newbie needing a little help.

[jeffsjag90]

Hello all My name is Jeff. I am in Waco Texas. I just bought my first Mopar a 69 charger. It have common rust issues trunk,trunk drop-offs,light bar,valance,trunk,gutters,deckfiller panel and the right quarter. I have bought all new AMD metal. I am new to panel replacement so I have a few questions. I have trunk pan removed along with light bar valancec and valance corners. I need to know where to begin. I know I need to put trunk pan in first but what do I use to line it up correctly? Should I make it flush with rear frame support? Should I weld drop-offs on first? After I get pan and drop-offs in my plan is to screw everything together for alignment then remove right quarter,both gutters,and deck filler.Then screw all those pieces in place macking sure all is well then plug weld it all up. If anyone can give me some advice or some sort off step by step it would be greatly appreciated! I will post some pics as I get some downloaded.

[b5blue]

I'm no help but... WELCOME!      (Get the photos up so we can see!  )

[JerseyJoe]

Don't even plug the welder in until you clamp the whole thing together.
   I just finished my rear clip with mostly AMD parts, they are nice quality but anything that wasn't made for your car by Chrysler in 1969 will have to be fit and massaged.  

I started with lots of pics and measurements, held on to the old panels in case I needed another look at how they went together, and then started at sail panels and door edges.

... but it's not as difficult as it seems right now  

[Mike DC]

                                    

I just finished my rear clip with mostly AMD parts, they are nice quality but anything that wasn't made for your car by Chrysler in 1969 will have to be fit and massaged.

Ask anyone who has restored a car with N.O.S. panels - it still takes lots of "massaging" to make the parts fit even if they are the real stuff from the factory.  

These cars were not built to tight tolerances like new ones.  Even if AMD made the parts perfectly they would still be going onto an imperfect old body shell.  

[jeffsjag90]

 So should I go ahead and cut the quarter and deck filler then start? At moment I have trunk floor, light bar and valance out. I really did not take any measurements because all parts where bent.
Also I am going to rebuild door hinges and align doors before I cut quarter.
Thank you for your input!

[JerseyJoe]

 Also I am going to rebuild door hinges and align doors before I cut quarter.
Thank you for your input!

Mike is right, these cars weren't built by robots!
I sent you some pics you asked for, post some of your pics so maybe we can get a grasp of where you are in the process. Def. line the door up first so you can get that entire body line nice and straight.

[Cooter]

So should I go ahead and cut the quarter and deck filler then start? At moment I have trunk floor, light bar and valance out. I really did not take any measurements because all parts where bent.
Also I am going to rebuild door hinges and align doors before I cut quarter.
Thank you for your input!

I would definately brace EVERYTHING up before i went to cutting too much off the rear of the car. You wouldn't want the roof/car folding up like a wallet...

I would get the trunk floor in, then get the trunk extensions mocked up, then on to the rear support brace/tail light panel..That way you have something hoding the rear together before you cut off the quarters, and something to help align the quarters...

[Patronus]

Welcome out Jeff. I was in the same boat as you. You're in the right place, you'll find everything you need here. All I can say is fit it all first, I mean everything. Deck-lid, dutchmen, rear glass, bumper, everything. Especially the wheel-house(s). You can bet those will be the worst of it.   Oh, and as always, pics man, PICS!

"I would get the trunk floor in, then get the trunk extensions mocked up, then on to the rear support brace/tail light panel..That way you have something hoding the rear together before you cut off the quarters, and something to help align the quarters..."
bottom up

[jeffsjag90]

 Thanks guys! I will post some pics when I get them down loaded.

[bill440rt]

I agree with the aforementioned posters.
Grab a tape measure now & get to work with that before cutting off another piece of metal. If you're planning on rebuilding the door hinges, do that now as well before cutting off the 1/4's.

Mock up EVERYTHING before grabbing any welder. Bolt on the deck lid to check that for fitment, also.

Trunk floor, extensions, and dutchman panel should be on first. 1/4's would go on next, then the lower end caps, and finally the lower valance & rear tail light panel cap off the rear of the car.

Good luck! 

[ktneifert09]

First, fit it all up with clamps. Then, fit it up with screws, then you can get out the welder. Oh, and take time between fittings to just let it sink into your brain. I prolly fit mine up 5 times before I welded it up and it was worth the wait. I found a bunch of nitnoid things during each fit. And so far, haven't had to remove anything which really sucks nice it's welded. Wish I could say the same for the engine...

[jeffsjag90]

 How far apart should I drill plug weld holes in trunk pan? How large of a hole should I drill?

[jeffsjag90]

 Pic of car before work began. Charger has not been on road since 1979. SE 383 4bbl A/C power steer.

[jeffsjag90]

 Homemade sandblast booth

[jeffsjag90]

more pics

[jeffsjag90]

 How far apart shouls I drill plug weld holes and what size should I drill in trunk floor?

[ktneifert09]

3/8 inch drill bit on about 4 inch centers. Also, don't hesitate to get at it from the bottom. A lot of times you can weld directly to the frame in about 1/2 inch beads and there's no grinding from the bottom. Do the trunk floor first, then the extensions, then the quarters. You'll cover the trunk floor with a mat so that's where to learn. Im actually going to spray mine with bed liner so it doesnt get beat up after all my hard work. Also will cover a couple lame spots. I bought a cheap spot welder from harbor freight and it was really useful on the quarters. Of course this all assumes you're building a daily driver. If not, hire it out...

[green69rt]

From one newbie to another.  I agree with a lot of this thread and will add this.  Clamp and sheet metal screw everything together before you touch the welder.  One place to take extra care is the trunk floor to rear valance fit.  If you don't get these right then when you start working on the valance corners the pain begins.  If the trunk floor is even a quarter of an inch to far back then this pushes the valance back at the bottom which opens up the gap between the valance corners and the quarter panels.  If you need more info just send me a PM and we can talk.   (the voice of experience!!)

[ktneifert09]

Finally, get psychologically prepared to have to do some shaping and even cutting and welding on you "new" parts. Remember, this isn't space flight hardware. If you screw something up you can almost always fix it and they won't fit right out of the box. Good luck. Same with me a PM is fine if you want more detail on what I did.

[jeffsjag90]

 Thanks guys for info. I will be sending out alot of PMs soon. I got trunk pan in last friday but now the fun begins. One thing I would do different is to TIG weld pan not MIG. I have spend morw time cleaning up welds than it took to weld LOL.

[jeffsjag90]

 Pic.

[jeffsjag90]

new pics

[jeffsjag90]

 Pics

[jeffsjag90]

 more

[tan top]

hi Jeff !! 

just seen this thread  , don't know how i missed it 

looks like you have a good project going on there  !!   looking good  , so whats the plan ?? stock type resto with factory color combo / engine  or ..... ??

keep the pictures coming ! love looking at this kind of stuff 

[jeffsjag90]

 Grinding and sanding plug welds!

[jeffsjag90]

 Lastnight I got fender wells welded to trunk floor the car felt more stable so I started the removal of right quarter. Man what have I got myself into!

[jeffsjag90]

 Ok I got another question. Below is a pic of where the right quarter meets deck filler. There is a support,brace that connects the two. Both sides are rusted on my car. Where can I buy these , will I have to make them or not even use them?

[jeffsjag90]

 Here is a better pic of piece I need info. about. I guess most cars are so rusted in this area that people do not know the piece was there.

[Finn]

I am pretty sure you would have to make you own brace. I know they sell the sail panel skins but I have never seen that part. Be careful when you're working with that curved section the window sits in. It has to be matched exactly if you want the chrome window trim to fit.

[JerseyJoe]

Jeff,
   Mine was really rusted out in that area, I don't know if those were there originally. My new AMD quarters didn't have a piece there. 

[jeffsjag90]

 This car is all original.Never been painted. This little brace is on both sides and both sides are rusted badly. I guess I will try to make them.

[69*F5*SE]

Great pics.   

[jeffsjag90]

 Another question. I was out today with Charger prefitting sheetmetal and looking at pics. on DodgeCharger.com. I see that all threads I see on replaceing valance corners everyone is puting corners on last. How? How are you guys welding them in? Looks to me the they should be welded to quarter first then trunk extenders put in then weld corners to extenders and then valance put in. If that makes sence.

[ktneifert09]

When I did mine, I put on the corners on the quarter panels and then installed them to the previously installed valence. First I screwed them on to make sure it was all going to fit and then I spot welded them using the Harbor Freight welder I mentioned earlier. Worked for me...

[jeffsjag90]

 That is what I will do. I am thinking about buying that spot welder. How many of you guys have used it? What is your input on it?