Ripples on 1970 charger inner fender…any concern or common?

[TexasRoadRunner68]

I started stripping the engine bay and noticed some ripples on the driver inner fender. I know my car had some front end damage from a wreck. The grill is bent and the driver fender was replaced. I measured the rails and they seem straight. I had planned on just doing the lower radiator support and replacing the grill, bumper and the supports that were bent.

I had patched the battery area on it already. Wondering whether I should bite the bullet and replace this or keep it since it’s pretty solid.

 

[Fran Blacker]

@eldubb440

 

[eldubb440]

bent behind the shock tower..... not good

not saying it was jumped, but that's where it would bend; a good front shot would do it also

front of the rail is probably up, and maybe out to the driver side, I doubt the upper arm would even be close to lining up

the other side probably followed it...... much like @Kern Dog 's jigsaw

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

bent behind the shock tower..... not good

not saying it was jumped, but that's where it would bend; a good front shot would do it also

front of the rail is probably up, and maybe out to the driver side, I doubt the upper arm would even be close to lining up

the other side probably followed it...... much like @Kern Dog 's jigsaw

Oddly enough, the other side seems straight.

 

[eldubb440]

doors, fenders, and hood on the car?

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

As of now, yes. I have a front end shot somewhere. The bumper sits high on the driver side, but it’s bent and the bumper is tweaked. I want to say the frame rails measured right, but I’d have to double check. I believe this door was “fixed” from the wreck. Not sure whether the door jam was wreck damage or fixed due to slamming.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

I’m not sure how exactly this was caused.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

The bumper is tweaked for sure. But that’s the gist of it.

 

[eldubb440]

lining up the doors fenders and hood will tell you everything you need to know......my guess is you have a huge gap at the bottom of the fender and door (front of fender high)

gotta have the doors lined up and paralell to the rockers; and the hood bolted on lined up across the back at the cowl; then when the fenders don't fit, the problem will become obvious

 

[Rishi]

I'm working on a car with small 1/2-inch tears in the (driver side only) inner fender well sheet metal above the shock tower, right around teh area where the fender tag goes. It doesn't appear to ever have been in a major collision and still has factory paint. The K-frame is in good shape, too. I'm guessing this is not unusual and may be a result of road vibration and stress from heavy driving on bumpy roadways. That said, I haven't a clue how the damage works its way up there from bumpy roadways.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

lining up the doors fenders and hood will tell you everything you need to know......my guess is you have a huge gap at the bottom of the fender and door (front of fender high)

gotta have the doors lined up and paralell to the rockers; and the hood bolted on lined up across the back at the cowl; then when the fenders don't fit, the problem will become obvious

 

[4406bbl]

Look at the floor pan where the front frame rail welds are, if you see ripples, or weld stress there it will need the frame pulled. It is pretty common for that frame rail to be high and over after a light front hit. Best way to check it at home is to get it on a level floor, support it from the pinch welds with 4 exactly the same stands, then measure. Sad to say even the frame shops miss the height measurment sometimes.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

Look at the floor pan where the front frame rail welds are, if you see ripples, or weld stress there it will need the frame pulled. It is pretty common for that frame rail to be high and over after a light front hit. Best way to check it at home is to get it on a level floor, support it from the pinch welds with 4 exactly the same stands, then measure. Sad to say even the frame shops miss the height measurment sometimes.

I don’t have it down to bare steel yet, but I don’t see any.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

lining up the doors fenders and hood will tell you everything you need to know......my guess is you have a huge gap at the bottom of the fender and door (front of fender high)

gotta have the doors lined up and paralell to the rockers; and the hood bolted on lined up across the back at the cowl; then when the fenders don't fit, the problem will become obvious

Do you think this could have been from being pulled previously? I imagine even if it was, the ripples in the panel would remain. I’m still at a loss for why there’s a section bent out. I have yet to see this on another car.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

The thing that is strange to me is that there are no bends in the fronts of the inner fenders. I don’t see any distortion on the rails or the floor pan where the rail is welded in.

 

[eldubb440]

Do you think this could have been from being pulled previously? I imagine even if it was, the ripples in the panel would remain. I’m still at a loss for why there’s a section bent out. I have yet to see this on another car.

View attachment 1503521

a lot of questionable repairs have been done over the last 50 years or so.........often times "what ever it takes too make the panels fit" is what is done..... they get it close, holes get hogged out so bolts can be inserted, adjustments are "maxxed out" ect........

an untwisted set of fenders should fall somewhere in the middle of there adjustments, and all the bolts should line up

 

[eldubb440]

another thing to look at is the height of the rubber hood stops at the rad support, if one side is high or low, the stop will be cranked up or down to compensate

 

[Fran Blacker]

If it was me I'd decide if you want to fix it or pass it on. If the car is solid except frame and inner fender you need to find out cost of getting those two things repaired if to much sell. Remember Charger prices aren't going down. I would replace the frame rail and inner fender not straighten them, that puts that to bed. How's the gap drivers door to quarter? You've been a member for a longtime eldubb is a guy knows his stuff.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

If it was me I'd decide if you want to fix it or pass it on. If the car is solid except frame and inner fender you need to find out cost of getting those two things repaired if to much sell. Remember Charger prices aren't going down. I would replace the frame rail and inner fender not straighten them, that puts that to bed. How's the gap drivers door to quarter? You've been a member for a longtime eldubb is a guy knows his stuff.

Definitely keeping it. I just need to get measurements and figure out what’s going on. I’m just surprised that’s the only area that has some distortion. Neither front inner fender is bent or kinked. The radiator support looks straight, except for the lower section. If this had been in a big accident I’d just expect to see something more obvious up front.

 

[Fran Blacker]

The unibody measurements are in service manual. The page in SM group 23 the very last page 842 of downloaded SM. Download a SM at Service Manuals – MyMopar