1970 4 door cuda?!?!
- Thread starter ECS
- Start date
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!
You don't have to continue re-posting photos that have already been posted. There is also no need to worry about the pictures being removed or the need to "capture" them. Let me know who you are wanting to see them and I'll be more than happy to forward them for you directly. I'm always willing to show anything that we are doing to anyone who is interested. Thanks for your interest in the project.
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We recently crossed a milestone in the project. The Doors on this Car were completely fabricated from scratch and obviously were never manufactured on a production vehicle. I have been cautiously optimistically about them functioning properly from the very beginning. We completely assembled them with their custom latches, linkage and door strikers. They function as well as a new Car and operate flawlessly! They open & close with minimum effort and the gaps around the Doors & Body Panels line up great. Here are a few photos taken from different angles. Also notice the custom rear Handles and the solid metal block where the Door Lock openings once presided.
DetMatt1
Well-Known Member
Damned impressive!
Dave,
Looks amazing. The only better lines I have seen have been on some women. But this car ranks up there with them ! Those gaps look great too! I can't imagine how long it took to get them all even like that.
Great work.
Looks amazing. The only better lines I have seen have been on some women. But this car ranks up there with them ! Those gaps look great too! I can't imagine how long it took to get them all even like that.
Great work.
Austa,
I couldn't agree more ! Those gaps are the best I have seen yet ! They make aligning the nuts and bolts on the Valiant that Dave and crew did seem like childs play.
After Steve & I "engineered" the Door openings (Steve did all of the welding on them) I spent the better part of 2 straight weeks working with a small air powered grinding disc, making sure that every single gap on the Car was uniform and the same size. I would work on them for hours, look at them the next day and see something else that needed to be tweaked. It felt like they were changing overnight! (lol)
After the Car was primed, I had to go back and do them again to make sure that they didn't narrow during the spraying process. Before the Car was painted I ran a feeler gauge throughout every gap to make sure that they were consistent. I know they were not this critical at the Factory but the Doors on this Car are the focal point of the vehicle and we could not allow for there to be any fault in their appearance. When something is consistent and nice, no one really notices. When the workmanship is a bit out of whack, everyone notices and those minor things stand out. It's sure a far cry from the first stages of working the openings. (lol)
I want to switch gears here (pun intended) to show some before & after pictures of the aluminum section that attaches to the rear of the 727 Transmission. It took the better part of 3 days to restore the aluminum housing to look new again. The configuration and surface of this component is smooth, unlike the textured-rough appearance of the main Transmission housing. You can't use anything abrasive on the smooth casting or it will ruin the smooth finish. After giving it a hot soap bath & rinsed clean, we used a diluted Hydro Fluorhidric-phosphate acid to remove the dark oxidation spots. The entire unit was then massaged with 0000 Steel Wool that was drenched in Mother's Polish. The surface was then polished with a clean soft cloth and wiped with lacquer thinner to remove any remaining residue. Time consuming but worth it! Here are the results:
Here are a couple of additional shots from the side and the Interior "fill" panels we fabricated to take the place of the original style Armrests. They started out as foam blocks, were hand sanded to the desired form, covered in fiberglass and then given their final shape with a thin film of polyester filler.
moparlee
Well-Known Member
I guess you can say what ever you like about your Engine Block. Whether it is factual or not would be another story. (lol) It sounds like your warranty Block replaced another or different unit. Is that correct? Regarding this project, there never was another Engine involved. I never had an original Engine in this car because this is the first one it was built with. We represent "the Factory" when it comes to this project. This warranty block is the only block that has ever resided between the Fenders. It's not a replacement for another Engine.
moparlee
Well-Known Member
Yes, my factory replacement block with the factory aluminum tag in my possession replaced the original block. And so I do not call it numbers matching. I just wanted to hear your explanation on numbers matching for your very cool project.
Thanks Lee! I made that comment with a bit of humor but here are the facts about the project. Not a single panel or component with a stamped VIN (from another car) was used to build this vehicle. Not a single body panel or component will fit on ANY other Chrysler vehicle ever manufactured. The only "donor" Body components were the A & B Pillars, which were both were drastically altered during the construction.
This vehicle is an original, one of a kind build and was never manufactured or offered by Chrysler in a mass produced format. The Engine & Transmission are both Service Replacements that were manufactured during the same time period that the regular Production 1969-70 components were being built. Neither the Engine or Transmission have ever been used or installed in another automobile. That makes this an all original, matching "non-numbers" New vehicle, that is being manufactured as a real Assembly Line Passenger Car, for the very first time.
340challconvert
Well-Known Member
That is an outrageously cool build!
Here are photos taken outside. From the onset of this project, a few of our critics had commented about the Car having a "raised roof" appearance. I suggested all along to wait until the process was complete (Vinyl Top and black coloring scheme in place) before passing judgment. I think the overall linear appearance of the Car turned out just as we planned.
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