Here at Mopar Connection Magazine, we work on a lot of projects. This one was actually the car that got this author interested in Mopars at an early age: a true factory 1968 Dodge Super Bee. Starting life as a TT1 “Avocado Green Metallicc” factory 383 four-speed “post” car, the ‘Bee was left as a parts car, parked out in the weeds in Mishawaka, Indiana, eventually doomed for the crusher.

Over the years, the Dodge was completely stripped of most of its more vital parts, leaving little more than a bare shell remaining until we saved it. Unfortunately, not much has happened since pulling it from the field, so it was eventually passed down to a relative, who started working on it only recently. Before then, we’ve just been slowly collecting parts for quite some time. 

Above: This ’68 Super Bee has seen better days. With so many parts missing it gives us the perfect blank canvas for a project.

Above left: Rust hole in the floor was repaired with a street sign at some point. Above middle: You can see just how rusty the frame rails are. Above right: The trunk is completely rusted away and can even see where the spring have come through at one point.

Unfortunately, the car turned into a bit of a rust bucket with it sitting outside in the weather for so long. The back of the ‘Bee is so rotted out that the leaf springs have pushed through the trunk floor along with the rear of the frame rails. A four-by-four piece of lumber was used to hold the leaf springs down but over time, it too has also started to push the truck floor up. The bottom of the quarter panels are completely rotted out and the frame rails from front-to-back are full of holes.

The wheel tubs are so rusty they literally started to separate from the trunk floor and quarter panels. Inner and outer rocker panels weren’t too bad but we’ll have to remove them to repair other sections and add stiffening. Typical rust was found around the rear filler deck area but we’ve seen a lot worse. The floors had a lot of holes in them, especially around the seat mounting locations, and at some point in the past, a patch panel was used to repair the floor using a street sign.

Above: Shown is the full quarter for the ’68 Coronet. 

Above: A collection of parts from Auto Metal Direct and US Car Tool: frame rail, floor pans, extensions, wheel tubs, rockers, and a stiffening kit.

The front frame rails were also rusting through and needed to be replaced. Typical for B-bodies, the rear tail panel and trunk lid were very rusty. Unfortunately, these parts are not reproduced for the ’68 Coronet, so we’ll have to try and find some decent replacements. Luckily, the doors, fenders, inner structures, rear seat tray, and roof were all in solid shape.

Before we started, we had to see what parts were available. As mentioned, we have been collecting parts for this car for a while so we actually had a pair of full quarter panels from Auto Metal Direct. Yes, we said AMD. They don’t make ’68 quarter panels anymore, so you’ll need to buy their ’69 quarter panels and cut and replace the marker lights. Other components that we ordered from Auto Metal Direct are front and rear frame rails, left and right inner fenders, both shock towers, outer rocker panels, torsion bar cross member, leaf spring mounts, and inner and outer wheel tubs.

What’s cool about the inner rear wheel tubs is that they are already 3-inches wider than the original, which is an option from AMD. No splicing and cutting necessary to extend the wheel tubs.

Above : Our tail panel was very rough as was lucky to find a clean one. This part is not reproduced but could be repair using part of a 1969 tail panel. 

Above: We made a chassis jig to hold the new from rails in place, that way they are installed in the correct position. The stands fit into the holes of the frame rails.

We also are going to stiffen the car and to do that we ordered parts from US Car Tool (USCT). The US Car Tool kit came with frame connectors, torque boxes, inner fender braces, lower core support brace, and even inner rocker stiffening plates. For extra rear wheel clearance, USCT also offers a flare kit for the rear outer wheel wells.  

Luckily for us, we found a good tail panel and trunk lid at a swap meet. If we were unable to locate a good tail panel, we would have to buy a ’69 rear tail panel just to cut the bottom off and repair the face of the original tail panel. 

Before we started to cut up the car we wanted to make sure we can get everything as straight as possible, so using a couple of known good cars that are straight, we built a chassis jig at home. You don’t necessarily need a jig (we’ve done this many times using just jack stands or pole jacks on a lift), but with as much rust that this car has, there was a concern that it could have been tweaked, so we felt a jig was necessary.

Above: With the car striped down, we can set it on the chassis jig making sure everything lines up before cutting off the metal. Another perk from a jig is that we can roll the body around if in the way.

Above: Lots of tools were used to remove metal and panels but we liked this spot weld cutter bit from Eastwood Company best. Using this tool allowed use to remove panels with out damaging the good panels left on the car.

The dimensions of this jig are 15-feet, 3-inches in length and 3-feet, 6-inches in width. With those dimensions we built a large cube that was stiffened to handle the weight of the car. We added caster wheels to the bottom so we could roll it around and out of the way when needed.

Using the known “good” cars, foot stands were attached to the jig where the original holes are in the frame rails. We use these holes to line up the new parts in the original position. When we sat the ’68 Super Bee down on the chassis jig, all of the middle locating holes lined up perfectly.

We know a lot of sheet metal was going to be removed from the car, so tubing was welded inside the car to add strength before we cut away the sheet metal. We also used this tubing as a reference point for installation of some panels. Since the door and quarter panels are crucial to line up, we replaced the door hinges with new ones from Classic Industries.

Above left: Lifting the car off the jig to cut off all rusted parts with grinders, chisels, and air hammers. Above middle: The back seat area was still good so we drilled out the spot welds to prevent damaging the floor. This will also help when lining up and welding in the new frame rail. Above right: We cleaned off any rust on the underside of the car will wire wheels, and sandblasting. We using a metal prep to protect against surface rust and applied weld through primer. 

Above left: The new AMD frame rails are prepped and laid on the chassis jig before lowering the body back down on top of them. Above middle: With the body lowered on to the chassis jig and frame rails, we lined up markings and the previously drill holes. With everything lined up we placed self tapping screws to hold them in place. Above right: The trunk pans and cross members are all test fitted and screwed in place. This was done many times, making fine adjustments to get a tight and proper fit. 

This allowed us to position the doors in the correct spot lining up with the original quarter panels. This will assist us when trying to align everything when the new quarter panels are being installed. At this point we felt comfortable enough to start cutting all the old parts off of the car. Every tool imaginable was used: metal shears, cut off wheels, grinders, plasma cutter, drill bits for spot welds, air hammer and a good old hammer and chisel. Safety glasses, long sleeves, gloves, masks, and ear plugs should be used. 

We started with the frame rails, tail panel, cross members, trunk floor and part of the quarter panels. We did not cut off the entire quarter panel at this point because we will be using part of the original quarter panels to line up the new tail panel in the factory location.

Next, we used any means to clean all surfaces where the new panels will be attached: wire wheels, sandblasting, some chemicals, sandpaper, and good ol’ elbow grease.  The new parts had to be prepped for welding. Metal prep was used to help protect the bare metal and weld through primer was applied which we got all from Eastwood Company.  

Top left & bottom left: The floor pans and cross members fit like a glove.  The shock cross member was the only part reused on the back of the car. Top right: The rear cross member is clamped on and a spot welded was used in this area. Some modifications was need to the bumper mounting holes. Bottom right: The one year only tail panel was mocked up before permanently being welded on. We left the top of the original quarter panels to assist with lining up the factory mounting location.

With the body lifted off of the chassis jig we were able to lay out the new frame rails and cross members onto the jig. Then by lowering the body back on to the jig we were able to test fit the new parts. With all of the alignment pins set in place, we made sure the frame rails were aligned with the original marks left behind on the floor from the old frame rails.  

We use self-tapping screws to hold the frame rails in place. Using screws this will allow us to make adjustments as we further test fit parts such as the trunk floor pan, leaf spring mounts, cross members, torque boxes, and the tail panel.

With all the under-carriage metal screwed in place, we were able to test fit the tail panel using some of the bracing that was previously installed as a reference point, along with the original points on the quarter panel ends. By test fitting with this process, we removed and reinstalled everything multiple times to get the correct fitment.

Above left: with the rear section installed we cut out the rocker panel and wheel tubs. More rust was found here so we decided to sandblast these areas before repairing them. Above middle: With the full quarter panel removed we can clean up and sand blast the inside structure of the body and later protect it. Above right: the inside of the rocker was rusted and repairs will be made with new metal.

Above: US Car Tool supplied inner rocker panel stiffening. This are CNC cut and dimple died for added strength. This is only able to be installed with the outer rock off and must be welded on. Before installing the outer rocker paint was applied to prevent rusting.

Even though AMD has the best quality in restoration sheet metal, sometimes the parts can get bent during shipping. The corner of our floor pan got pushed down probably from the box falling over during shipping, however with a little bit of work with a hammer and dolly it was as good as new. The final part of our test fitting was installing the trunk lid, which still needed work but we wanted to make sure it lined up, which it did.

At this point we were OK with welding everything together. We attempted to spot weld as much as we could, however some of the spots proved to be impossible reach with our basic at-home spot welder, so we plug welded a lot, which will hold up perfectly fine. With the frame rails, rear trunk floor, and tail panel welded into their permanent locations, it was time to remove the remaining part of the rear quarter.

Using a torch, we melted the lead out of the seams between the roof and the quarter panel. This allowed us to access the spot welds and drill them out to remove the quarter panel completely. At this point we were also able to access the inner and outer wheel tubs, which were removed along with the outer rocker panel. Here we found more rust on the inside rocker panel that required some repair before moving on, which was done using some 18-gauge steel.

Above: AMD make a 3-inch wider wheel tub to make maximum space for big tires. This means we had to cut out 3-inches of our new truck pan all around for them to fit. The wheel tub will fit all the way against the new frame rail when welded in.

Above left: Big surprise! More rust was found in the rear window area and had to be repair before the quarters could be installed. Above right:  Auto Metal Direct supplied us with the right parts for the repair like this deck filler corner patch. (PT# 65414682l)

After repairs were done to the inner rocker panel, we installed US Car Tool’s inner rocker stiffening brace, which fit perfectly with all of the same dimples that the factory rocker panel had. This needed to be trimmed to fit inside the rocker properly. This stiffening brace can only be installed with the outer rocker off, so this was the perfect time to install.

We also test fit the outer rocker (also supplied by AMD) many times to ensure proper fitment. Before welding on the outer rocker, we noticed there is a spot that the wheel tubs rest against, so we test fitted the wheel tubs as well. Cutting in to the brand-new trunk floor we just installed because we are installing AMD wheel tubs that already come three-inches wider than the factory was tough.

The trunk hinge mounts needed to be cut off and the trunk floor needed three inches cut out for the wheel wells to fit, which basically fits flush to the frame rail. The inner wheel tub was tacked in place as clamped the outer wheel well in place.

Above: The factory didn’t leave much room on the outer wheel wells for big tires. To make room here we cut out the low spot in the brand new AMD outer wheel tub and installed USCT flare kit  (USCTAM2049). Before and after welding on the flare kit make sure to test fit the quarter panels many time to make sure everything still lines up. 

Above left: We want to protect the car from rust again so while still in bare metal we protected it with epoxy primer from Eastwood Company. Above middle: Leaving the quarter off allowed us to paint and protect areas that normally can not be painted. Tapping off the areas that we need to weld panels together but weld through primer will be applied later. Above right. Every thing was sealed including the trunk, back seat, and under carriage. You can see just how much bigger the Auto Metal Direct wheel tubs are.

We checked all our gaps on the trunk floor and to the rocker. Not much adjustment was needed, but before we could weld it all together, we needed to test fit the quarter panel just to make sure the tubs were not pushing it out too far and would line up with the wheel arch. This part actually proved to be a little difficult as it was hard to get the top of the quarter to slide under the roof skin. This required a lot of grinding and patience to get any slag out of the way and not risk damaging the roofs skin itself, and making more work in the long run.

We also found by removing an extra bracket that goes behind the quarter panel will make installing the new quarter panels easier (don’t forget to weld this bracket back on later). Fitting the quarter panel was the most stressful part, making sure that it was straight and the extension fit properly. This also would tell us if our trunk floor extensions will match up to the quarter.

We had the quarter panels off dozens of times while making small adjustments here and there. This is not something that you want to rush because if you notice this after paint, you are going to have a bad time. Everything was sitting like we wanted it, so we removed the quarter panel for the final time, painted the inside of the rocker panels for corrosion protection all before welding on the outer rocker permanently. We do not want to weld the quarter panel on quite yet – we have one more trick up our sleeve to fit the biggest tire we can in this car.

Top left: We used Raptor Liner truck bed liner to coat the inside structures next. This will protect from impacts from stuff rolling around in the trunk and act like a sound & heat deadener plus it looks better then some stick on products. Top right: What is really cool with Raptor liner is you can mix in the body color. We will be painting the car Mopars F8 green. Bottom left & right: We applied this coating before installing the panels to make it easier and more accessible.  

That is where US Car Tool steps in again. They offer a flare kit that removes the wasted space on the outside wheel well. Laying this flare over the outer wheel well allowed us to trace around and cut out the metal. The flare was tacked in place while we test fitted the quarter panel once again to make sure the wheel arch position did not change any. After all of the fine tuning was performed, the US Car Tool component was welded in place.

Now you’re probably thinking it’s time to weld on the quarter, but you would be wrong. At this point we wanted to protect all the hard work we have done and even make the car ride quieter when it’s complete. To do this we sealed the bare metal with an epoxy and then used a Raptor Liner, which is basically like a bed liner that allows you to blend in your body color.

So, we applied seam sealer to all the locations necessary and taped off all our welding lines. Next we mixed in Mopar’s F8 green in with the Raptor Liner and sprayed the inside of the quarter panels, inside and outside of the wheel tubs, the trunk floor extensions along with any other spot that we could not get to after the quarter panel is welded on.

Above left: Over the course of the repair the quarters had been test fitted many times. So when it came time to permanently weld them on it was like fitting the last piece of the puzzle. The F8 green liner looks great although no one will probably ever see it. Above right: The quarter is fully welded on how ever we forgot to test fit the bumper. We also order a new rear bumper from AMD and it fit perfectly. Tape was applied to protect the chrome as we test fitted it. Some bracket modification was done to get a tighter then factory fit.

Above. Finally the rear quarter extension was installed for the final time, well at least until paint.

With everything dry, it was now time to do a final test fit with the quarter panels. Just like many times before, the quarter panels fit perfectly. Next, we had to test fit the bumper. Since our bumper was pretty rusty, we ordered a new one from Auto Metal Direct and since the brackets were gone as well, we installed new aluminum brackets from Lingenfelter Brackets.

Tape was applied to the bumper to prevent any damage while test fitting to the car. Some tweaking was required to get the bumper to fit tighter than the factory did. With the bumper fitting nicely, the quarter panel was now completely welded on. Lastly, we installed the deck filler panel. We did not install this earlier because we were using it as a reference point for the quarter panels to be mounted.

Overall, we are really happy with how the back of this car has come together and this really goes to show that a lot of these cars can be saved using metal from Auto Metal Direct, and improvements can be made using components from US Car Tool. Follow along in the next article as we will be installing new Auto Metal Direct parts to the front half of the car which will include the shock towers, front frame rails, core support, torsion bar cross member, and the floor pan.  

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