1970 4 door cuda?!?!

[ECS]

Dave,
Any progress on the car?

There has been a lot of progress these past few weeks. The vehicle has been undercoated and components are now being assembled at a fast pace. The Engine is complete, Rear End Housing has been detailed, etc.... All of the "paperwork" is close to being completed with the correct codes. The Corporate Brochure we made that shows a 4 Door Barracuda as part of Chrysler's 1970 lineup turned out excellent. It looks as authentic as the original versions! I'll be sure to post some updated photos showing the undercoating details, along with other aspects sometime soon.

May everyone have a very Safe & Happy New Year!

 

[moparleo]

Dittos to every one.

 

[ECS]

Now back to the regularly scheduled build.

We have diligently tried to emulate authentic Factory nuances with this "never built" vehicle. Our previous OE Restorations have helped in attempting to achieve this goal. Knowing how the Factory built these cars is priceless in understanding the correct build features and why they look the way they do.

Below are a couple of Assembly Line videos from the late Fifties & Sixties. One is Chrysler & the other is Ford. It's interesting and intriguing to see how our Classic Automobiles were built.

 

[ECS]

The vehicle has been undercoated.....

A few pictures of the Undercoating.

 

[moparlee]

The undercoating looks great. Thanks for the pics. How did you manage such a clean break between the undercoating and paint on the front inner fender panels?

 

[ECS]

How did you manage such a clean break between the undercoating and paint on the front inner fender panels?

We used templates that were suspended about a half inch off of the painted surface. I used original patterns from my previous projects to format from. We changed the patterns a little to give this car its own identity. The Factory sprayed their Undercoat from a pressure pot setup which allowed their spray patterns to be very streamlined and controllable. Their equipment sprayed a wide narrow fan that covered a large area but left very little over spray around the edges. By using templates suspended away from the surface, we were able to replicate the original appearance. Suspending the templates away from the surface provides a soft, natural looking edge to the Undercoat. If you use tape or place the templates directly against the painted surface, you will get incorrect hard edges in the Undercoat patterns.

I'll post some original E Body Undercoating examples as well as photos that show our templates in place during the spraying process.

 

[ECS]

Here are a few Before & After photos of the restored Disc Brake Piston Assemblies. The original 1970 E Body versions can be identified by the two circular bumps in the metal casting. We removed the rust by glass beading the surface. Glass beads are not nearly as abrasive on the cast finish as sand blasting. After the rust was removed, we acid dipped the part to get the desired look (darkness) of a new component. Then it was treated with RPM to protect it from moisture and oxidation. NOS Mopar rebuilding kits (Pistons, Seals, Rubber O Rings) were used to rebuild them to ensure that they would function like new.

 

[ECS]

The undercoating looks great. Thanks for the pics. How did you manage such a clean break between the undercoating and paint on the front inner fender panels?

Here are a few additional closeup photos showing a better view of the Undercoating edges. Also shown below is the original Undercoating pattern on my 1970 Challenger as compared to the pattern we did for this project.

 

[PasiR]

Great pics - keep them coming!

 

[ECS]

Great pics - keep them coming!

Someone had asked about the yellow stampings on the Bumper Bracket Arms. I've documented a few Assembly Line units that had yellow lettering. (See attached picture below.) Also shown is a selection of photos illustrating some of the details that had given us problems earlier in the project. The Door Handles are now installed and the "custom linkage" that Steve made works flawlessly. The Doors open and close better than Factory units. After working on the front Grill and switching over to Factory stainless trim, everything now fits perfectly. There are also a couple photos of the Engine (before paint) shown below.

 

[340challconvert]

A few pictures of the Undercoating.

Your pictures are very helpful in showing undercoating patterns in the wheel wells. Thank you for the pics

 

[PasiR]

Dave, do you sell "Made in Canada" templates for bumper brackets?

 

[Mr Gangrene Genes]

Howdy, veteran 1970 Barracuda owner new to this site. First I have to admire the commitment to engage and proceed on a project like this. Second the fabrication skills involved are beyond outstanding. Am sure when finished it will garner a lot of attention when shown. I do have several questions, your fender tag tooling stamp looks just like I would expect it, have you seen the one on the 1974 version, it is a bit different?

Almost looks like it was stamped backwards from the standard practice.
See it here
1974 Used Plymouth Cuda Tooling Proof at WeBe Autos Serving Long Island, NY, IID 13038764
and here
1974 Plymouth Cuda Tooling Proof Body | Mecum Auctions
On the cowl stamp the first "1" appears to have a rectangle around it from an overstamp, is that just in the picture? Or has anyone seen that as typical on factory cars?
On the core support stamping some of the numbers appear understamped individually, is that also typically found from the factory? or where they all stamped together fading from one end to the other?
Please educate me on the washer bottle; I thought the tapered funnel style was for the manual foot pump and the electric version was an upside down "T" shape. Yet I see an electric pump in the bottom of yours. Is that a "26" vs a "22" radiator item or something else?
Curious about the ease of entry, seems like the "b" pillar is quite close for something that you sit nearly on the floor. Was that why the tilt/telescopic steering column was added, or just a neat aside? Am a big fan of the bench seat column shift, going to put them in my convertible(when I get to it, only been 30 years).
Seems odd that they did not put side impact bracing in the doors, maybe the "b" pillar on the 4-dr sedan was deemed strong enough. Do the 1971 two door "B" bodies have them? The amount of work involved in making the doors correct inside and out overwhelms me. Certainly admire the paint and masking, particularly the care in mastic and undercoating.
Would have liked to see the V5X black body side molding applied to this. Seems like the Gran Coupes were the only cars that came with it. Those all seem removed on repaint, or when they were "cloned" into 'cuda wannabe's. Performance Graphics makes the pinstripe surround, nobody seems to have the actual adhesive backed vinyl molding. Doubt if there will ever be a market for it.
Thanks for all the time, money, and work on a flat hood car. Comments on the lack of quality regarding aftermarket sheet metal do make me a little sad.

 

[ECS]

On the core support stamping some of the numbers appear understamped individually, is that also typically found from the factory? or where they all stamped together fading from one end to the other?
Please educate me on the washer bottle; I thought the tapered funnel style was for the manual foot pump and the electric version was an upside down "T" shape. Yet I see an electric pump in the bottom of yours. Is that a "26" vs a "22" radiator item or something else?
Curious about the ease of entry, seems like the "b" pillar is quite close for something that you sit nearly on the floor. Was that why the tilt/telescopic steering column was added, or just a neat aside? Am a big fan of the bench seat column shift, going to put them in my convertible(when I get to it, only been 30 years).

The numbers we applied, were in fact stamped together (in a gang) but by hand. The Factory did them in a gang fixture but used air or electric power for their stampings.

All of the 1970 washer bottles used on an E Body vehicles were the tapered style. The 1972 thru 1974 E Body vehicles used the T style.

We did not alter the "stock" door openings. They are the same shape and size as a 4 Door B Body. The Tilt-Telescopic setup was used as a functional upgrade. Since this car is based on a Concept, we added a few options never offered from the Factory on an E Body and to accommodate the uniqueness of the project. Thanks for your input & comments!

 

[ECS]

Dave, do you sell "Made in Canada" templates for bumper brackets?

I duplicated the artwork from the original examples and had a rubber stamp made up by a local Company. If you would like, I can email you the artwork in a JPEG file so you also have the the correct original image.

 

[PasiR]

THANK YOU !!
PM sent.

 

[ECS]

Below are a few photos showing the stages of installing the Vinyl Top. This was one of the areas that concerned me the most. We had to have a "custom" Top made for a Roof configuration that was like no other and unique in form. After months of trial fitting and working with Legendary Interiors to have it completed, here are the results.

 

[TCB]

Here is the "original" documentation & paperwork for this vehicle. They are first run (incomplete) preliminary proofs. There will be quite a few changes and additions to make before they are finalized. Merry Christmas to all the E Body Members!

There has been a lot of progress these past few weeks. The vehicle has been undercoated and components are now being assembled at a fast pace. The Engine is complete, Rear End Housing has been detailed, etc.... All of the "paperwork" is close to being completed with the correct codes. The Corporate Brochure we made that shows a 4 Door Barracuda as part of Chrysler's 1970 lineup turned out excellent. It looks as authentic as the original versions! I'll be sure to post some updated photos showing the undercoating details, along with other aspects sometime soon.

May everyone have a very Safe & Happy New Year!

I hate to be negative but I liked the car better without a vinyl top. What was the rationale behind that. It was more sporty without.

Also I think you said you were licensed and authorized by Chrysler as a vendor for this type of reproduction paperwork documentation along with VIN decals, and VIN plates.

I have a modified non-original car that looks original. I don't want to change the VIN due to legal reasons, but can you make a revised buildsheet with non original codes and a custom sales invoice for me?

 

[ECS]

I hate to be negative but I liked the car better without a vinyl top. What was the rationale behind that. It was more sporty without.

Also I think you said you were licensed and authorized by Chrysler as a vendor for this type of reproduction paperwork documentation along with VIN decals, and VIN plates.

I have a modified non-original car that looks original. I don't want to change the VIN due to legal reasons, but can you make a revised buildsheet with non original codes and a custom sales invoice for me?

You're not being negative at all. I appreciate the (honest) feedback. We decided to go with an entire black scheme above the belt-line. Since we had to lower the belt-line an inch & a half, that made the Window openings look a bit larger. A few people who didn't understand what was done in this process kept saying that we "raised the roof". We actually lowered the roof by almost a full inch when we were cutting and shaping it. Leaving the Roof the same color as the body would have made the larger openings stand out more. The black scheme helps to offset the appearance of us lowering the belt-line. The stainless drip molding trim will also be blacked out (semi-gloss powder coated) to further the blackout scheme.

We had preliminary approval to offer these items but I opted against it. A close Friend who works for Chrysler talked me out of bringing them to Market. Too many people consider this type of paperwork to be the holy grail of documentation and should not be sold due to the perceived importance it has to the Hobby. We do not offer them as part of the inventory we sell.

 

[TCB]

You're not being negative at all. I appreciate the (honest) feedback. We decided to go with an entire black scheme above the belt-line. Since we had to lower the belt-line an inch & a half, that made the Window openings look a bit larger. A few people who didn't understand what was done in this process kept saying that we "raised the roof". We actually lowered the roof by almost a full inch when we were cutting and shaping it. Leaving the Roof the same color as the body would have made the larger openings stand out more. The black scheme helps to offset the appearance of us lowering the belt-line. The stainless drip molding trim will also be blacked out (semi-gloss powder coated) to further the blackout scheme.

We had preliminary approval to offer these items but I opted against it. A close Friend who works for Chrysler talked me out of bringing them to Market. Too many people consider this type of paperwork to be the holy grail of documentation and should not be sold due to the perceived importance it has to the Hobby. We do not offer them as part of the inventory we sell.

My second question was since Chrysler has already licensed these blank sheet formatted copies to you can I make my own build sheet and sales invoice for my car? I would buy the blank sheets.