1969 Plymouth Barracuda Restoration Thread

[MJM]

180 blocked the roof. Had three area's to add glazing putty

Applied epoxy, it's ready for 2k

 

[DanMcG]

It's coming along nicely Mike. nice work.

 

[MJM]

Spent today revisting the drivers side back up light. Made a template using the passanger side back up light.

Drivers side with template in place, YIKES!!!

 

[MJM]

Drew a grid so I could pull the metal by quadrants.

Stud welder in action.

Much better, a lot less filler for sure.

 

[MJM]

Happy Spring everyone, looks like winter is almost over and the weather is starting to warm up here in Missouris so, I'm back at it. Last Sunday I ordered some bling for the car, all rear end trim. New tail light housings, tail light lenses, truck trim panel. Test fit the tail lights and trim panel today to see if everything lined up. I'm glad I did because the radius on the tail light housing is a bit different than the factory housings. Will need to sand and add a little filler to have those tail light housing line up with the body panel. Also need to realign the trunk to the new trunk trim panel so it lines up even the tail light housings.

Also started working on the front nose piece. Picked up a multi process welder over the Holidays which has a tig weld function. I'm hoping I can fix the broken mounting holes for the head light surrounds by tig welding patches in. Will be making another SPI order on Monday.

New Bling....

Test fitting tail light housing and trunk trim panel.

Working on repairing mount holes for front nose panel. Will provided pictures as the progress moves forward.

Broken mounting holes like this. Total of 4 to be repaired.

 

[El Toro]

Looks good so far and smart to pre fit any trim before paint.

 

[JimKueneman]

Looks good so far and smart to pre fit any trim before paint.

No kidding, on the Valiant not one was really aware that there were 2 different sized spears for the top of the quarter panel... the replacement I installed the slot was 1.5" longer than the other side! I was ready to paint when I test fit some better one I found and went OMG!

 

[DanMcG]

Dang Mike, I know you had done a ton of work fitting the original tail lights, sucks to do it again. But looking great!

 

[MJM]

Dang Mike, I know you had done a ton of work fitting the original tail lights, sucks to do it again. But looking great!

It's only the top radius of the 1/4 panel that meets the head light bucket. Will be a piece of cake to blend in.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Where did you order the tail panel and lights from? Are you happy with the quality?
I am going to need to purchase a tail panel and lights for my '68 GTX project, so doing a bit of research on the best place to order them.

 

[MJM]

Where did you order the tail panel and lights from? Are you happy with the quality?
I am going to need to purchase a tail panel and lights for my '68 GTX project, so doing a bit of research on the best place to order them.

I purchased the tail panel and tail lights from " Classic Industries"

Classic Industries | Restoration Parts | Mopar Parts | Camaro Parts | Firebird Parts | Nova Parts | Impala Parts | Chevy C10 Parts | Tri-Five Chevy Parts

Classic Industries is the recognized leader in automotive restoration parts. We have an extensive line of Mopar Parts, Camaro parts, Firebird parts, Nova parts, Impala parts and GM truck parts.

www.classicindustries.com

Quality of the parts are show car condition, and all the parts where packaged and double boxed well to avoid damage. They also provide insurance on the parts with the shipper. In my case it was the brown truck UPS.

Hope this helps.

 

[xjunkie]

Looks like you are doing that car justice!
It’s one of my favorite Mopar body styles, what’s going to be the drivetrain?

 

[MJM]

This may not seem like a big deal to you professionals but, it's a big deal to me. Learning how to use my new mig gas welder. I've never had a welder that I could dial in the voltage for sheet metal. I practice many hours over the winter to learn how to dial in voltage and wire speed so I'd get good penetration without burning holes in body panel sheet metal My stitch welds are still a little proud. Need to work on flatting them a bit ( suggestions on how to do that would be appreciated) but, I'm getting good penetration to the back side of the panel / patch. Here's my first attempt welding in a plug for the existing fender antenna hole. This sure beats the flux core welder I was using, lol. Many thanks to MPC for explaining how to planish while stitch welding. It greatly helped.

Existing fender antenna hole

Copper backer plate on backside of hole.

Fender hole prepped. Plug cut / shape and set in place

Plug welded in.

Backside of weld. Good penetration I think.....

Weld dressed.

 

[JimKueneman]

I am NOT a good welder but to me it seems like you could go a little hotter (up the voltage) and make a small circular motions for each dot. (listen to me at your own risk)

 

[MJM]

I am NOT a good welder but to me it seems like you could go a little hotter (up the voltage) and make a small circular motions for each dot. (listen to me at your own risk)

Hey I'll try anything once, maybe even twice, so thanks for speaking up. Suggestions always welcome.

I was running 24v / 300 wire speed. When tack welding it in, I set my welder at 16.5 volts / 200 wire speed. This guaranteed me that I wouldn't burn holes while tack welding the plug in. Once tacked in, I changed my voltage to 24v / 300 wire speed. I would then start my weld by initiating the arc off of the existing weld, letting the puddle burn in the existing weld and sheet metal. I repeated that stitch weld until welded out.

If I tried to start the arc directly on the sheet metal, it would burn a hole with the setting I was using. That is why I always started the weld using an existing weld. If I turned down the voltage, I wasn't getting good penetration.

I'll try your suggestion of making a small circle.

 

[MJM]

Here's a 20 gauge coupon I stitched welded yesterday to practice for today's weld project. Voltage was 24v / 315 wire speed. Welds came out pretty flat, maybe an 1/8" protruding.

Front side.........

Backside......

 

[MJM]

Doing what I can until it warms up enough to spray epoxy again. Fixed the header panel, also known as nose piece that had rust. Cut the cancer out and welded in a new piece. The piece was a bit tricky for me since it increased in width soooooo, I made two templates, then used the templates to make wood buck so I could pound the metal into shape.

Wood buck

Stitched welded up

Weld dressed

Checking with templates

 

[MJM]

Added an air dryer to give myself the best chance possible when spraying.

 

[MJM]

When I built the car for drag racing I only had enough room for a Flexlite dual fan. It was about around an inch thick. The fan was under rated at only 2,000 cfm but, it allowed me to stage the car, get down the track, and back to the pits before I hit 220/230 degrees.

I decided to fix this issue once and for all soòoooooo.......I bought a very good dual fan / shroud combo by Derale. The fans use Spal fans rated at 4,000 cfm.

To fit the Derale fans I need to move the radiator forward 1-1/2", which meant cutting out the upper radiator support. I drew up a sketch for a plan of action and went for it.

Lots of pictures so it will probably take two posts.

Sketch for a plan of action.

Laid out the opening to be cut out.

Once the opening was cut out I installed square tubing on the left and right side of the opening.

Another

Fan shroud installed by making brackets that are welded to the square tubing. This allows the fan shroud and radiator to be removed independent of each other.

 

[MJM]

Continued.....

Radiator / fans installed

To tie in the upper radiator support I used a piece of 18 gauge, bent the metal in two directions for strength, then dimpled died holes for additional strength and to provided air flow to the top of the radiator.

Upper support laid out for dimple die

Dimple dies in action

Another