Cuda' vert panels?

[Cuda416]

I was looking at the chassis jig made by the folks at 521 Restorations and noticed this..

http://www.521restorations.com/index.pl?page=ebody&sub1=Quarter

The third and fourth items down are described as ...

Full OE Style Quarter
70-71 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible Quarter Panel - OE Style Left Hand


which are supposed to be available in 45 days.

Does anyone know if AMD or other manufacturers are going to be sourcing these?

-C

[Cuda416]

Well I got my answer. Seems AMD is going to make them and the cost is around $1500 each....  Ouch..

-C

[Topcat]

Many in the past "grafted" the upper convertible portion difference onto the full quarter.
Butt welded, grinded off weld beads, then skin coat.

Maybe not pretty, but an affordable option.

[Cuda416]

Yeah, I was just hoping for a better price than what the guy doing conversions by hand was getting. Seems he's a good deal now

[Topcat]

Grafting isn't that hard to do. I did it before.

All you need is alot of clamps, a welder, and a grinding off the beads.

Overlap old portion onto new portion. Get perfect, then cut thru both.
Check and double check everything before you get to ripping.

As you cut ahead, stop and put a few weld beads where you already cut earlier.

Pneumatic sawzall makes the thinnest cut, least gap but takes way more time. 

[Cuda416]

Thanks Topcat, I am aware of the various techniques. In a former life (before the service) I actually went to school to be a bodyman. Id just like to have as close to an oem situation as possible. I think Ill end up skinning below the top edge at these the prices.

[Topcat]

Cool!

Keep us posted on this.

[fishn4cuda]

I wouldn't waste the money on conv qtrs. Modify the hardtop ones. I do this all the time at my resto shop. Works great and take very little filler.

[Cuda416]

That's my frame of mind right now, either skins, or mod'd full qtrs. On the ful qrtrs, do you splice at the well lip or along the top qtr edge?

Oh, and to be clear, I was in the service "years ago" and _not_ now. I just wanted to clarify that since I hold very dear, like many do, what out service men and women do today. My post seemed a bit off, and so this correction makes me feel a bit better, now back to our regularly scheduled program....

anyway, when I get started, I'll certainly have a thread going. I went to body school, just didn't finish, so I'll need help along the way to be sure.

Thanks for all the input folks!

-C

[larry4406]

I found this to be interesting

http://www.tachrev.com/JeffLilly/convertible.pdf

[Cuda416]

Holy cow, nice find, thanks!

-C

[steven]

I bought a pair of the hand modified ones from Ken of "The Convertible Factory" back in Oct of '2012. Believe me - they are fantastic and in my opinion, worth every cent. He bases his price on his cost and that is for AMD's full hardtop quarter panels plus his shipping cost so that changes over time. Then he charges @$400.00 per panel to modify them plus his shipping to you. I saved on shipping by having my pair shipped together in the same box and when it was over and done have about $1,200.00 in each panel. Just so ya'll know - the tops of my original quarters were un-useable so I did'n have a lot of options. I'm not rich either but sometimes you have to push the envelope so to speak. After all - it is a '71 Barracuda Convertible!!!!!

[miamivice]

I bought a pair of the hand modified ones from Ken of "The Convertible Factory" back in Oct of '2012. Believe me - they are fantastic and in my opinion, worth every cent. He bases his price on his cost and that is for AMD's full hardtop quarter panels plus his shipping cost so that changes over time. Then he charges @$400.00 per panel to modify them plus his shipping to you. I saved on shipping by having my pair shipped together in the same box and when it was over and done have about $1,200.00 in each panel. Just so ya'll know - the tops of my original quarters were un-useable so I did'n have a lot of options. I'm not rich either but sometimes you have to push the envelope so to speak. After all - it is a '71 Barracuda Convertible!!!!!

Hi Steven,  how does one get ahold of Ken for more information on this?  Thanks!

[steven]

The man doing the hand-conversios is Ken Hopperdietzel. He is super cool to deal with. Shortly after we completed the deal for my quarters he started running ads in the Mopar Collectors Guide magazine for his operation which he's calling The Convertible Factory. His phone number is (715) 432-5080. He has a web site, ebodyconvertibleconversions.com  but from my dealings with him I'd say phone. He doesn't have time to deal with the web-site as much. He only does "E" bodies and his work is superb. I had to have some small pieces manufactured for the drivers side quarter for mine as well. He has anything you may need for a convertible structurally. Tell him Steve from Kentucky said hello.