2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Thanks, but it wasn’t all fun. The first time I put the axle and leafs in by myself. The next two times I had help.
My 1969 1/2 440 ‘cuda
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2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Thanks, that’s the plan.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Brakes are completed. Suspension is all hooked up.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Time to start putting the front together.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Got the front grilles in and wound up cracking the passenger side where I had fixed it and had to repair it again. It’s starting to shape up.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
it's so worth a dry build of all the trim before committing to paint. 
neil.
neil.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
I wanted to get it together and start driving it before painting it. Knew it would take awhile to get the money for a paint job and had to find a place that I could trust to do a great job.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
another advantage of delaying paint is any filler/bondo under the primer can have a chance to 'sink' (which it does) so when you come to final paint all you'll need is high build primer, a good block down then paint. you'll have much less chance of future problems with the finish that way. just ake sure the primer currently on the car is water proof like epoxy primer. normal primers absorb moisture which is not good for steel bodies as we know.
neil.
neil.
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
And primers don't have any UV protection so sun light will break them down over time if its in the sun too much
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Spare tire is in place and she’s all together, finally. Took it to get inspected on May 29th 2015. The fella putting the inspection sticker on is the son of the guy I bought the car from. Took it to my first car show on August 30th. Still got a long way to go but I’m able to finally drive it.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
None of the panels are lining up right. When I first got it back from the body shop the doors were lined up pretty good. Over time the drivers door started to get more out of whack. I put the fenders hood and header panel on so I figure a good body shop will be able to get this lined up good when it comes time for it to get painted. The hood is another story with a good size bow to it. The deck lid panel is another problem.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get rid of the oversized gap in the passenger fender. Decided to do a little measuring and found the passenger inner fender well was a quarter inch farther forward. Since there were no inner fenders on it the body shop had no idea how far forward they should be, but I would have thought they should have measured them to make them equal. It’s gonna be crazy gettin this fixed.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Well, November 2022, decided to bite the bullet and take her to another body shop to get her lined up and painted. There are plenty of good body shops in town but it’s tough finding the right one. This one was recommended by a fellow Mopar guy so I took a chance. They found a few weak spots. One in the mirror area and another on the drivers door handle. Had to figure out how to get the drivers door and cowl to line up. Ended up putting a weld there to raise the door line. The front fender needed some re-doing as well as a lot of other areas. The roof line above the drip rail molding was off a touch and they got it dead on. The fella doing the body work has 45 years experience. Once I found that out it was a real confidence booster.
hcallaway
Well-Known Member
Getting cars painted may be the most frustrating part of a restoration. Especially when it seems it bites some people harder than others. Looking good.
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340sFastback
Well-Known Member
Sounds like that car is in the hands of extremely skilled body man. Looking forward to seeing this awesome car painted!!
Glad you found someone experienced enough to get it right! I know you are super glad!
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Yes it was and I got bit pretty hard. Cost me more than I expected.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
I believe it is. He’s done some really awesome things with lining it up and fixing problems.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
So am I. It was basically a case of dumb luck which I don’t get very often. I’m sure glad I picked this body shop, there doing everything top notch.
FYI - noticed body work in these areas. Added these on mine to stiffen, never liked how much the metal flexed. Make sure the fit is matched before tightening down, read a post once where guy saw it distorted metals when he tightened it down door handle. No telling if it was an issue with his sheet metal or the plate.
Door handles:
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Door Handle Reinforcement Plates
Repair plates for striker area with thicker metal:
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Driver Side Door Jamb Repair Plate
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Passenger Side Door Jamb Repair Plate
Plate for mirrors:
Dynamic Renovation - Mirror Plate Drivers Side 66-70 B-body & 67-9 Cuda
Dynamic Renovation - Mirror Plate Pass. Side 66-70 B-Body & 67-9 Cuda
Door handles:
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Door Handle Reinforcement Plates
Repair plates for striker area with thicker metal:
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Driver Side Door Jamb Repair Plate
Dynamic Renovation - 67-76 A-body Passenger Side Door Jamb Repair Plate
Plate for mirrors:
Dynamic Renovation - Mirror Plate Drivers Side 66-70 B-body & 67-9 Cuda
Dynamic Renovation - Mirror Plate Pass. Side 66-70 B-Body & 67-9 Cuda
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info.
2sixtynines
Well-Known Member
Getting things lined up
mygasser
Well-Known Member
some very nice gappige going on there
neil.
neil.
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