1970 4 door cuda?!?!

[ECS]

Very nice engine/trans cart setup. What are the 3 vertical support rods/bolts made up of?

They are solid steel rods with a tapered tip to fit into the support holes on the K Frame and Transmission Mount. They are solidly welded to the Cart Tubing.

 

[ECS]

.............How about a progress report on the item that this thread is supposed to follow. Thank you.

I had a 45 minuet conversation with Roger Gibson earlier today and he provided me with an update on his Friend who was the Transmission Director at the Chelsea Chrysler Proving Grounds. His Friend is SONNY BENSON and worked for Chrysler from 1965 into the mid eighties. Roger said he has known Sonny for many years and he has provided him with all sorts of information as it relates to Chrysler vehicles manufactured from the late Sixties into the early Seventies. Without any doubt whatsoever, Roger said that Sonny told him that Chrysler made 4 Door versions of EVERY vehicle that they manufactured. He said they not only made a Concept 4 Door Barracuda but they also made 4 Door Challengers and 4 Door Chargers. I asked Roger if we was sure about the information he had received from Sonny. Roger said they recently talked about the subject matter and that Sonny was 100% POSITIVE about his recollection of the 4 Door Cars.

Roger also knows a gentleman named LARRY SAUNDERS who worked at the same Proving Grounds with Sonny and is contacting him to see if he has any information on the topic. Larry was the Chassis Manager and in charge of setting up Cars like the 1969 Dodge Daytona. Roger has a Directory of the various Directors/Managers from that time period that he obtained from Sonny and he is going to start calling people to gather whatever information is out there on these Concept Cars. Sonny told Roger that the 4 Doors were done by the Coach Builders commissioned by Chrysler to make their "stretched" Concept vehicles.

Roger will be stopping by my Office later this week or early next week. He will hopefully have more information and I will post it as soon as it becomes available. Anyone who knows Roger is more than welcome to call him and ask about this information. It appears that more than "one person" does in fact remember the 4 Door Concept Cars that some have denied ever existed. Stay tuned.............

 

[AUSTA]

I had a 45 minuet conversation with Roger Gibson earlier today and he provided me with an update on his Friend who was the Transmission Director at the Chelsea Chrysler Proving Grounds. His Friend is SONNY BENSON and worked for Chrysler from 1965 into the mid eighties. Roger said he has known Sonny for many years and he has provided him with all sorts of information as it relates to Chrysler vehicles manufactured from the late Sixties into the early Seventies. Without any doubt whatsoever, Roger said that Sonny told him that Chrysler made 4 Door versions of EVERY vehicle that they manufactured. He said they not only made a Concept 4 Door Barracuda but they also made 4 Door Challengers and 4 Door Chargers. I asked Roger if we was sure about the information he had received from Sonny. Roger said they recently talked about the subject matter and that Sonny was 100% POSITIVE about his recollection of the 4 Door Cars.

Roger also knows a gentleman named LARRY SANDERS who worked at the same Proving Grounds with Sonny and is contacting him to see if he has any information on the topic. Larry was the Chassis Manager and in charge of setting up Cars like the 1969 Dodge Daytona. Roger has a Directory of the various Directors/Managers from that time period that he obtained from Sonny and he is going to start calling people to gather whatever information is out there on these Concept Cars. Sonny told Roger that the 4 Doors were done by the Coach Builders commissioned by Chrysler to make their "stretched" Concept vehicles.

Roger will be stopping by my Office later this week or early next week. He will hopefully have more information and I will post it as soon as it becomes available. Anyone who knows Roger is more than welcome to call him and ask about this information. It appears that more than "one person" does in fact remember the 4 Door Concept Cars that some have denied ever existed. Stay tuned.............

It must have been mind blowing to have another Mopar exec verify your information so now it looks like you have another 2 cars to build

 

[ECS]

Roger Gibson called this morning with some additional news. He spoke with Larry Saunders who also agreed that Chrysler built 4 Door versions of every production vehicle that was originally manufactured as a 2 Door Car. Larry was the Chassis Manger at the Proving Grounds but said he started as a Transport Driver, moving the Concepts around at the Highland Facility. There was an area that had a large "Bulldozer" that would flatten and destroy the Concepts that were then sold as scrap. Larry said he remembered delivering a Valiant (for destruction) that was a 2 Door on one side and a 4 Door on the other.

There had also been talk about Chrysler not being able to afford Concepts the way other Manufacturers (Ford & GM) did. Larry told about a K-Car that was sent to one of the Coach Builders to be "stretched" and given to Lee Iaccoca to drive in a Detroit Parade. Ford was the major Sponsor of the Parade and would not allow the Concept to be driven by Iaccoca at the event. Chrysler spent all the time, money and effort to construct the Concept Car and had it crushed because it could not be used for its intended purpose. Larry also told Roger that he is going to contact one of his good Friends who was a Corporate Boss for Chrysler. His name is Milton Woods. He has access to the old Chrysler Concept archives and is going to help investigate the subject matter.

 

[ECS]

Here are a few photos showing the details of the Engine components. The entire assembly should be installed in the Car within the next week. After that, the Interior will follow and then the small details will complete the vehicle. Stay tuned........

 

[ECS]

Here are a few additional pictures of the Engine with some of the attached accessories.

 

[moparlee]

Dave, thanks for the great engine pics. I am using them as reference for my 71 340.

 

[340challconvert]

I concur with moparlee, those are great engine pictures with great detail
I have a long way before my 340 looks that good!

 

[ECS]

Dave, thanks for the great engine pics. I am using them as reference for my 71 340.

You're quite welcome. We have to change the Pulleys to make them correct for a 1970. We thought that a nice set from 1973 would work but they are different in design. I want to let everyone know that we are NOT attempting a true OE car as an objective here. While the appearance and processes are correct with what we are doing, some of our parts may not be correctly dated for the time frame of the car. We used an imaginary build date of 7/30/1969.

I want every component to be as new as possible so unlike my other OE projects, I will not be incorporating "used" components for things like the Suspension. The Lower Ball Joints (for example) are NOS Chrysler units that are dated for a late 70 or 71 vehicle. The fit and function are are correct but the date is not. No one would ever know unless they were specifically looking for the correct dates on the parts but I wanted to make you aware of this. For those items that we are able to find that a correct date, we use it when it's NOS. Thanks for your comment!

 

[ECS]

Here are a few pictures of the Heater Box. I took pictures of an old unit to show the comparison of how they originally came. The old UN-restored unit in the first picture is NOT the unit in the following photos. It was just used to show some of the details of the Motor Assembly Wiring and Insulation.

 

[ECS]

I am using them as reference for my 71 340.

Here are a few random build specifications I took some pictures of. I have used this source as a guideline for many aspects of my project(s). It covers things like the exact number of Welds on a particular Body Panel, correct Stripe placement, Brazing & Soldering specs, Sealer specs, Tolerance configurations, specs for installing a Convertible or Vinyl Tops, etc......

 

[340challconvert]

Wow. Talk about having cool engineering specs.
Shows details right down to the welds and where the seam sealer goes!

 

[340challconvert]

Especially like the engineering specs showing the floor pan/trunk pan welds.
Interesting how it shows both the Cuda and Challenger gas tank filler hole openings.

 

[AUSTA]

Here are a few random build specifications I took some pictures of. I have used this source as a guideline for many aspects of my project(s). It covers things like the exact number of Welds on a particular Body Panel, correct Stripe placement, Brazing & Soldering specs, Sealer specs, Tolerance configurations, specs for installing a Convertible or Vinyl Tops, etc......

Awesome really helps restorers will you be releasing a set of build drawings

 

[resq302]

The only project updates you'll find are being done on his blog.

4 Door 'Cuda

 

[340challconvert]

Still amazed at your level of detail. Thanks for posting, especially enjoyed looking at your "4 door cuda" blog. You've created a future museum piece!

 

[resq302]

You have me confused with Dave Walden who is building the car and has the 4 door blog.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Why no more updates here?

I really like this thread and can't wait to hear more information about the concept builds.

 

[moparlee]

Dave is not posting anymore on this site or the FBBO site. I guess too many people were bad mouthing his build. Too bad and I liked seeing all the details and tips on how things were done.

You can find his updates on his blog, see post 575 above.

 

[wingcarenvy]

This car is amazing. I just checked out the blog and I am blown away!!