Moparts
E body convertible Quarters...
Posted By: Chally426
E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:50 AM
Wanted to post some pics and info on the convertible cuda Quarters I got from Ken Hopperdietzel from E body Convertible Conversions, apparently he makes about every piece you may need to replace on a convertible or complete kits to convert from a hard top to a convertible...I've never done a complete convertible panel replacement before, but man was it sweet, taking it on and off for final fitment of things was super easy, takes about 30 seconds to get it off or to install...
His web site is
www.ebodyconvertibleconversions.comphotos of mine...
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:51 AM
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:53 AM
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:54 AM
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:55 AM
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:56 AM
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 03:57 AM
Posted By: 6bblgt
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 04:56 AM
So, what exactly are we looking at?
originals, modified hardtop reproductions, new reproductions, etc.?
Posted By: larry4406
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 12:25 PM
Price? Are these modified AMD hard top quarters?
Posted By: Tommy The Chryco
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 12:40 PM
AMD sells convertible quaters....
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/21/14 02:17 PM
AMD doesn't sell them, they were at one time going to carry kens from what I understand, They are modified hard tops, that start out from AMD quarters and Ken re-stamps/re-works them. Its pretty much double the cost of the hard tops, around 1500 each...A lot, but well worth it in my opinion..
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 02:01 AM
Before AMD came to be, I offered to let Goodmark template the pair of NOS Challenger rear quarterpanels that I had. They declined my offer, saying the market did not justify the tooling costs.
Posted By: larry4406
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 12:07 PM
Well, the AMD website shows 71 vert barracuda quarters in stock and at $1499.95.
http://www.autometaldirect.com/amd-70-71...-lh-p-1074.htmland the picture from their listing
Posted By: crocha617
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 04:42 PM
Quote:
Well, the AMD website shows 71 vert barracuda quarters in stock and at $1499.95.
http://www.autometaldirect.com/amd-70-71...-lh-p-1074.html
and the picture from their listing
Now that's interesting...
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 05:17 PM
I bet Ken is modifying them for AMD. I know they have not tooled up for convertible E body panels. It is great that they are offering them through their website. The last NOS Cuda convertible quarterpanel I saw for sale was priced at 15 grand!
Posted By: Chally426
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 07:18 PM
I spoke to AMD, if they are now carrying them, they are Kens modified ones...A few months ago, I was told they are not selling them and had to go through Ken...Either way, same price, same product, might be able to save on some shipping if your able to get them through AMD, ken charges you to have them shipped to him, and then charges to ship them to you...
Posted By: jeff968
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/22/14 10:44 PM
These are nice but they are pricey. If the upper sections of your original quarters are in good shape and you know how to handle sheet metal cutting and a mig you can save yourself $900 per side. That is a lot of money.
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/23/14 02:24 AM
I did mine that way, but with the way convertibles flex, you would be better off without a weld seam. If the seam cracks, you would be wishing you had spent the extra 1800 dollars.
Posted By: moparmojo
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/23/14 04:26 AM
Thank you so much for the pics. I contacted ken a while back on challenger conv quarters. I would love to see them up close as they seem like a great product. Wonder if ken ever gets out to display his services? Any chance you got some good photos of how you cut your quarter off and the attachment points? Would be neat to see how easy these go on.
Posted By: scatpacktom
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/23/14 02:05 PM
So it costs 900 bucks to cut the top of the 1/4 off and run it through a bead roller? Costs more to do then the 1/4 costs? C'mon
Posted By: jeff968
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/23/14 03:29 PM
Quote:
I did mine that way, but with the way convertibles flex, you would be better off without a weld seam. If the seam cracks, you would be wishing you had spent the extra 1800 dollars.
The seam won't crack if the repair is done correctly, you'll have the $1800 to use elsewhere, and you'll know those factory top moldings will fit perfect on the edge because that part is still factory.
Posted By: DeMopuar
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 05:12 AM
Cool -- convertible Cuda quarters?????
Rather than screw around with rusty parts, if these fit half as good as the first poster says -- then yes, this is a good deal.
To those that have never worked on the super rare convertible Cudas -- this is cheap, even with the shipping both ways. This sounds like a great alternative to repairing rusty rear quarters. As an example of costs for E body gear, when you buy a rusty loose E body convertible mechanism for $1,500 and then put in 100 hours in it to repair the rusty header and loose bushings/pins -- then a mint one for $4,000 is a deal. Most people have no idea what it means to work on a convertible E body and make it mint -- and the comments above show that well.
Like I have heard many times before -- go find workable stuff from someone else if you don't like the price -- I didn't even know these were available. Is anyone else making this sort of thing, and if they are, is it any good? I must be living under a rock.
Posted By: musclecarfinders
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 07:22 AM
The convertible quarters from Ken are great! I do believe AMD is adding some profit into handling Ken's work, thus the listed price. I had Ken do a set for me for a cuda convertible that needed serious metal work. As mentioned, if you can fix your originals, do, but this is a great option for the community. Thanks Ken!
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 03:29 PM
Quote:
Quote:
I did mine that way, but with the way convertibles flex, you would be better off without a weld seam. If the seam cracks, you would be wishing you had spent the extra 1800 dollars.
The seam won't crack if the repair is done correctly, you'll have the $1800 to use elsewhere, and you'll know those factory top moldings will fit perfect on the edge because that part is still factory.
Convertibles have extra stresses in the well and upper rear quarterpanels that hardtops usually do not. If you look at most e body convertibles, you will see stress cracking at the Dutchman panel, where the factory did the lead joints. Convertibles flex a lot more than hardtops do. Just pick one up with a two post lift, and you will see the door gaps open up enough to stick your fingers in the gap. This constant flexing that they do, will cause issues with a welded and filler blended seam over time. Before Ken came out with his modified AMD panels there were very few alternatives. NOS panels were rare as hen's teeth, and extremely expensive to aquire, and clean convertible cutoffs are made of unobtainimum. NOS Challenger convertible quarters sell between 3 to 5 grand each, and Cuda convertible quarterpanels sell between 10 and 15 grand each, thats ten times what Ken gets for his converted panels.
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 03:35 PM
Quote:
So it costs 900 bucks to cut the top of the 1/4 off and run it through a bead roller? Costs more to do then the 1/4 costs? C'mon
If you can do them accurately for less than count me in for a pair of Cuda panels. Competition is good for the hobbyist!
Posted By: jeff968
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 09:03 PM
Quote:
If you look at most e body convertibles, you will see stress cracking at the Dutchman panel, where the factory did the lead joints. Convertibles flex a lot more than hardtops do. Just pick one up with a two post lift, and you will see the door gaps open up enough to stick your fingers in the gap.
These issues will happen with the $3000 quarter panels as well. Nature of the beast. I would still save the $1,800 and do the seam repair myself. I'm sure the salvaged original upper section will be better fit then the repo and I still have that $1,800. IMHO.
Posted By: chargervert
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/24/14 09:47 PM
Quote:
Quote:
If you look at most e body convertibles, you will see stress cracking at the Dutchman panel, where the factory did the lead joints. Convertibles flex a lot more than hardtops do. Just pick one up with a two post lift, and you will see the door gaps open up enough to stick your fingers in the gap.
These issues will happen with the $3000 quarter panels as well. Nature of the beast. I would still save the $1,800 and do the seam repair myself. I'm sure the salvaged original upper section will be better fit then the repo and I still have that $1,800. IMHO.
They are a lot more likely to crack at a welded and filler blended seam than a one peice stamped panel. I looked at a Challenger convertible the other day, that was painted last year, and I could see the whole weld seam, because the filler had shrunk. The car looked great from fifteen feet away, but when I got right up to it, I could see where the panels had been seamed. That will not happen with a full panel. To me paint jobs cost more than the 1800 dollars that would be saved.
Posted By: DeMopuar
Re: E body convertible Quarters... - 04/25/14 12:27 AM
I couldn't agree more........
I once paid someone to butt weld flairs on my Pantera, and the guy warped both front fenders.....
Welding on sheet metal sounds great until you do it. Done wrong and it is a total disaster. I was ready to do bodily harm when I went to see what the guy that did this to my car. Very disgusting. So when someone says that they will butt weld something on I don't believe it will be done very well. I bet I can tell it was butt welded.............especially on the bottom side as you cannot get that to look like a die cut piece.
Mark
