My Cuda project is up at Race Rodz !!
 

Well Rob and I made the long haul to Oregon to drop off my '70 Barracuda at Race Rodz yesterday. The drive wasnt to bad but we did hit alittle rain and snow on the way up. Since I dont have access to an enclosed trailer, I used blue tarps, a car cover and a bunch of pallet wrap (like Suran wrap) to cover up the car. It worked pretty good but I did get alittle water on the inside floor which isnt coated yet (80% of the car is in epoxy, with some bare metal in areas I've done metal work etc). It should be fine since I plan on POR15 and Second Skin the inside floor anyway...

The plan is for Chris to do alot of the custom metal work and get the rest of the car dialed in as far as metal etc. Then back to me to do alot more engine and trans mock-up, finnish up the suspension, rollcage, wiring mock up etc etc etc. Then probably back to Chris for paint. I'm excited to work with Chris and I'm sure we will both be posting up progress pix as thing progress.

Tony car is there in the final stages of wet sanding and buffing etc. It looks real nice and I love the color. I know Tony is chomping at the bit to get it home and it should be done in the next week. As soon as Tony's car is done, then Chris is gonna tear into mine.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_1303.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_1313.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_1309.jpg
Tonys car in final stage of wet sanding
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_1311.jpg

The rendering of my car.....no final choice on paint yet..
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...JDVM95/2-1.jpg

Stay tuned for more updates soon !!!

couldn't get it any lower than that hu Ned? Haaa ahh just kidding. Rend looks awesome. Hope to see ALOT of progress and pictures.

So how crazy are you going to go on this build.

Make sure you posts lots of pictures.

'70 Cuda... one of my dreamcars! I am going to love following this thread! Goodluck! :thumbsup:

I need the high res of the third pic... and of the rendering :)

Or another killer shot... that way both you and Race Rodz can get a little magazine love.

Wish I could afford a Cuda.. sweet! :thumbsup:

Steve.... I sent some pix to you via email. I'm not sure if the rendering is high enough resolution, but I'm checking with Carter to see if he has any in a higher resolution setting. Let me know if they will work...

Vince...... its gonna be low !! The car is sitting with mock up bars for suspension at the "ride height" Air Ride lists for those shocks, plus the car is on 24.5 inch tires. We may have to do some other mods to get it to sit as low as I want, since once I add the bigger rims/tires, it may be too high. We'll see....

As for the plan....not as radical as the '70 Challenger being shown on here, but pretty radical.......

Air Ride front and back, Alterkation front k-frame, 6.1 modern HEMI either twin turbo (my goal if I can afford it) or Procharger, Bowler 4L85e with paddle shifter, FAST XFI, Dana 60 rear, American Autowire electrical system, body mods will include shaved handles/emblems/marker light, custom rear taillights, custom front and rear lower valance, integrated rear spoiler, custom inner fenderwells etc etc etc, wheels and tire wil be 245-40-19 front and 335-30-20 rear, not sure on the rim style yet...

Thats most of the "big stuff" wth alot of other stuff too....my goal is to maintain the overall look and appeal of the Cuda but with a more modern appoach....a low and mean version of a modern AAR.....

looking forward to the build :thumbsup: :woot:

Ned, glad to hear it was a safe trip and all is well! I'm sure Rob was a big help...he's a great guy! I wish I was able to be there but just couldn't do the 300 mile each way trip this weekend.

Your car is in great hands and we look forward to seeing lots of progress pics!! The rendering is killer!!

This is a perfect example of what a comunity like this can do. Guys meeting online and hauling their cars a few hundred miles threw rain and snow just so they can have someone they trust work on them...lets hear it for :lateral: !!

Oh, and thanks for adding a pic of my car...some probably see a messy car, I see progress and lots of light at the end of the tunnel!! :D

Awesome! Can't wait to see this come together! Your 69' was a big inspiration when I was putting mine together!


Tim

congrats Ned. glad you got hooked up with Chris. :thumbsup:

Jody

Looks good Ned, that is going to be one sweet Cuda :yes:

Good Luck, Ned. It looks great. My '71 cuda is coming along too... I'll start a project page soon...
Best of luck...maybe they'll meet somewhere someday...

John

cuda
 

VERY GOOD NEWS FOR YOU...
the CHD rendering looks awesome .cant say enough good about carter ..:thumbsup: ..sounds like its gonna be awesome... cant wait to see your project progress pics.....


radrambler

Hey... who's that fat bald guy in the pics?

There's Robby 'workin' the camera!! :lol:

Tony your car is looking great. Chris had the hood pretty much done, and that blue is a really nice choice. It's really going to "pop" in the sun!

Thanks Rob! I can't tell you how much work went into picking a color!!
Chris does great work...Ned's car is in good hands!

Congrats Ned, I'm glad something getting done finally :rofl:

Wow...there are so many projects going on. mine got bumped to the second page....

Just a couple more days and the sparks are going to fly!! :thumbsup:

Let the games begin!!!!! :woot:

Hey Ned, are you watching this! :lol: :thumbsup:

Hell yes I'm watching this !!!
I check Lateral-g about 12 times a day :)

So far so good.... despite the front collision damage the front end is only about 1/4 off.... thats within factory tolarences, so Chris won't have to tweak it too much to get it dead on...

It looks like the 335's are gonna be tight but fit...right Chris ?.....:D

I'm sure Chris is gonna be a very busy boy for the next couple of months

Ned, get ready! If you need anything from me let me know.

Carter

Ned, That's real good news, indeed...I didn't notice it when we left it up there with Chris, but with that one blasted door, it looks like a "Special Edition Cuda Police Interceptor"...I bet Jake and Elwood would have rather had a Cuda...LOL...

Time for some updates...
Chris has the old wheeltubs out (in pretty much one peice because Mopar stuff is gold on the open market :) ) and some mock up wheels in place.

These are a set of 335-30-18 sitting in the opening.... the trunk pan hasnt been cut yet, so this isnt the final opening...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_0441.jpg

These are a set of 20's to see how they look. These are NOT the wheels I'll be using....they are 20's off of Chris' daily driver...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_0449.jpg

I was debating on rear wheel size...... I think the 20's are a good fit....not too big and not too small.... The Cuda is a big ass car.....18's look tiny in the rear.....19's are too small in my opinion too. I just wish I could fine some 335-20's with some more sidewall.....
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_0451.jpg

This a 335-30-18 tire...... TOO SMALL !!!!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...5/IMG_0440.jpg

Ned, that 20" wheel diameter looks right at home in there!!

Have you looked into some of the 20" tire lines which are intended for the light truck/SUV market, I believe there are some 20" sizes with more sidewall...but might be hard to get the width that you want..

The 20's will look great on the rear of that car...:)

I searched on TireRack for other 335's with 35/40/45 aspect ratios....nothing.

I figured if they dont have them on Tire Rack, then they either dont make them or they are unusual enough that I dont want to buy them and then have issue finding front tires to match or replacements etc

Looking good guys!! :thumbsup:

man drjdv sick ride i love the look

Sweet progress!! :thumbsup:

Looks great, Chris. Nice Bead work too!

Tubs look great! Let's see the "tool".

Looks Great! thanks for the updates!:thumbsup:


Paul

Looks nice!

That is how my guy likes to do it when the jambs are good and doesn't want to disturb crisp factory original jambs. Extra work and very hard to tell it has ever been touched.

Thanks for the info and process Mike ! Much appreciated and love the craftsmanship. Jim

Nice work buddy! :thumbsup:

Looking good Chris!