Firewall and cowl replacement FINAL

[miketyler]

thanks 4C - I think I am finally ready to begin re-assembly. Am not sure where to start!

[A110235]

Wow man, that baby looks solid now!  It wont be long and you'll be 
Thanks for sharing the pics.  Since the old drivetrain is already out of the car are you going to drop in a 440?

[Wrencher]

Man, that looks so good you won't be able to tell it was even replaced.  Great Job!!   :thumbs:

[miketyler]

I had considered that at one time. Reality set in and with all the modifications that it would require I thought it best to keep it all orginal 340 drivetrain.

FWIW, according to NADA, the value of the 72 340 Cuda hardtop car is increased by 20% with the orignal 340.

[dburgessc]

Just curious where you found your replacement cowl?  Mine has some damage on it and I have been having a hell of of time finding one.  Do you know of any more out there??   The car I am restoring is a 71 Cuda ragtop.  Thanks, Don.

[Ryan_AAR]

Mike,
  Did you remembered the VIN number that is stamped in the cowl.  I hope at the very least you saved the old cowl with those numbers.

Looks like the shop did some fine repair work.  Top notch work there.

[miketyler]

actually there was one that just closed on Ebay recently - funny, I am sure I talked to that guy at one time. He deals in mopar parts. When I told him a few yards had priced them to me around $200-$300, he thought that was too cheap. I assumed him to be another dealer who thinks everyone is building a hemi. The one he posted didn't get any bids at a $99 starting point. There was another guy that had one who contacted me from moparts - if you are serious let me know and I will go thru my email and find his contact info for you. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4558340430


Regarding the quality of work done, overall I am satisfied. My biggest complaints were that he had tossed my old cowl and firewall and that he had sprayed rubberized undercoating in the cowl and on the surface of the top cowl. The VIN I did want to preserve but its not a numbers car so I wasnt too worried. It would have made a nice blueprint to reference in case I had issues during reassembly but oh well. The coating he applied all had to be stripped off to prep for paint. Am still unsure why he would have sprayed the top cowl like he did. It did occur to me that he might have been trying to hide something but if he did I couldn't find it.

[dburgessc]

Thanks for the referral to the guy with the cowl on E-bay.  I got his e-mail from there.  Thanks again. :beer: D.