• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

A couple of factory details

Richard Cranium

FBBO Gold Member
FBBO Gold Member
Local time
6:32 PM
Joined
Feb 20, 2012
Messages
58,039
Reaction score
197,623
Location
Maskachusetts
I'm getting ready to freshen up my bronze Charger, which right now is 2/3 original paint. The car has a fair amount of dings & scratches & is what would be considered a 10 footer. I'm going to do a nice exterior paint job but not get into the jambs, trunk or engine bay because they are fairly presentable as they are. Anyway, check out these two details below, especially the three screws that apparently were put into the vinyl roof to hold it down during assembly. This is something that I never had seen on any other Chargers I've owned.

IMG_20200721_162345.jpg


The black tape is the same as is used inside the door shell that holds the clear plastic in place. I have no idea why that would be placed there when the foam gasket seals the brackets to the bumper.

IMG_20200721_162355.jpg
 
Just a guess, but could the tape be to prevent the foam from holding moisture next to the metal ?
 
RC, My 67 GTX had that same black tape behind the aluminum finish panel on the deck lid, if i remember correctly it was went the entire width of the deck lid and covered factory holes that were not being used...Rich
 
They might have been keeping paint and such out of those thread inserts?
Oh....and my hands are no better.
Comes with age, ya dang disrespectful punks. :)
 
They might have been keeping paint and such out of those thread inserts?
Oh....and my hands are no better.
Comes with age, ya dang disrespectful punks. :)

Well sounds like your gonna need a hand model too :)
 
Sorry Dick we kinda side tracked your post! Now back to the regularly scheduled program.
 
Do you have the screws on both sides of the vinyl roof? Could have been done by someone if the material was coming loose at a later date?
 
Do you have the screws on both sides of the vinyl roof? Could have been done by someone if the material was coming loose at a later date?
I could see that done on the assembly line, what with the pressure to get that thing on down the line...
I'd almost bet they had a stash of the exact sort of screw they'd use on those that fit and hid under
the trim?
 
I wonder how many vinyl tops were done each day. Those would be to hold down the top to prevent curling up if they were not bonded properly. For the tape on panels my guess would be to prevent metal to metal contact when the slap the parts into place. Not a guide , just to prevent issues through inspection. Most holes were sloppy oversized. Just guessing. That dumdum the used like a gasket was not 100% problem free.
 
Do you have the screws on both sides of the vinyl roof? Could have been done by someone if the material was coming loose at a later date?



Yup, they are on both sides. Same location on the right side in the first photo.....

r1.jpg


Here's a close up of the screw...

r2.jpg


....which appears to be the same as the screws that hold the A pillar trim on. This is not a common hardware screw, so I'm going with the thought that it was done at the factory.

r3.jpg
 
I like the idea that the screws were there as a back-up to prevent the vinyl creeping back before the contact glue cured 100%.
 
Very interesting Mark. Wish we could go back in time and see these getting assembled on the line.
 
I'm getting ready to freshen up my bronze Charger, which right now is 2/3 original paint. The car has a fair amount of dings & scratches & is what would be considered a 10 footer. I'm going to do a nice exterior paint job but not get into the jambs, trunk or engine bay because they are fairly presentable as they are. Anyway, check out these two details below, especially the three screws that apparently were put into the vinyl roof to hold it down during assembly. This is something that I never had seen on any other Chargers I've owned.


The black tape is the same as is used inside the door shell that holds the clear plastic in place. I have no idea why that would be placed there when the foam gasket seals the brackets to the bumper.

View attachment 978012
Is there a paint process on the inside of the trunk that used the tape to block overspray? Maybe uncoating?
 
The bronze car has a build date of December 1967 & my green car has a build date a month prior. The green car has been repainted and has a new vinyl roof, but this morning, I looked inside the trunk & up at the inside of the quarters & I can see holes where where screws used to be. Perhaps this was the norm?

I'll have to check out the red car, which has a spring 1968 build date, later on today.
 
I have probably taken apart about 100 Chargers over the years, and I have never seen those screws used to hold the vynal in place, or the tape on the foam gaskets. It was a whole new model for 68,but I would think by December of 67 they would have worked out any quirks on the assembly line.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top