My Cuda Project Part II...now at Bruning Auto Design

[JohnC]

I'm happy for you, Ned. Car looks like it is turning around very nicely.

[96z28ss]

I was at Bruning the other day and had a chance to look at the Cuda.

Wow is all I can think of. Ned really got screwed on this whole deal at Race Rodz. Dare I say it more than I think Tony got screwed. Tony sent the car down there with the majority of the metal work done. Its clear that there was no sheet metal nor paint talent at Race Rodz.
Check out Bruning's website and the Cuda's gallery. Kids at a high school with shop class could of done better.

Sorry to put the car down Ned. I truly feel for you man.

I know this is a bad time of year with it being Christmas and the economy the way it is, but maybe after the New Year we could all pitch in a bit and help Ned also like we did for Tony.

[fesler]

Our Charger hinges are shipping now we are working on the Cuda right now and other dodge stuff as well. We are working on it and will have them for you guys very soon. they are all in the works

Originally Posted by DRJDVM's '69

JohnC...yeah I was suprised the Terracuda was using stock hinges. Figured they would have made some one offs...

Anyway....I spoke to the guys at Ring Bros about 6-7 months ago and they are developing some for the Mopars. Talked to Mike Ring at SEMA and they are still in the works but unlikely to be released until summer...you know how that goes....

I spoke with Chris Fesler about 7 months ago too and he was interested in doing them too. I offered my stock hinges as templates and planned on sending them to him, but then got the impression the Ring Bros ones would be done soon, so just decided to wait.

XV has had some on a couple of cars and when I talked to them about 6 months ago they also said they would be available soon....

Guess that just illustrates how hard it is to develope a product and bring it to market. Sounds easy but its a ton of R&D and up front costs....plus the Mopar market is just smaller so companies are more conservative about jumping into it.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by fesler

Our Charger hinges are shipping now we are working on the Cuda right now and other dodge stuff as well. We are working on it and will have them for you guys very soon. they are all in the works

Thanks Chris.

John

[Musclerodz]

Originally Posted by 96z28ss

I know this is a bad time of year with it being Christmas and the economy the way it is, but maybe after the New Year we could all pitch in a bit and help Ned also like we did for Tony.

We already did. I did not feel right contributing to Tony's car without helping Ned out since both were in the same sinking ship. I sent him a brand new deck lid and right quarter patch. Just let me know if i can further help out Ned.

[tjbruning]

Originally Posted by 96z28ss

I was at Bruning the other day and had a chance to look at the Cuda.

Wow is all I can think of. Ned really got screwed on this whole deal at Race Rodz. Dare I say it more than I think Tony got screwed. Tony sent the car down there with the majority of the metal work done. Its clear that there was no sheet metal nor paint talent at Race Rodz.
Check out Bruning's website and the Cuda's gallery. Kids at a high school with shop class could of done better.

Sorry to put the car down Ned. I truly feel for you man.

I know this is a bad time of year with it being Christmas and the economy the way it is, but maybe after the New Year we could all pitch in a bit and help Ned also like we did for Tony.

Ned definitely got the shaft as well...

Growing list of issues...

-Wheel tubs were butchered; quarter panels damaged (warped) during the process

-The spoiler and deck lid are beyond repair - new deck lid and spoiler in the works

-All the patch work (door handles, marker lights, etc) were warped to hell - poor fitment, bird poo mig welds, not metal finished.

-Hard stone grinding disc used on the quarter skins, firewall, tubs, so there are tons of thin areas with holes

-Inner fenders had over a ½” of bow to them. Seams are lap welded, pieces scabbed over the suspension mounts, poor fitment at the subrails (filled void areas with weld).

-Cowl patches butchered (previous patches cut out and replaced)

-Firewall warped to hell from various patches that were poorly done (cut out and replaced)

-Front core support wasn’t straightened out before the inner fenders were attached (straightened, ready for new inner fenders)

-The car was bent upwards from the sub rails forward (snow plow effect). The front end relaxed over 1/2" once the inner fenders were cut out.

-The tunnel was butchered. Ned worked on it quiet a bit, and we addressed the opening shape during the firewall fab process (smooth continuous radius).

-The rocker replacement on the driver’s side needs to be replaced – bowed, fitment is terrible, lap welded on the bottom.

-Weld seams at the qtr panel to sail panel flange had to be cut out and replaced. The panels weren't lined up before he went to town with the welder. The seams were then ground down with a hard disc, which created thing areas next to the weld. Impossible to metal work the area because of the over abundance of weld even if the metal wasn't so thin around it.

-Driver's side quarter panel alignment at the deck lid was longer than the passenger side (corner structure wasn't supported correctly during the skin install). The shape didn't match either when looking at the car from the back.

New pictures added to the gallery daily. I'm sure Ned will be posting additional pictures as well.

http://www.bruningautodesign.com/gal...g2_itemId=5315

Also, big thank you to Mike from Muscle Rodz for helping Ned out with the new deck lid and patch panel. Ned mentioned that Mario (Doom) has also made a very generous donation when the car is ready for body/paint work.

[tjbruning]

Originally Posted by Musclerodz

We already did. I did not feel right contributing to Tony's car without helping Ned out since both were in the same sinking ship. I sent him a brand new deck lid and right quarter patch. Just let me know if i can further help out Ned.

Beat me to it! Thanks again Mike!

[DOOM]

Just let me know when your ready TJ!
Mario

[rwhite692]

Ned, TJ, car looks so much better already...unbelievable how bad the previous work was...

When Ned and I dragged it home from Race-Rods we knew a lot of what we could see was done poorly, but had no idea there were things lurking beneath the surface that were this bad...Yikes!

Ned thankfully you are in good hands now!

[radrambler]

ned

glad to see your car making a come back.....nice work t.j.
keep the updates coming

tom