Inner and Outer Rocker Replacement

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Sublime Swinger

Sublime Swinger

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Has anyone replaced their own inner and outer rockers without having a body shop do it? Just curious what I'm getting myself into. Oh and is there a certain order I should be replacing things. I need to replace both front rails, torsion crossmember, inner and outer rockers, and inner fenders.... Stumped and not sure where to begin.
 
Can anyone with a 71 Dart verify for me the width from outside front rail to outside front rail where it's welded to the torsion crossmember? Mine is completely rotted away right under the driver side floor pan. My front measurement at the core support was 34 1/8", and under the firewall was 34 1/4". Just curious if they are supposed to match up or taper outward. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
You are talking about some serious work there that will cost you thousands....any chance you can get another car to start with? You will save major time, money and headaches if you can find a second car then use all the good parts you have.

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Dart-Swinger-1971-Dodge-Dart-/261541951108?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3ce51d7684&item=261541951108&pt=US_Cars_Trucks"]Dodge Dart Swinger | eBay[/ame]

Rust repair is very time consuming and not an easy task for someone without experience. I'm not saying don't try but if your looking for an easier more cost effective way to deal with your issues then you may consider that opinion.
 
momoparman said:
You are talking about some serious work there that will cost you thousands....any chance you can get another car to start with? You will save major time, money and headaches if you can find a second car then use all the good parts you have.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Dart-...ce51d7684&item=261541951108&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Rust repair is very time consuming and not an easy task for someone without experience. I'm not saying don't try but if your looking for an easier more cost effective way to deal with your issues then you may consider that opinion.
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No kiddin, the only way I would ever try that would be on a super rare car.
Even then, it might not be worth what it could be because of all that being done.
 
I have all parts that need to be replaced, some AMD, and the rest I have collected from weekends drilling spot welds at the junkyard. I have all the tools that I think I need from previous diy projects, I'm just kind of stumped as to where to start.
 
It's a sentimental car, so I guess I'm trying to put that extra effort into seeing it completed so I can one day pass it on to my son so he can also enjoy it.
 
Sublime Swinger said:
It's a sentimental car, so I guess I'm trying to put that extra effort into seeing it completed so I can one day pass it on to my son so he can also enjoy it.
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I'd sart with jack stands to level the car (with doors closed and gap correct using shims if needed.) then cross brace the door jambs and secure it well so it doesn't rack or twist on you when you start removing the rockers. do it the revers of the factory putting it together the old fashioned way. now they come as an assembly on the newer cars.

outer rockers. end caps inner rockers and bracing in that order. Then it goes together in reverse. the outer rocker is going to give you "fits" getting it off without destroying the rear quarter, that is unless you cut below the welds and then drill them out from the bottom area you just opened up. the rear wheel well (inner and outer can be got to but it's a "pita")
I have done one and it was a rare cars(70 Cuda hemi car) and cost a fortune to do. But I'd never do it for a /6 or a mom and pop car since it is so time consuming. even my old 66 /6 convertible had good rockers (yeah that's the first thing I check for me the "once bitten twice shy" really means it) that was the only good news about the car though.:glasses7:
 
I definitely got the time, my son is only 2yrs old. I have the cross braces across the door openings already, got that tidbit from a Graveyard Carz episode, I opened up both sides of the floor pan from the firewall to the spot welds for the rear floor section and I left the trans tunnel intact, but that's as far as I have got in the the last week. All the donor parts I have sandblasted and epoxied and the donor frame rails I dipped and then took a Hudson style sprayer and coated the inside with Por15.
 
Thank you for the helpful info, if I put my mind and time into it, I seem to accomplish the task no matter how involved it is.
 
Get a Mopar chassis manual for your year. All the dimensions are in the book. Dan
 
You must be very skilled with metal work to be taking on such an ambitious project - I tip my hat to you! :prayer:

What you really need is the chassis dimension specs diagram - same as what the frame shop would use to straighten out a tweaked frame. It gives the reference datum and all of the dimensions to make sure everything is "squared" up to specification.

Here is one for a '70-'74 Cuda

index.php
 
After spending 10 years restoring 2 cars I can tell you that time will be on the cars side.

As long as you are patient then your right....nothing is out of reach.

If you have welding skills then great, if not then get some. Practicing on scrap steel is an excellent way to accomplish this.

Kudos for you for wanting to do it yourself....just don't let stubbornness get in the way of progress or your project may stall.

If it was me I would start on the frame rails/floor pans first and get that all squared away so the car has a solid foundation again. Frame rail connectors are a big plus at this junction. Then move on to the body sides if need be.

Good luck and keep asking questions.

Mop
 
Sublime Swinger said:
Can anyone with a 71 Dart verify for me the width from outside front rail to outside front rail where it's welded to the torsion crossmember? Mine is completely rotted away right under the driver side floor pan. My front measurement at the core support was 34 1/8", and under the firewall was 34 1/4". Just curious if they are supposed to match up or taper outward. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
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The dimensions I see in my book are 34-5/8" front and back....so you are within MOPAR tolerance as I see it.:D
 
I did full outer rockers on my dart and repaired the inners. I did it while the car was sitting on all four wheels and I braced the inside of the car. You can check out my resto thread since I took a ton of pics.



Temporary subframe connectors


I did both sides but here is the passenger side being done.
















Be sure your door is aligned and new pins/bushings are in. Door stayed on the entire time.






Added extra bracing underneith for removing floor pan.



Hope this helps. Doing the entire inner rocker will be a little more tricky to do but if you brace it good you won't have to worry. Hopefully you can get away with saving the inner rocker once you get the outer off and have a good look at it. I thought mine was really bad until I got the outer off and blasted it.

I did one piece at a time and only cut out what was needed to replace that one part. I don't recommend cutting every panel off at once and then start adding new metal on unless the car is on a proper frame jig. If you brace it like what I've done and do one side at a time nothing will move on you. I don't recommend doing rockers on a rotisserie but that's just my opinion.

Stay tuned I will be doing the front clip (torsion bar crossmember, frame rails, inner fenders and rad support) next as well as the full AMD floorpan.
 
I really appreciate you taking the time to look that up, thank you Mop! I still will try to find one of the chassis manuals when I get to the swap, you never know when it might come in handy.
 
I picked up AMD inner rockers and the full floorpan yesterday. When I called AMD the outers were on back order so I'm hoping that dealer that goes to the Nats will have them, otherwise I will just have to wait.
 
If you want to see how to do metal work there's another thread on here where a guy brings an almost unrestorable gold 65 cuda on here. I'll take a look If I can find it. Take your time and make sure everything square you should be able to pull it off.
 
Sublime Swinger said:
I picked up AMD inner rockers and the full floorpan yesterday. When I called AMD the outers were on back order so I'm hoping that dealer that goes to the Nats will have them, otherwise I will just have to wait.
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Thanks guys. Hopefully the pics help. If you need any other help let me know and hopefully I'll be able to help out.. Our cars are identical so you'll be going thru the same stuff I did. If I can't help out there are a lot of knowledgable people on this forum! Hopefully AMD gets them in soon, I've waited over a year for my passenger side inner fender and I see they're on back order again! My car ended up needing way more then I first thought so be prepared for a few surprises! I thought my frame rails were good until I started digging around inside them, now I have to replace them as well. The only thing so far that I haven't touched on this car is the rear frame rails and trunk pan.
 
Honestly that sounds kind of like mine, rear rails and pan are spotless. Inner and outer wheelhouse, trunk extensions and rear quarters all need attention or full replacement.
 
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