Dean Jenkins
Promoted Users
Looks really good. I feel your pain! Went through a lot of roloc discs when I did that.
1968 Plymouth GTX
- Thread starter '68 Coronet R/T
- Start date
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Dug the front fenders out of the shed and got them installed today.
Doors will be next and then I will have an idea of the work left to be done before I can start painting.
Doors will be next and then I will have an idea of the work left to be done before I can start painting.
JimKueneman
Mopar Nut
So you should be free later this summer to work on the A100 twins?
MJM
Promoted Users
Looking good, I mean really good. I feel for you doing all that by hand. I spent 6 months on my back getting the bottom of my car to look like that. I highly recommend installing frame connectors. You will see a night and day difference on how the car drives / handles. It would be the best upgrade you could do for the car. You could either make your own or, purchase a ready to weld in set.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Got the doors mounted today:
For the most part the passenger door lined up pretty decent. Both door openings have issues near the lower rear corner. The driver's door is the worst as you can see here:
Here's the upper portion of the gap, I was able to lower this a tad bit after taking the picture by adjusting the front hinge:
Gap at rocker panel:
Now here is the passenger door in that same area:
I have my work cut out for me.
For the most part the passenger door lined up pretty decent. Both door openings have issues near the lower rear corner. The driver's door is the worst as you can see here:
Here's the upper portion of the gap, I was able to lower this a tad bit after taking the picture by adjusting the front hinge:
Gap at rocker panel:
Now here is the passenger door in that same area:
I have my work cut out for me.
Doesn't look too bad.
I would just build up the rocker on the pass side to close the gap, the top of the rocker doesn't go straight back anyway.
I don't know what the mopar hinges look like, but thinking of simple hinges and from the way the drivers door looks in the picture, I would loosen the lower hinge, and let the bottom of the door move forward slightly. That would lower the back of the door while closing the top gap, open the lower rear gap, and close the rocker gap, all at once.
I would just build up the rocker on the pass side to close the gap, the top of the rocker doesn't go straight back anyway.
I don't know what the mopar hinges look like, but thinking of simple hinges and from the way the drivers door looks in the picture, I would loosen the lower hinge, and let the bottom of the door move forward slightly. That would lower the back of the door while closing the top gap, open the lower rear gap, and close the rocker gap, all at once.
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dhutton01
Backyard Hack
I don’t know what sort of bracing you installed on the car but dialing in door gaps and panel surfaces with the car on a rotisserie is not something I would normally do. The body will flex, distorting the opening. Gaps are best dialed in with the car sitting on the ground. Of course the bad corner can be addressed on the rotisserie.
Just my backyard hack two cents.
Don
Just my backyard hack two cents.
Don
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
So you think I should put it back on the jack stands to check door alignment?
With a Unibody car the body should be in some form of its natural resting position, be it sitting on the tires or sitting on stands that support it from underneath at various suspension points.
The rotisserie is just attached at both ends and can allow the car body to sag in the center.
The rotisserie is just attached at both ends and can allow the car body to sag in the center.
crashtech
Combo Man & Mod
Imo the body needs to be supported in the spots where the springs mount, which simulates the car sitting on its suspension. This can be complicated on a leaf spring car, and also does not take into account the weight of the drivetrain, but it's usually "good enough." What I've done on leaf spring cars is made a bar that runs from the front to rear spring perch and then attach the bar to the rotisserie at the midpoint of the wheel well. At the front, just support it at the nearest spot to the lower ball joint location as possible, on a car like yours it might mean mock assembling the k frame and supporting it there, not sure. Torsion bars might do some twisting to the floor on those cars as well, the effect of that would be pretty impossible to simulate.
dhutton01
Backyard Hack
I can only tell you what I and most others do. I do door alignment and panel matching with the car supported as it would be on the ground. This is common practice.
Based on my experience with a 68 Charger that body does distort on a rotisserie.
Don
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Okay, I removed the rotisserie and have the car on jack stands.
I didn't see any notable changes in the gaps alignment of the doors and panels. That being said, it did give me a chance to test fit front end panels and grill surround.
The car had been hit in the front end at some point:
As you can see the lower panel and the grill surround are bent up pretty bad. I tried straightening the dents out of the lower panel but without much success.
It's got so many bends in it, that I find it hard to even hold on to, let alone get it straight.
I didn't see any notable changes in the gaps alignment of the doors and panels. That being said, it did give me a chance to test fit front end panels and grill surround.
The car had been hit in the front end at some point:
As you can see the lower panel and the grill surround are bent up pretty bad. I tried straightening the dents out of the lower panel but without much success.
It's got so many bends in it, that I find it hard to even hold on to, let alone get it straight.
Dean Jenkins
Promoted Users
I don't know if it applies to this car, but I'll pass on what I learned on my el Camino as I was working on panel alignment and gaps.
For mine, the door alignment needed to be checked with the seals and rubber bumpers installed as well as the door striker post and latch. When the door was latched and up against the seals, it was different than without that stuff. As the door sealed, it flexed enough to visibly affect the gaps.
The eC has a frame around the window making the total door height close to double that of a hardtop style like yours, so it might not be an issue for you.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Hope you get more life out of them than I did. I have a 1.8 and a 2.0 and the 2.0 started giving me issues after just a few uses. The 1.8 only lasted two jobs before it started sputtering. And both the cups locked up so that it is impossible to remove from the gun. I was not impressed.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Can you remove the panel from the car without a lot of trouble? It would be easier to straighten off the car, then checking fit every so often as you are straightening it. If you have a sandbag you could work much of it out placing it over the bag and working it out from behind.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Yes, it appears the quarters are original. I did some more hinge adjusting yesterday and will post some pictures later today.
The right front fender appears to have been replaced. The original color doesn't match the car at all.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
After some more adjustment:
Still lots of repair work to do and half the bolts and clips are missing. Ordered a hardware kit from AMD.
I didn't notice any change in the panel gaps after removing the rotisserie and putting the car on jack stands. Figure that's a good sign!
Adjusted the hinges and fenders some more and the passenger side still looks better.
Passenger door rear gap:
Passenger Front gap:
Driver side front gap:
Driver door rear gap. Trying to keep the upper body line in place, leaves the bottom one a bit off and the gap larger at the top:
I'll keep working at it. Thinking I should install the hood next.
Still lots of repair work to do and half the bolts and clips are missing. Ordered a hardware kit from AMD.
I didn't notice any change in the panel gaps after removing the rotisserie and putting the car on jack stands. Figure that's a good sign!
Adjusted the hinges and fenders some more and the passenger side still looks better.
Passenger door rear gap:
Passenger Front gap:
Driver side front gap:
Driver door rear gap. Trying to keep the upper body line in place, leaves the bottom one a bit off and the gap larger at the top:
I'll keep working at it. Thinking I should install the hood next.