MOPAR JOHNS EK2 SUPERBIRD RESTORATION!!

[Mopar John]

                                                         SUPERBIRD COWL REPAIR PART 2 AND FENDERS!
 I mixed a couple of pictures in the previous post! The first picture shows the larger area repaired and ground!
With the cowl area done it was time to mount the front fenders! The last three pictures show the front fenders mounted and lined up on the SUPERBIRD body! WOW! You can see that the hood hinges that were restored earlier are also mounted and waiting for the hood!
MJ

[JB400]

I like how good this one is turning out so far.

[Mopar John]

                                                                              SUPERBIRD HOOD!
  With the fenders bolted up and the hood hinges in place it was time to install the hood! This series of pictres should be of interest for anyone who has removed a hood and stood it up on it's back corners! The first picture shows the passengers rear corner of the hood.  You can see how the weight of the hood flattened this corner! OUCH! The second picture shows this same area after it was repaired. The third picture shows the drivers side rear corner of the hood with the same damage! The last picture shows that area repaired.
   When taking a hood off it is better to lay it on one of the flat sides to eliminate this type of damage!
Next up will be pictures of the body minus the nosecone ready for the final prep!
MJ

[70Sbird]

Looking good John!

[70EK2Bird]

Now I am going to have to check my hood.    We had it sitting that way for a couple of months while we changed the engine and other things.   

[JB400]

Well, I confess.  I've been guilty of setting it up that a way.

[thehemikid]

Mopar John, was that on a concrete floor? Don't know for sure, but that may've been the difference. I know of a bird hood that was stood up for 22yrs! ~3yrs in a barn on wood 2x4's, then he moved it into an old house for another 19yrs just on the carpeted floor, with not corner damage.

But I agree, not a good way to store'm, just convenient.

Me myself, I think I have 5 hood's standing up (not Birds,...I wish!). The youngest about 3 yrs, the oldest about 30yrs.  Every time I've had to move one I'd looked at the corners, but don't remember any damage.

But now that I see your damage  , I'll have to double check.

[Hoser2455]

Now I'll have to check mine.  I stored mine the same way, but it was sitting on top of an old pair of tennis shoes, so it would not damage it.  Hopefully it did not.

[maxwellwedge]

Always store them on the sides - less work later! 

[moparstuart]

Always store them on the sides - less work later!  

 yup its ok to store them upright just not on the nose or on the rear corners  always on its side .   

[Mopar John]

                                                                           WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  A lot of reaction on the hood post! I think most of us just bring the hood forward once it's unbolted and set it on the floor upright. It takes some twisting and turning to go the extra step and lay it on one of the flat sides. In my case I did have it stood upright on the corners when I was bead blasting it and other things. I know for a while I had it on scrap pieces of wood also. I hope this post will help others avoid this damage. So now when you go to shows you can look at the rear corners of the hoods and see if it's damaged or not?
I used to look at the top side of the hoods to see if a sandblaster got carried away and warped the hood or if you could see an impression of the under hood bracing!
Thanks for all the comments! MJ

[moparstuart]

Sometime in the life of my superbird hood someone put it down on its corners really hard , but that was the least of its problems  .

[thehemikid]

 Well I checked to be sure. Out of the 5 hoods, I could see all the corners but 1 & no damage.  The hood that's been standing up for 30 yrs is off a 69 GTX with air grabber. Imagine the weight that's on those corners, but no damage that I can see.

    not meaning to sound like I'm arguing,      ...just puzzling.

[70 sublime]

But how many times before now when the car was just an old car earlier in its life that the motor got changed and the hood was off I do not think anybody was worried about the corners
lots of hoods would have this beauty mark on them for this reason

[Mopar John]

                                                                            SUPERBIRD BODY!!
 With all the metal repairs done it was time to move the body to the BONDO ROOM as they call it at the shop! Here they do the finish work and primer! This batch of pictures shows the Superbird body on a dolly being moved. The first picture is of the drivers side. The second picture is of the rear of the body. The third picture is of the passengers side. The last picture is of the passengers side front corner.
I was really excited at this point that all the rust and damage was gone! These pictures were the last that came with the invoice from May of this year. Just last week I received another invoice and another batch of pictures. I will start to share those soon! ENJOY!
MJ

[1970Moparmann]

Looks awesome John!  The lines are perfect.

[wingcarenvy]

Looks awesome MJ. I always look forward to progress and your stories!

[69rtse4spd]

Looks great John, will look Sat. for the N.O.S. piece. Think I am getting the mind of a dog, turn around & forget what I was looking for. .

[Mopar John]

Thanks for all the kind comments! Now on to the JULY invoice and pictures!
                                                             DENT REMOVAL!
  Once in the bondo room at the shop the first item of buisness was dent removal. Here anything that could be pulled to a more even surface was done. The first 3 pictures show small dents that were being removed from the once NOS drivers side quarter panel. This panel was found in an unwrapped unprotected state when I bought it. Over the years it got a couple of small dings as it was moved around. The last picture shows a dent being removed on the taillight panel.
MJ

[Aero426]

Looking good!   

[tan top]

 nice work ,      looking good 

[thehemikid]

 Don't take this too seriously as  , just having some fun , but it is interesting that Chrysler would do this. I did not look for this pic to show this, just stumbled on it again looking for something else & it reminded me of the subject of the hood corners.

[Mopar John]

Don't take this too seriously as  , just having some fun , but it is interesting that Chrysler would do this. I did not look for this pic to show this, just stumbled on it again looking for something else & it reminded me of the subject of the hood corners.

NO PROBLEM on the picture! I hope that the post will help others be carefull with their hoods and avoid the damage I made!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                      BONDO!
This series of pictures will show the final picture of the dent removal process and the Bondo! Because of all the NOS panels and the dent removal not much bondo had to be used. The first picture shows the drivers side quarter panel after the dent removal process!
  The next two pictures show the area around the window plug after the seams were leaded and filled. The last picture is a shot of the roof! The leading edge had some small rust repair and the other small spots were either rust spots or small dents under the vinyl top?
The next segment will show the Superbird body in primer!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                             IT'S TIME FOR PRIMER!!!! WOW!!
It was a GREAT feeling when all the rust repair and metal work on the body was done! This was the first big mile stone. Now it's time for primer! Another big mile stone on it's way back! This series of pictures show various areas of the Superbird body with the primer still wet!
The first picture is of the drivers side. The second picture is of the taillight panel. The last two pictures are of the passengers side.
MJ