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1971 Plymouth Barracuda rear window detail request

fiaafnr

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Hello, I am restoring this vehicle. Can anyone with a restored 1971 cuda hardtop please post a couple pictures of the rear window area as shown in my photo (the angle area in the yellow circle).
I'm not sure how the finished product should look as rust has destroyed both sides of my car. A photo with rear window up and a photo with rear window down would be awesome! Thanks!

20201028_155012mod.jpg
 

fiaafnr

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Isn't that sheet metal available from AMD ? Looks like you need more than a patch job.
I've searched everywhere (AMD, yearone, jims auto parts, others) and cannot seem to identify replacement skin for this area. I see roof and quarter panels but nothing inbetween except for the front windshield A pillars. Can you point me in the right direction?
 

douglas17

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If you have this much rust in the window area, how much rust in the rest of the quarter area ,such as around wheel opening and bottom of quarter itself. One can appreciate a numbers matching car, but there comes a time when replacing the whole panel becomes the only choice.
I think you should consault with a couple local body repair people for some advise.
Maybe just place an add and see if someone has a damaged quarter panel and cut it up for what you need.
Not trying to sound harsh or demeaning in any way so please take this as ( in my opinion only ). I am not a body person only a fellow Mopar nut who has gone thru a restoration.
I found a few more pictures hope there is something you can use.

001.JPG


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NoCar340

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I've searched everywhere (AMD, yearone, jims auto parts, others) and cannot seem to identify replacement skin for this area. I see roof and quarter panels but nothing inbetween except for the front windshield A pillars. Can you point me in the right direction?

The area you need is comprised of three different external parts: The roof, the quarter panel, and the drip rail. Internally, the damaged area is part of the car's basic side structure. Repair sections for this area do not exist; you're either fabricating, installing full panels, or cutting patches from an entire panel. I had similar, though not as severe, issues on my Challenger. My car needed a roof skin due to some yay-hoo with an air saw, but ultimately that was a time saver in the affected area.

For the internal structure, I fabricated repair patches. They are not perfect but they mimic the shape of that area above the damage and restore the strength. They won't be seen so I didn't attempt perfection. Changing the whole side of the car wasn't an option and that was literally the only bad area. As I mentioned, I was replacing the roof anyhow so drip rails were also a necessity. Both of my original quarters are in outstanding shape down low. There was damage around the rear window frame (which extended into the roof) and a really-strange area cut out of the trunk lip on the driver's side. I ended up buying a full quarter and cutting off a large section including the sail panel/rear window frame area, the top of the quarter, and a good portion of the trunk rail. I sectioned in that whole area because everything below the main break line to the horizontal trunk surface was absolutely perfect. Had there been pinholes behind the wheel opening, I'd have swapped the whole quarter just to save time.

The way your car is cut, I would suggest replacing the entire quarter, simply because welding and finishing are both going to be a nightmare along that vertical cut. Everything would be butt-welded, which in the roof seam area is a recipe for disaster. The roof/quarter seams are under a lot of stress under hard acceleration, foot-braking, what have you. Changing everything gives you factory-located finishing seams that will save a ton of effort. You absolutely need a new roof rail, and the only reasonable way to get that right is to remove the roof and replace it. Trying to section/butt weld/finish the drip rail alone represents more frustration than changing all of it. The drip rails are welded to the main structure, then the roof is welded to the rails.

It sounds daunting, but I assure you it's far less work than trying to save what you've currently got. And I, with absolutely zero previous experience doing body work, am living proof one guy can do it completely by himself (I'm nobody's welder, either). I didn't even have help getting the roof panel out of the ginormous (about 6'x8'x2') box. My "help" was literally a PowerBlock episode where they changed a Challenger roof, and consulting online with a bodyman friend about things like using panel bond. Roof handling--I test fit it 13 times prior to welding/bonding--was accomodated by running ratchet straps between my garage-door rails to support and raise/lower the roof. Sometimes you've got to get creative when working alone. 😁

00AA.jpg
 

gzig5

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I'm stealing you roof lift idea...
OP, do you have the pictures you need? I can get any you another angle if you need it.
 
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