Ger's 69 R/T restoration

[Mike DC]

Yeah, the factory did some strange stuff.

I'm really not sure though.  The 318 car that I saw cut-up might have just already had that stuff removed.  The outer rockers had been pirated already and I wasn't thinking about this issue at the time. 

I'm partly just wondering about it because AMD didn't cover this base already.  For the most part AMD has been very good about including (or at least selling separately) all these sorts of odds & ends.   



If you wanna see some SERIOUSLY beefed up rockers, then look inside a convertible.  They've got some really thick (like maybe 1/8" or more) C-shaped pieces inside the sheetmetal outer rockers.  It's like a second outer rocker that is attached inside the sheetmetal one.  It's weird because you'd think they would have beefed up the inner rocker if they were gonna do it to one side or the other.  I guess maybe they were thinking more about impact resistance than stiffening, or maybe it was just easier that way.  I dunno. 

[charge69]

Some seriously great cutting and welding going on here! Not being afraid to tackle any job, be it small or large is half the battle and your car will benefit greatly from your skills down the road!

By the way, Mike DC, what braces are you talking about on Hemicars? (Rocker box bracing) Maybe I am being a dumbazz but I do not understand that part. My Hemicar had all the normal extra bracing from the factory but I do not remember any extra bracing on the rocker boxes. Truthfully, my rocker boxes were fine and only needed patch-welding where the bottom of the door curves around to parallel the ground if that is what you are talking about. Are the rocker boxes there that you are talking about? Sorry for the hijack, just did not understand the terminology!

These are old pics of my car that is almost finished now.

[Mike DC]

I'm talking about the stuff INSIDE the rocker boxes.  If your rockers were intact then you never would have seen the stuff during the resto. 

The only reason I'm wondering whether or not the stuff was really standard is because of two things:  #1 AMD doesn't seem to be producing the pieces.  #2 Years ago I saw a 318 Charger with the outer rockers cut off, and I don't remember seeing the bracing there.  I might just be remembering things wrong.  Or maybe the person that took the outer rocker skins also took (or just destroyed) the bracing in the process.  I don't know.

 

[charge69]

OK, my rocker boxes were never separated so I do not know if they had any bracing or not. Nothing was ever mentioned about Hemicars having a different or thicker rocker box but, I guess it could have happened.

My car has sub-frame connectors now welded in and they go underneath the car just about where the rocker boxes are located, just underneath the car and not visible from just standing near the car.

Sorry GER for the hijack, just was wondering.

[gers1968rt]

No probs on the highjack, this is our hobby that we all have a great passion for and we love to learn more about these great cars. It is easy to tell if the rockers have those pieces inside, all you have to do is look for the spot welds on the bottom of the rockers. There will be 8 spot welds just to the rear of the door jamb and 2 spot welds below the hinge pillar.

Today I sandblasted the inner lower cowl after removing the air duct rings. There are quite a few holes and I am not sure how I am going to fix or whether I will replace.

[gers1968rt]

more rust damage

[Charger-Bodie]

Some seriously great cutting and welding going on here! Not being afraid to tackle any job, be it small or large is half the battle and your car will benefit greatly from your skills down the road!

My Dad told me when I was very young that the only things you cant do in life are the things you tell yourself you cant do.

[gers1968rt]

Some seriously great cutting and welding going on here! Not being afraid to tackle any job, be it small or large is half the battle and your car will benefit greatly from your skills down the road!

My Dad told me when I was very young that the only things you cant do in life are the things you tell yourself you cant do.

That there is some great inspirational saying that we all can benefit from.

[dyslexic teddybear]

My grandfathers version of the above......

"Perseverance and determination will get a tomcat with kittens"



Not only am I in awe of your metal skills......gotta add the photo skills too. Showing very clearly how these cars were put together.

Really learning a lot from this thread.

Thanks

[gers1968rt]

My grandfathers version of the above......

"Perseverance and determination will get a tomcat with kittens"



Not only am I in awe of your metal skills......gotta add the photo skills too. Showing very clearly how these cars were put together.

Really learning a lot from this thread.



Thanks

I love seeing highly detailed pics, so I try to put up the same. Your welcome. I have learned alot from others on this and other sites so if I can pass that on to others, then that's great.

[charge69]

For me, I would have said to buy new pieces but, with your metal skills, you can fabricate patch panels for it without having to buy new ones. Great job and pics so far.

[BB1]

Great Job

[gers1968rt]

Tackled the left plenum and riser. I just cut out small pieces and then welded them in before I cut out the next one, a little time consuming but the result was pretty good.

[gers1968rt]

In the second pic of the previous post, I had to remove and reinstall the stud for the air vent box. I just have the riser mocked up, I need to finish it yet.

[Baldwinvette77]

Wow, Amazing job 

[charge69]

You are doing a fantastic job and have really good welding skills. Luckily, my Charger did not have any rust in those areas because I am not sure my "fabrication" guy and restorer could do as good as you seem to be doing.

Keep it up and you will soon have a great Charger seemingly made out of scrap metal!

[gers1968rt]

You are doing a fantastic job and have really good welding skills. Luckily, my Charger did not have any rust in those areas because I am not sure my "fabrication" guy and restorer could do as good as you seem to be doing.

Keep it up and you will soon have a great Charger seemingly made out of scrap metal!

Ya, some people still think it is scrap metal, lol.

[mopar4don]

In the second pic of the previous post, I had to remove and reinstall the stud for the air vent box. I just have the riser mocked up, I need to finish it yet.

Hey Ger,
AWESOME job
How did you form that short lip on the base of the cowl metal that you patched in?
The same for the rest of it? I assume a shrinker stretcher?
I would be interested in seeing pictures of how you are forming all of your patches!
Like your inner fender patch, the roof support patch and so on. Maybe something in the future?

[Mopar Nut]

 

I never thought about that area/piece on mine, but my 70 Challenger had rusted.

[gers1968rt]

In the second pic of the previous post, I had to remove and reinstall the stud for the air vent box. I just have the riser mocked up, I need to finish it yet.

Hey Ger,
AWESOME job
How did you form that short lip on the base of the cowl metal that you patched in?
The same for the rest of it? I assume a shrinker stretcher?
I would be interested in seeing pictures of how you are forming all of your patches!
Like your inner fender patch, the roof support patch and so on. Maybe something in the future?

The only tools I use are tin snips, a vice, an 90 degree air grinder, hammers, 5 inch grinder, and sometimes a torch if I need to heat shrink something. I just hold the piece in the vice and carefully bend it over with a hammer and if it warps then I notch the lip to straighten the piece. If you look closely at the piece in the previous post you can see the notches in the lip, if that is what you mean. As you see, I made small pieces that didn't require much radiusing or bending. I will try to show some pieces next time.

[gers1968rt]

I never thought about that area/piece on mine, but my 70 Challenger had rusted.

I got a bad feeling about what was under the cowl when I removed the hinge pillars and saw rust holes. I then looked more closely at the plenum risers and they were very soft.

[gers1968rt]

Ok Don, for your viewing pleasure here is a step by step illustration of making a piece for the plenum. I trace out the piece and then cut it out allowing for some of the thickness of the blade. Then I trace out the lip radius and put it in the vice. I hammer it over a little at a time while moving it in the vice. When I have the correct contour then I just fit the piece in the car and trim and adjust to fit.

[gers1968rt]

final four pics

[charge69]

Very nice work! You definitely have metalworking skills!

[mopar4don]

Thanks Ger,
I have to say that doesn't look to difficult. I really appreciate you showing us how you did that. And hope to see more!
I would like to learn as much as possible about the metal working / fabricating to help bring back these cars!
I can see that making your own patches will save a LOT of money, and build your skills as you go.
Thanks again!