moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
KudaKid heres trunk floor pix. Before and after
67/68/69 cuda dilemma
- Thread starter moparmat2000
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4mopwr
Well-Known Member
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Thanks John. It's been a long 3 years on this project unfucking it. I sometimes go back thru the pix I have archived to see how far its come since march 2019 when it finally made it into the shop to be started on. Everything before that was rounding up parts and pieces needed to do this. I probably should have started with a more complete, better condition example to begin with, but then what's the fun in that.
Super-Cuda
MOPAR .. Move Over, Plymouth Approaching Rapidly!
Agreed! I'm sure I can speak for a lot of members here who are glad you did. We have learned a hell of a lot following along.
Keep up the great work and especially the detailed reports of your progress.
Cheers!!
Keep up the great work and especially the detailed reports of your progress.
Cheers!!
Anyone wanting to resto a 67-9 cuda needs to bookmark Matt's thread. Must read, keep up the great work Matt.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
My shop is Hamtramck ReAssembly southwest division. Thanks for the kudos. This info can easily apply to any auto sheetmetal. Pic below is the equipment I do sheetmetal repair on for a living.
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Very cool Matt! Can see how you translate your work over to your "play" lol.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
I love automotive sheetmetal.
I say this a lot, but it bears repeating.
Compared to aircraft sheetmetal, automotive sheetmetal is very crude yet oddly satisfying
I say this a lot, but it bears repeating.
Compared to aircraft sheetmetal, automotive sheetmetal is very crude yet oddly satisfying
Thanks Matt. I was hoping to see the flanged part of the quarters from the inside. Keep that fleet in the air and I will keep my fleet in the AAir as well.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Dittos KudaKid. we are brothers from the same camp. Scissors Buzzard. AAlaways. Sent you a PM w pix you wanted.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Got a bit more done on the filet-O-fish today. Got the outer wheelhouse aft end fitted and welded, pulled in the front end of the trunk drop to line up better, hammer and dolley worked the rear half of the rear quarter skin to fit at the valance much better.
I also welded back in the wiring harness retaining clips. I wrote the dimensions where they were attached on the old trunk drop with a sharpie. Took a pic of it, and put them back in the exact same spots on the new drop.
Using a dolley and various body hammers, I was able to roll the lip on the valance, and on the rear of the quarter skin to get it to tuck behind the valance like the factory ones does.
It was an awful lot of work making this stuff play nice with one another, but it plays nice now, and the quarter skin just falls right into place in these areas. It's looking like I have to mod the outer wheel house arch next, and the quarter skin at the front to fit better, but that's an installment for a later date.
Overall I am pretty happy with the progress so far.
I also welded back in the wiring harness retaining clips. I wrote the dimensions where they were attached on the old trunk drop with a sharpie. Took a pic of it, and put them back in the exact same spots on the new drop.
Using a dolley and various body hammers, I was able to roll the lip on the valance, and on the rear of the quarter skin to get it to tuck behind the valance like the factory ones does.
It was an awful lot of work making this stuff play nice with one another, but it plays nice now, and the quarter skin just falls right into place in these areas. It's looking like I have to mod the outer wheel house arch next, and the quarter skin at the front to fit better, but that's an installment for a later date.
Overall I am pretty happy with the progress so far.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Well like I was saying, the Goodmarks fit like dog ****. Lots to do to make em right. The first one takes the longest to fit. After this is done, I will know what to expect, what to do etc. The other side will go much faster. Heres a recap so far.
Note: I had no choice but to pull the factory skins because of the roof structure butchery I had to fix, and the rust through at the trunk opening lips. To be fair, the goodmark skins fit well in most areas and have to be set to the dimensions shown in the red marked key areas shown on my original skins. I sure wish they came with more metal at the lower front though. I will have to add a piece there.
I made the AMD wheel houses fit tight with the flanges of the OEM skins when I put them in. I guess i was expecting too much that the goodmark skins would fit the same in the wheel arch area.
Note: I had no choice but to pull the factory skins because of the roof structure butchery I had to fix, and the rust through at the trunk opening lips. To be fair, the goodmark skins fit well in most areas and have to be set to the dimensions shown in the red marked key areas shown on my original skins. I sure wish they came with more metal at the lower front though. I will have to add a piece there.
I made the AMD wheel houses fit tight with the flanges of the OEM skins when I put them in. I guess i was expecting too much that the goodmark skins would fit the same in the wheel arch area.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Gonna do this in picture installments. Theres quite a bit to this. Ok, so heres the issue. With the skin held on with cleco pins, the wheel opening clamped to the front edge of the trunk drop, and at the front side of the wheel house where it actually fits in both spots, I stacked up tongue depressors in the gaps at the top and at the back until they fit snug. Then i removed them, taped em together, measured the thickness and marked them. And marked the quarter skin, and wheel arch where each stack of tongue depressors went and the thickness of the gap. Then I cut the lip off.
Note: the green line (witness mark) at the back edge marked 3/8". When the lip was cut and adjusted, you can see it now doesnt line up. Later on you will see that its lined back up after I cut the lip above it to move it back in position to where it needs to be.
Note: the green line (witness mark) at the back edge marked 3/8". When the lip was cut and adjusted, you can see it now doesnt line up. Later on you will see that its lined back up after I cut the lip above it to move it back in position to where it needs to be.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
So I centered the cut lip, then using the tongue depressor spacer blocks to set the gaps i aluminum taped the arch in place with some sheetmetal splints to keep it pulled in the 5/8" and 3/8". I had to trim it at the front to keep it centered at the top middle. Then I hung the skin back on and checked the mating flange gaps again. The quarter skin lip in the arch fits the outer wheel house lip to within 1/16" now. Close enough to clamp and spot weld easily. Note on quarter skin I marked where the gap starts at the front. And where the 5/8" and 3/8" gaps are.
Tech Tip: i use sharpie markers a lot. Especially the silver ones. silver sharpies work great with black primered parts. When I line up a black primered part and clamp it in place, I use a silver sharpie to trace where the pieces overlap, then I pull everything back apart to either trim, or drill where my rosette welds will be knowing where the panel overlaps are.
Tech Tip: i use sharpie markers a lot. Especially the silver ones. silver sharpies work great with black primered parts. When I line up a black primered part and clamp it in place, I use a silver sharpie to trace where the pieces overlap, then I pull everything back apart to either trim, or drill where my rosette welds will be knowing where the panel overlaps are.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Now time to get out the manilla file folders and pens to make templates. Fit, weld and grind.
Note: I peeled the aluminum tape back enough to start with the first repair piece, but left it in place at both ends to act as a clamp holding everything in alignment
Note: I peeled the aluminum tape back enough to start with the first repair piece, but left it in place at both ends to act as a clamp holding everything in alignment
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Fill in the gap at the front and grind down. My welder is on setting C so I get a full penetrated weld even if the pieces are butted tight together. This means I have to bump the wire speed up a little to prevent burn thru. This also means tack it and move to another spot and tack it letting it all cool down to prevent warpage. I would love to learn how to TIG weld. Maybe some day. Doing it this way adds a lot of grinding, but the results are a full penetrated solid piece, that cleans up nice and smooth when ground down. It is a MIG with solid core and a bottle. I think it was burning the primer off the back side.
I will grind down any high spots on the back side before I primer it back there. I plan on shooting raptor liner in the wheel houses so this splice n dice wont ever be visible from either side once done.
I will grind down any high spots on the back side before I primer it back there. I plan on shooting raptor liner in the wheel houses so this splice n dice wont ever be visible from either side once done.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
This is what's left as of this evening. I am putting the lower back edge of the lip where it needs to be, and trimmed the excess above it. Note the green sharpie (witness mark) by the 3/8" mark and wood block is now lined back up. I trimmed the excess above it so the bottom edge of the lip lines back up. The 3 square bumped out pads on the outer wheel houses located front, rear, and top center are where padded clamps were put at the factory to hold the quarter skins in position tightly against the wheel house for spot welding. This is why I am making sure to keep these intact while reworking the wheel arch.
So far so good. This is the first time I have ever had to make a wheel arch fit a quarter skin. I think once it's got primer on it, nobody will ever know this has been moved, and the skin will fit like a glove in this area. After this its onto the front to fix another spot where it fits like dogshit.
So far so good. This is the first time I have ever had to make a wheel arch fit a quarter skin. I think once it's got primer on it, nobody will ever know this has been moved, and the skin will fit like a glove in this area. After this its onto the front to fix another spot where it fits like dogshit.
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moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Shameless plug now for a china freight tool that actually feels damn well made, and is rechargeable with a built in USB port. This COB LED strip light has 3 brightness settings, a pinpoint tip light, super magnetic base, and swivel head. I bought it for those times I have my welding hood on, and I'm trying to weld in a dark area. This gives enough light to see before I strike an arc. I think it was $26. A buddy of mine builds circle track race cars and has 3 of these. He swears by em. I saw it at china freight and said oh what the heck. I'm not a gimmicky work light buyer. I know theres people out there that seem to collect every different work light made with different gimmicks to em. Im not one of those people. All I can say is this thing is great. I can see myself using this light for a lot of different uses.
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Ironracer
Gearhead
I have a few magnetic ones.. a folding one that doubles as a tag light for the Duster. I stick it up inside the bumper.. need to find a tag light housing.. lol
Ironracer
Gearhead
You're No Metal Worker... you're an Artist
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the kind words. If nothing else, this car has been a head scratcher for me. This is the farthest I have ever taken one of these cars apart. Kind of a what do I dissassemble and change first, second, 3rd, and so on. Theres been weeks on end where I would go in the shop, and study it like a chess master studying a chess board trying to figure what move needs to be next. Then I'd go inside, plot solutions in my head, sleep on it for a few nights, maybe go back outside, look it over again a week later before ever doing the next part. I would drive my wife nuts by tossing and turning in my sleep disassembling and reassembling it in my sleep so many different ways. The wheel arch problem was no different. Just had to figure out the easiest way to move it where it needed to be. That ended up being straight down in the center, and trim back both of the ends to fit.
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Ironracer
Gearhead
I had a feeling you had to have given it some serious thinking, with the amount of work, the limited time you have, the car being a Mopar, probably many other factors.. point is, the level of work and the quality here is just awesome
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
I'm thinking the RH side should go together much faster since it will be the same issues I already figured out, just mirror opposite. LoL
Heres the thing, it's only a 318 car, or by the vin# that's all it was built as. It's not a terribly valuable car. It's not a 340-S or even a big block Cuda edition. However I feel that now it's over 50 years old, it still has a value to it as there are less and less of em. Plus I see people parting restorable examples of these quite often. Actually makes this one more valuable.
Heres the thing, it's only a 318 car, or by the vin# that's all it was built as. It's not a terribly valuable car. It's not a 340-S or even a big block Cuda edition. However I feel that now it's over 50 years old, it still has a value to it as there are less and less of em. Plus I see people parting restorable examples of these quite often. Actually makes this one more valuable.
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