71 'Cuda restoration

[anlauto]

I've heard over the years that SE trim is slightly wider, but personally I've NEVER seen proof of that....Maybe someone here can prove it ?
Either way, I can't see the difference being large enough that those clips wouldn't work

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Well mine is installed and I don't want to take it off just to see if I used the correct clips.  In fact.....I really don't remember what I used.  Our Napa store had/has a selection of attaching parts/clips so I guess that is what I used.  Anyway, hasn't fell off yet.

When installing the glass back in, I went to a local body shop for the clips and they had a turntable bin and I got enough to do front and back for $6.00. and they were the correct ones too..

[RUNCHARGER]

That's usually the way I do it as well. Saves a lot of time waiting for stuff.

[PlumCrazyRTSE]

I've heard over the years that SE trim is slightly wider, but personally I've NEVER seen proof of that....Maybe someone here can prove it ?
Either way, I can't see the difference being large enough that those clips wouldn't work

One of my SE's has the correct SE vinyl-top trim but the other has the standard vinyl-top trim.  My one-handed photo skills aren't the best but I took these pictures to show the difference.  The SE trim is 0.75 inches wide while the standard trim is only 0.50 inches wide.

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Thought about the trim today and measured mine.......it measures  3/4" wide......

[anlauto]

Excellent picture, that you...

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Hope this shows ok, this one is mine.  Seems to have a raised ridge in the center

[PlumCrazyRTSE]

Hope this shows ok, this one is mine.  Seems to have a raised ridge in the center

Yep, I think that's really the easiest way to tell.  If the raised ridge is in the center of the trim then you have the SE trim.

[roguedc72]

Tunis, you must really love this car to put yourself through so much misery, but it's coming out great so far. I went through rust misery on my 72 challenger, almost threw in the towel a couple times ,and my car wasn't as rusty as yours, keep up the good work, we can't wait see it back from body and paint,gonna look awesome! And great resto blog! Wish I'd done that. By the way when you put gas tank in,make sure to feed the fill pipe into the hole as tank goes up.been there.

[Tunis]

@roguedc72 I have developed a love-hate relationship with this car. I love what she will become when I'm done with her, but I'm starting to hate her present form. I'm really tired of grinding welds and redoing past mistakes. Will try to remember the tip about the filler neck. Thanks! 

[Tunis]

So things aren't moving as fast as I would have hoped. Guess it's because I can't really assess how much time something actually takes with preparation etc. But I have some questions about the window molding clips front and rear. Where should the clip studs be both front and rear? I mean how many front and rear, distance apart, hight from the flange where the glass sits? Where are the two holes drilled in the rear for the screw that attaches the two 'offset' pieces?

Thanks for the help!

Per

[Shane Kelley]

Look through here.  This should help you out with those questions.

https://forum.e-bodies.org/reference-material/18/e-body-hole-locations-firewall-door-interior-ect/303/

[Tunis]

Thanks Shane! 

[Tunis]

I realize it's been a long time since I last updated this thread. A lot has happened since the last time, both with my car and personally. I will try to cover up all the details of what I have done these past nine months. I want to continue to describe the process I do to help others in the same situation. If I did something incorrectly, please correct that, but for me it's to late by now

After the underside got some paint, I moved over to the doors. Removed the skins.







Blasted and painted to outside of the door frame.



Then I prepared the new door skins and added some weld primer to the door shell. (Sorry for a blurry picture.)



Many tiny blows with hammer and dolly later.. skin in place. 



Checking the fitment to the rest of the panels before welding the skin to the shell



Then I tried to fix the rear panel gap (more on that later).



Then on to the next door and the same process all over again.





Next over to the hood.







Then over to fix the panel gaps.













Next up was the leading the seams. I eventually got quite good at it (if I may say so myself). This is not the finished seam.



And then seam sealing inside the car before paint.



I then painted the engine bay inside and out





And added under coating to rear wheel houses and the outside of front inner fenders.



To be continued...

[Tunis]

The last picture is the end of July, my wife is in her last few days of the pregnancy (first child) and I'm working as hard as possible to get the car ready for paint before the child birth. To make matters worse, the summer was the hottest ever recorded in Sweden with very few days of rain for maybe four months. Anyway, on with the story and time for more paint. 









I painted the car two days before my son was born. I didn't have a whole lot of time after that... But before the year ended I had her back on her wheels again and ready for paint.









Then it was time to go to the painter. This is in January 2019 and the car is still there as of March 1st.





I'm not able to spend nearly the same amount of time in the garage as I have been, so things will slow down from here on.

I'm working on the k-frame and front suspension right now and will eventually move over to building an engine. To be continued.