dipped, but the added damage didn't help.  I tried to take pictures were you could see the damage.  I know the picture with filler looks bad, but remember... it is only a thin skim coat.... this is the only way you will get all of the waves out.  It's not as bad as it looks.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the other fender in filler...

Justin
"CornDog"

[CornDogsCharger]

My next step was to get started on the nose assembly.  As bad as I didn't want to tear it apart, I knew I would eventually have to.  Honestly, it really wasn't that bad.  I may be saying something totally different when I go to put it back together.  During some time, the nose took a pretty decent size blow to the right side.  You can see the damage on the right support, right bracket, and the area between the grille and the right signal lamp. 







I removed the inner support assembly from the nose as a unit.  When compared to the left side, if you look carefully you will see the bends and kinks in the right side nose support.  Most of the damage is on the arear where the headlight bucket is bolted.  The front edge of the bracket is very minor and will repair very easily. 









Both headlight buckets have damage.  The left bucket has a decent size rust hole in the flat panel that mounts to the side.  I will make a new piece and completly replace the old one.  The right bucket is twisted a bit and also has rust.  The rust on the right side is located where the headlight door bumper is mounted. 













Justin
"CornDog"

[pettybird]

new headlight buckets are available from a couple sources if you find it would be more cost effective to simply replace them.


the car's coming along great--thanks for the updates!

[pettybird]

look familiar www.superbirdclub.com/customaero.html scroll down and theres an old pic of this car

I still have our yellow DSAC flag like the one on the motorhome in the first pic--anyone else besides Doug S have one?