67 barracuda notchback restoration

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Ok jumping around a bit again. Today i finished rebuilding the door hinges all new bushings upper, and lower. Came out great. So i decide probably best to fit and line up the hinges and drivers door. Tight hinges with no slop should make this an easy job right?? Wrong!!!

My theory was to put the door with slop free hinges, front fenders, grille header panel and sort out all the gaps, and get the hinges tightened down to the body. I have never had as much trouble fitting a door to a car in my life as i did today. This door shell was not original to this car, but was off another 67 notchback coupe. Well i could not get the door to go back far enough. Inside back part of the door was hitting the pinch weld inside the door jamb in the back, i grind that off with a rotary file on a high speed air die grinder. Now i got clearance but the bottom back edge of the door hits the quarter, and the top has a big gap. Like a 1/2" gap I'm like WTF is going on here. I mark what needs to be trimmed back and i grind off the lower back edge of the door and round the bottom edge to meet the rear quarter.

Now i still cant move the door back because the hinges are at the end of their adjustment slots, so i have to use my rotary file and lengthen the **** out of the slots in the body, and in the hinge to move the door back. All this and all i gain is about 1/16" making the gap smaller. So now i have a 3/8" gap at the back of the door. At this point i temp install and shim the fenders, and bolt on and align the hood. I havent even gotten to the grille header yet.

The point of all this shenanigans since none of it is even ready for primer or paint is simply this, i wanted to have everything in alignment before hanging new rear quarters on this thing. The one shown looks ok, but its full of auto body filler and welded in patches. Well at this point i guess i can either hang the quarter and shove it forward to make up the gap. Or i can weld on some steel rod to the back edge of the door to close the gap, or do a small amount of both.

I am shaking my head in disbelief over how much trouble it was. I dont want to move this door back any farther otherwise i will have problems with gaps in the weatherstrip when the door is shut. Im curious if anybody else has wacky assed door gaps on their 67-69 barracuda. I mean i'm not expecting 2017 perfect door gaps, but damn these are really bad. Heres pix. Last pic is door gap to rear quarter as it sits currently.

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Oh i am aware of that with these old cars but a 1/2" gap at the top and hitting the quarter at the bottom?!? Come on man!! Theres sloppy workmanship, then theres WTF.

I trimmed the bottom of the door back a bit to even it out a bit and get the door to move back, then the hinges hit the end of their adjustment, and i had to grind the slots in the hinges, and in the body longer to move it back a little more. I'd be ok with 1/8" up to even close to 1/4" on a door gap. But 1/2" at the top and touching on the bottom.
 
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I would never have the fenders on at this point. I hang the doors setting rear gap, set hood gap with cowl. I then hang the fenders since they have the most adjustment in them. It is just the way I was taught nearly 40 years ago and all things being remotely correct it has worked out.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Oh i am aware of that wirh these old cars but a 1/2" gap at the top and hitting the quarter at the bottom?!? Come on man!! Theres sloppy workmanship, then theres WTF.

I trimmed the bottom of the door back a bit to even it out a bit and get the door to move back, then the hinges hit the end of their adjustment, and i had to grind the slots in the hinges, and in the body longer to move it back a little more. I'd be ok with 1/8" up to even close to 1/4" on a door gap. But 1/2" at the top and touching on the bottom.
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I looked at the the pic of how you have the car set up. . The back end is hanging. Support it or jack it up and see if and how much the gap changes. 9 times out of 10 the upper door gap will move.
 
Car was supported w hack stands and levelled before installing subframe connectors. I hung the original drivers door and passenger door when i did that, then removed em for good, rear axle is not hooked up in pic all thats back there is sheetmetal.
 
I just jacked up the *** end. Talk about a flexible flyer. I got 1/4" door gap in the back at the top and bottom. I had no idea it would move that much. Still doesnt explain why i had to slot the crap out of the hinge holes in the hinges and the body and move it waaay back. The slotted holes should have had enough adjustment. I really dont want to push the door back any further because of the weatherstrip maybe not sealing good at the front if i do that.
 
moparmat2000 said:
I just jacked up the *** end. Talk about a flexible flyer.
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Yep!, but even late model stuff flexes like that. I have seen more then one guy put a quarter on with perfect gaps only to drop it on the suspension and have the quarter touching the door.
 
Well i may still adjust the new quarter a bit closer, however i am going to take the car off the dolleys, and set it on jackstands. 2 at the front, 2 at the back. I jacked it up on the framerails at the far end just fwd of the rear bumper, or should i just temp hang the suspension under it and drop it on its wheels for the quarter panel swap. I have a 318 and 4 speed in it for mock up that will add weight to settle it.
 
Had to grind a little bit of the fender edge and door edge at the top as they had decent 1/8" gaps but also spots touching

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I like to have the rear jack stands back where the rear spring hangers are and the ones up front where the front k-frame bolts are. I've never seen where having the engine/trans in or out made a tremendous difference as far as the back end of the car is concerned.
 
On the front, I set the hood , square it up and set the gap to the cowl and start working from there. You don't want the fender back front the front edge of the hood. The hood will dictate where the fender needs to be front to back. In the search for perfect gaps you might have to do some welding on the edges of the doors.
 
I squared up the hood and have 3/16" gap at the back and the front at the header panel. Fenders line up nicely along the edges of the hood. There is a 1/8" gap at the front of the fender to the door. And now a 1/4" gap at the back of the door to the quarter. I cant slot these hinges any more. This is crazy.

I had to cut the lower back edge of the door. When i had a 1/2" gap originally at the top, it was touching at the bottom back edge. I had no choice. I will be welding up the seam on the door
 
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GeorgeH said:
I like to have the rear jack stands back where the rear spring hangers are and the ones up front where the front k-frame bolts are. I've never seen where having the engine/trans in or out made a tremendous difference as far as the back end of the car is concerned.
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I will go this route then with the jack stands.
 
At this point i am taking a break from this. I am just not into this right now after fighting with it as much as i have been. I got 1/4" gap at the back top to bottom. Thats as far back as i dare push this. I will prob remove tha catch from the old damaged door and swap it into this one and at least latch it shut. I have another 67 passenger door thats in better shape than mine sitting onthat 69 coupe i have. I just dont have any give a **** right now to go and get it and swap doors after this fiasco.
 
Don't let it get you down it took me weeks to figure out my gaps, since my AMD quarter panels were an 1/8 of an inch shorter then my originals some trickery and compromises needed to employed and sometimes the simplest method like lengthening the door edge and grinding it back tell you get the fit you want is the way to go. Step away for a few days when you frustrated can also be a wise thing, good luck and keep up the good work.

Dan
 
Swinger340Canuc said:
Don't let it get you down it took me weeks to figure out my gaps, since my AMD quarter panels were an 1/8 of an inch shorter then my originals some trickery and compromises needed to employed and sometimes the simplest method like lengthening the door edge and grinding it back tell you get the fit you want is the way to go. Step away for a few days when you frustrated can also be a wise thing, good luck and keep up the good work.

Dan
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Well since i have a 1/4" gap at the back i hope i dont have quarter skins that are 1/8" shorter. I am already working at a deficit, and will likely weld steel rod onto the back edge of the door. I was actually hoping to use the new skin to move the gap closer, but hey, if i eff it all up, at the very least i have a lot of choice parts i can sell from it.
 
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The goodmark panels do not have great body lines in them. You are better off to keep as much of the factory lines as you can. For the body line that goes from the lower side of the door into the quarter line it with masking tape on the door and quarter to help with getting it aligned properly as it is pretty light and hard to see. I curved under the two upper body lines when doing mine to keep the factory correct ones there. Also not a bad idea to throw the filler tube in the hole to be sure it comes close to lining up properly. I have heard where they were off a bit on some stampings.
 
toplscuda said:
View attachment 1715089470 The goodmark panels do not have great body lines in them. You are better off to keep as much of the factory lines as you can. For the body line that goes from the lower side of the door into the quarter line it with masking tape on the door and quarter to help with getting it aligned properly as it is pretty light and hard to see. I curved under the two upper body lines when doing mine to keep the factory correct ones there. Also not a bad idea to throw the filler tube in the hole to be sure it comes close to lining up properly. I have heard where they were off a bit on some stampings.
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Looks like you have a 1/4" gap between the door and rear quarter on yours too. I heard the goodmark ones dont fit super perfect, i like your idea of bringing the cut down to preserve the upper lines.

A few questions.

1 did you butt weld the panels or flange weld them with joggle and an overlap?

2 did you use the whole goodmark panel where it meets the valance, or did you cut it there too and seam it back with the stock panel?

3 how far back from the original panels edge did you go at the front by the door and the top? It looks like 1" back from the pic.
 
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I got a few other things going on under that left quarter panel. It had a big dent over the wheel arch, and the outer wheel house was pushed in, and the front edge of the wheel opening at the bottom was torn. How that happened over the years i dont know. When i did the first repairs i used a slide hammer with a hook to pull the arch out, at the front i made a new lower wheel opening corner, and just welded the wheel house edge without lip on it right to the backside of my repair. The trunk drop off on the back has a rust hole thats small enough that it can probably be repaired when the quarter is cut away. I will have to look at both of these pieces and decide weather or not to replace them when the quarter skin is off.

At that time while the panel is off i will also be fixing the broken quarter window rollers, greasing up the window tracks, and welding up the cracks around the door jamb striker pin, and reinforcing the door jamb with a doubler plate on the back side.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Looks like you have a 1/4" gap between the door and rear quarter on yours too. I heard the goodmark ones dont fit super perfect, i like your idea of bringing the cut down to preserve the upper lines.

A few questions.

1 did you butt weld the panels or flange weld them with joggle and an overlap?

2 did you use the whole goodmark panel where it meets the valance, or did you cut it there too and seam it back with the stock panel?

3 how far back from the original panels edge did you go at the front by the door and the top? It looks like 1" back from the pic.
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1) I butt welded them.
2) You are correct it was about 1"
3) I used the whole panel where it tucked up under the valance. My Valance it shot anyway and I have a decent replacement to go on so I just cut the welds where it attached and slipped it under.

When I cut off the panel I had outlined it with 1" wide masking tape and cut under it. If you have slipped the Goodmark panel on your car you would have seen how it will completely cap over the existing quarter. Not exactly a great fit it you want to keep the body lines correct.
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I then took the cutoff wheel to the replacement and cut the lips off of it. I then worked on placement and screwed it on to the car.
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Next step was to use the cut off wheel to cut between the screws, line the panels flush and tack.
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Patience is your friend when tacking so it doesn't get too hot and warp. I used an .035 thick cutoff wheel to make the cuts.
This was my first attempt at doing something like this and I am sure others with more experience my have done it differently but my thought was the factory edges were there and correct so I used them as my guide.
 
moparmat2000 said:
I got a few other things going on under that left quarter panel. It had a big dent over the wheel arch, and the outer wheel house was pushed in, and the front edge of the wheel opening at the bottom was torn. How that happened over the years i dont know. When i did the first repairs i used a slide hammer with a hook to pull the arch out, at the front i made a new lower wheel opening corner, and just welded the wheel house edge without lip on it right to the backside of my repair. The trunk drop off on the back has a rust hole thats small enough that it can probably be repaired when the quarter is cut away. I will have to look at both of these pieces and decide weather or not to replace them when the quarter skin is off.

At that time while the panel is off i will also be fixing the broken quarter window rollers, greasing up the window tracks, and welding up the cracks around the door jamb striker pin, and reinforcing the door jamb with a doubler plate on the back side.
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Good idea on doing the other stuff while the skin is off. Much easier to get to. I also hit everything in there with a Por15 equivalent before putting back together.
I have a decent trunk drop if you need it for pieces. I had planned on using it and actually had it tacked to the car before I ran across a good deal on a pair of AMD replacements. They had been pulled off a car that had the wheel arches cut for slicks so the very front edge was going to have to be made a tacked to meet the quarter lip.
 
I have a panel flanger, and cleco pins. I will prob follow your lead and cut it back the same way. How did you tie it in at the rear valance?
 
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