Fitting all new AMD body panels to a 'Cuda

[Beck]

Hey all,
I'm at the stage in my car build where I'm putting the body back together.
New AMD roof, drip rails, quarters, deck filler panel, tail panel, and trunk drops.
Original deck lid and doors.
The front fenders and hood are race weight fiberglass, in other words very light, and very rough.

I've got everything sitting on the car and it lines up fairly well I guess.
But getting everything to fit perfect with straight body lines and good panel gaps looks like it's going to be a nightmare.
The deck filler panel fits the worst, it doesn't line up with the quarters (too 'long' where it meets the quarter) even though they are all from AMD.

I'm wondering if anyone with experience with fitting so many new AMD panels to a cuda could offer some information or advice.
I'm thinking I should get the doors lined up with the rockers, to inform how the quarters line up (the RH passenger side quarter fits on much too high, so when the door is lined up with it, there is a big gap between the door and rocker).

The roof fits well, with no real movement or play, so I guess that is another fixed anchor to adjust the rest from.

I've never done this stuff before and am feeling pretty out of my depth!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers!
Aaron

[73RallyeChallenger]

Hi Aaron, I'm far from an authority on this subject, but I can tell you that my body guy (and myself) were a little frustrated with some of the AMD panels. He had troubles with the AMD deck filler panel aligning with the AMD quarter panels, and the end he got it best as he could. After showing my car at at indoor car show a few weeks ago for the first time, I had a chance to walk around and look at some other cars. My lesson in all this was, if you want a car that looks like the sheet metal is all original, start with a car that doesn't need any sheet metal replaced, or use NOS/original sheet metal for replacements. Most AMD panels are great, some are just good/fair, I'm sure there are some body guys or metal working guys that could get them looking better than most, but they are few and far between.

[anlauto]

Just one word of advice: Your car should be supported by it's suspension points when fitting panels 

[73RallyeChallenger]

Alan, do you mean using a jig of some type, or leaving as much of the drivetrain in the car when replacing panels? Do you think it is possible to use all repo panels and have it come out 100 perfect, not 95-99% perfect, but 100% perfect?

[anlauto]

I out source 99% of my metal work to Keith Sim so I won't take credit for it.
I have over the years learned a lot from him.

Whenever replacing any major panel, the car should be resting on all four tires or preferably mounted to a floor jig plate.

When I take a rusted car to him, and believe me some are pretty rusted. He welds them to his floor plate, then double checks the specs with the factory specs, trues up the car if needed before any cutting begins.

As far as perfection with the new panels...ain't gonna happen without a lot of extra detail work on the gaps etc...

[Beck]

Thanks for the replies.
I figured there would be a lot of tweaking to get things fitting right, good to have some feedback about it.
I'm not after show car perfection with this car, it's more go than show. But I would like things to look right, and fit well.

As far as doing panel replacement on a rotisserie, I have added subframe connectors and lots of other bracing while the car was supported on stands. The whole shell has also been stitch welded. Before I cut the old sheetmetal off I added extra temporary bracing from the rear of the car through to the package tray bracing I added for the roll bar, through to the roof structure, and forward to the A pillar.

Here's a pic:



I also made a set of heavy duty extendable legs that bolt to the front leaf spring hangers, that support the weight of the car.
Very handy for climbing in and around the shell while its on the rotisserie.

[torredcuda]

Any panel whether NOS factory or aftermarket will need fitting,trimming and "adjusting".Assuming all your bracing is holding everything in it`s proper alignment here`s what I would do.You are correct in that the roof is pretty much going to fall into place without much movement and the quarter panels,tail panel and deck filler are fixed panels so you need to start there.The door/ rocker gap can be set and then the  door/quarter gap can be adjusted.You also need to fit the deck lid and make sure the fenders, hood and etc. have enough adjustment.Basic rule of thumb is to start at the rear(fixed panels) and work forward but where your car is so far apart it is just going to take a lot of time tweaking and measuring everything to get even,square dimensions.FWIW I am doing the trunk extensions on my Duster and although they do need tweaking I was pretty impressed with the fit-as a bodyman I`ve seen some real crap panels!When you get further along and have any problem areas just post `em up and we`ll try to help. 

[RzeroB]

Man that is ambitious! That shell has to be a flexi-flyer with so many panels removed. Somewhere on this board someone recently posted an engineering diagram of the frame x-dimensions to ensure the frame is properly aligned to specifications. It was an interesting diagram but unfortunately I can't seem to find it right now. Maybe someone else can find it and cross-link it to this thread for you??

[torredcuda]

Dimensions in this thread-
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=91637.0

[RzeroB]

That's the one!

I don't intend to sidetrack the thread but I got a question for you metal workers out there. When replacing large amounts of metal why remove it all before you start installing the new stuff? It seems that if you replaced say one quarter at a time, you would be able to maintain a lot of the reference points with the remaining body and some rigidity of the shell in order to establish an accurate fit. I have never attempted such ambitious sheetmetal work myself so I'm sure that I'm missing a major point somehow.

[anlauto]

That's the one!

I don't intend to sidetrack the thread but I got a question for you metal workers out there. When replacing large amounts of metal why remove it all before you start installing the new stuff? It seems that if you replaced say one quarter at a time, you would be able to maintain a lot of the reference points with the remaining body and some rigidity of the shell in order to establish an accurate fit. I have never attempted such ambitious sheetmetal work myself so I'm sure that I'm missing a major point somehow.

That's exactly how it should be done.

[Beck]

The shell doesn't flex at all when I put it on and off the rotisserie, or lift one end.
Those extra braces are 1/8" wall RHS. Welded solidly to the shell. They add a lot more rigidity than the crappy rusty old sheet metal ever did.
You could see the rear end flex when you lifted it off the ground/rear suspension with the old sheet metal in place and no braces. No flex now.
Add in the through the floor subframe connectors, stitch welded seams, and the other bracing I have added, like the parcel tray/roll bar bracing, and that shell is now very rigid.

I watched the gaps where I cut the old sheet metal off, and nothing moved.

I also squared the suspension mounting points using the frame measurement diagram and a centered string line as a reference. The car has also been on a chassis jig to correct some old accident damage.

As far as removing and replacing one panel at a time, I wasn't able to as I wanted to get the stripped shell sand blasted and painted prior to fitment of new panels. If your car wasn't as rusty or as rough as mine, then one panel at a time would be nice.

Having said all that though, I think I'll be fitting the new panels with the car on the ground on its rear axle.
I'm going to be doing the work at a local hot rod shop, who are generous enough
to let me bring the car in and work on it under their helpful supervision.
I tow my car around on its rear axle like a kind of trailer, so I'll leave it like that instead of putting it back on the rotisserie.
So that should make life a little easier, and hopefully I'll learn more and get a better result. I'll update my build thread with my progress.

Cheers!

[elitecustombody]

I agree with    anlauto. Unibody must be resting on suspension, not hanging on rotisserie when replacing any major body panel .I wouldn't expecting anything to fit perfect at this point .   

[rhamson]

 

[rUNCHARGER]

I understand the need to blast everything to get it clean. However back when I did this stuff I left the car completely assembled and on it's suspension. I made sure the doors were perfectly aligned with the original quarters, then I would replace one quarter, then the trunk floor, another quarter then the dutchman etc. Making sure as I went that everything was staying in line.
I think starting with no reference points would really be tough.

Sheldon