Rocker panel edge

[Dino]

Looking at Ryan's thread made me remember the whole rocker panel issue, at least the issue I have with them, not sure about others.

All 2nd gens have this and sometimes it bothers me.  The gap between the bottom of the doors and rockers is not the same as other gaps because of the rounded rocker panel edge.  Also the rocker sticks out a bit more than the doors meaning when you line up fender, door and quarter, the rocker is too far out and you can see the top edge of the rocker.  Has anyone ever go as far as to cut the rocker and bring it closer to make the gaps more uniform?

I realize that most wouldn't change this, especially on a stock car, but if you're going through all the trouble of a restomod it seems like a good idea to tackle this.  I don't know, maybe I'm nitpicking but it seems to me that this could've been done a bit better.

[cdr]

that sure is a good lookin run of the mill 69 

[Dino]

that sure is a good lookin run of the mill 69 

[Cooter]

I'm lucky  my doors even shut, not to mention gaps.

[rebby]

Dino,
Does this look any better to you???

[Ryan]

The bottom door gap is larger then the rest. I have seen some that look close to 1/2" 
Can't say that my rockers stick out past the door though.

The nice thing is that once the car is on the ground that bottom door gap is not very noticeable.
I guess if one wanted to close in the bottom door gap you could tig weld a piece of tig rod to the bottom of the door. I dont think i'll be doing this however. My bottom gap isnt that much larger then the vertical gap. 

[Dino]

Rebby yours looks much better than most I've seen.  On some it's just crazy wide.  Some colors amplify it as well.

[rebby]

Rebby yours looks much better than most I've seen.  On some it's just crazy wide.  Some colors amplify it as well.

that was done on purpose. I'll see if I can dig out any before pics.

[Dino]

Rebby yours looks much better than most I've seen.  On some it's just crazy wide.  Some colors amplify it as well.

that was done on purpose. I'll see if I can dig out any before pics.

Great!  It's definitely something I would do to mine when the time comes.  I plan on cutting right on the top edge, front edge at the fender and the original seam under the lead so I can push the whole thing in a quarter inch and weld it back shut.

[rebby]

Rebby yours looks much better than most I've seen.  On some it's just crazy wide.  Some colors amplify it as well.

that was done on purpose. I'll see if I can dig out any before pics.

Great!  It's definitely something I would do to mine when the time comes.  I plan on cutting right on the top edge, front edge at the fender and the original seam under the lead so I can push the whole thing in a quarter inch and weld it back shut.

That might alter the alignment with the fenders??? Anyway, here is what I started with once I got the paint and old body filler stripped (for the most part, clean cut in the first pic was mine).









Needless to say a fair bit of "massaging" was required to get everything in alignment.

[Dino]

Rebby yours looks much better than most I've seen.  On some it's just crazy wide.  Some colors amplify it as well.

that was done on purpose. I'll see if I can dig out any before pics.

Great!  It's definitely something I would do to mine when the time comes.  I plan on cutting right on the top edge, front edge at the fender and the original seam under the lead so I can push the whole thing in a quarter inch and weld it back shut.

That might alter the alignment with the fenders???

Needless to say a fair bit of "massaging" was required to get everything in alignment.

It will misalign the fender yes, that's where more massaging comes in.  I've done it before on other cars, I will need to make the bottom crease in the fender a bit sharper by cutting the inside jamb of the fender and the wheel lip up to the line so there's no more sides connected, I would also have to move the bottom lip of the fender out so it won't hit the frame as soon.  That way I can gently overbend the crease to make the fender line up with the door and the adjusted rocker.  Honestly it sounds much worse that it is but it's pretty easy to do.  There's several ways to get the desired effect but imo this is the cleanest and most effective. 

So what's the status of your car?  Those pics are over 7 years old.

[rebby]

It will misalign the fender yes, that's where more massaging comes in.  I've done it before on other cars, I will need to make the bottom crease in the fender a bit sharper by cutting the inside jamb of the fender and the wheel lip up to the line so there's no more sides connected, I would also have to move the bottom lip of the fender out so it won't hit the frame as soon.  That way I can gently overbend the crease to make the fender line up with the door and the adjusted rocker.  Honestly it sounds much worse that it is but it's pretty easy to do.  There's several ways to get the desired effect but imo this is the cleanest and most effective. 

Yeah, that sounds about right. Doesn't sound too bad, I mean, look at the hell that we went through with getting mine aligned. That was the big reason I put the earlier, I'm not sure how aligned/misaligned things SHOULD be. LOL

So what's the status of your car?  Those pics are over 7 years old.

I looks a lot like the pics from October of 2005. I put my restoration on hold that October so that we could sell our house/move. I got really sick in 2006 and ended up in the hospital 3 times and having 2 pretty major surgeries. 3+ YEARS later, we finally sold our house and moved which brings us to mid-2009. In 2010 our 3rd (and final) child was born so the plan was to get started on the Charger again as soon as the snow melted in 2011. Instead, in Jan of 2011 our youngest (Blake, 9-months old at this point) was diagnosed with 4 heart defects and underwent 3 open heart surgeries between March and October (as well as a TON of other procedures, including 4 "heart caths"). Tomorrow we're heading back to the Mayo Clinic to meet with Blake's cardiologist for a reassessment and to start planning next steps. In an effort to attempt to bring some "normal" back into our lives, I'm trying to get back on track w/my restoration project. Paint, which I'd like to get done this winter, is the next big step. Unfortunately, it's also the most expensive part too so I need to get more details about Blake's next steps before committing to that kind of expense for obvious reasons. That's the quick summary. I've been asked quite a few questions about this so I think my best bet is to spin off a new thread with a more complete story...