It don't look like you had much for bracing for having the car cut that far apart. Did it not flex??. I've never had a car that far apart all at one time, always thought it would bow like crazy. Looks like a great car to do !.
Dan.
Thanks, Nope, not really much bracing unless you count the 2x4 boards and painters tape that were holding up the tail panel.
Flex wasn't really a problem. Yes, stuff can move if you cut off enough supporting pieces, and sometimes that's necessary to replace a part. You take a LOT of measurements from a lot of different places, and write it all down. I can't count how many times the different panels were on and off for test fitting. We even had the glass in and out to check fitment. If you look at the pics, the gray primered car next to mine is also a 70 roadrunner, and that was handy for double checking measurements, along with the factory service manual measurements.
I did a lot of work on my E bodies, but I'm overly busy running my business now and have enlisted the help of a good friend to do most of the work on this Roadrunner. He's done full restorations on 16 B bodies that I can think of, and I'm sure there's more that I don't know about. That's not counting the E bodies and side projects he's done. He did a 68 Hemi Charger that took 1st place in class at the 2013 Mopar Nats. There's 4 B bodies in his shop right now. His experience in knowing which pieces to remove and in what order was invaluable. We didn't remove the torsion bar crossmember until after the rocker panel was done. He has a good straight K frame that he uses just for helping to align & install front frame rails. (my K frame was a little bent when the car was hit behind the drivers front wheel, which is why the frame rail, inner fender, firewall, cowl, & rocker needed replaced. It didn't look to bad until we got the fenders off and started measuring) He keeps jigs around for stuff like this.
If it were a convertible, he would have put some additional bracing across the door openings.
Tav
