My 73 cuda e-bay project

[Pipefish]

You guys might have noticed this car on ebay last week.It was alittle rougher than I thought it would be for the 8K I gave for it.Well anyway I've started the demolition on it and the more parts I took off the more rust I found,but its to late to turn back now.The car is going to the sand blaster tuesday morning and if there's anything left i'll start on the metal work.The car was orginally a 318 but I plan on putting a late model hemi under the hood,and if someone has already done that let me know how that turned out, and what kind of trouble you had installing it.

[4Cruizn]

Yep I saw that car on e-bay!  Going to need a hemi k frame or some kind of adaptor to fit that beast in the engine compartment!  Looks like a cool project!!  Keep us informed and show lots of pics!!   

[Killer_Mopar]

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you...but thats always the case with a restoration. Anyway congratulations on your purchase and since I have never seen you post before...welcome! When you said late model hemi, I'm assuming the 5.7/6.1 liter Hemis. If you are going that route, you should try to find a truck engine or buy a crate. For installation, you will want to call keisler up because they have a transmission kit and I think they sell the motor mounts and headers. Also check out mancini because they carry a bunch of 5.7/6.1 hemi parts. If you want more performance from the hemi then you probably want to check these guys out.

gsmotorsports.com
krcperformance.com

There is another forum member here that is putting a new hemi in a dart, he can probably help you out more than anyone else on here.

[71340RT]

Sorry to here about the rust you have found for your 8K. But it's better to find it now and fix all of it so you won't have to do it over again later. The blaster will show you what you have got when you get it back. I have been down the same road buying a car and thinking the car had very little rust only to find out later that I needed to fix all kinds of rust issues. Keep us posted on your progress and the pictures of your car look great so keep them coming.
Jeff

[Street_Challenged73]

Welcome to the site, Pipefish.  Your project looks nice in the photos, but I know what it's like to find hidden rust you weren't expecting to have to deal with.  Hopefully nothing more is found at the sandblasters and you'll be able to do minimal rust repair on it.  As for your question, the guy to get in touch with is "MoparMan" aka Bob.  He's the one doing the swap in his Dart and he should have some answers to the questions you have about the whole swap.   There's also a newer member here who's been working on a convertible E-body with a 5.7 conversion, too.  I'm sure he'll have some ideas about what all will be needed for the transplant.

[bohmer2]

http://www.hotrodlane.cc/

This is another place you want to check out for more information, the company is Street and Performance out of Mena, Arkansas.  These are the guys that did the first 5.7 swap in an e-body convertible and recently had another article in one of the Mopar magazines about their 6.1 swap in a b-body.  They have the wiring harness, motor mounts, computers, even the motors.  They have some tech info on their website as well, measurements for the engine dimensions as well as information on putting the gas pedal from a newer car etc.  Plus they did a sweet swap on a 33 Dodge, and have some information about them putting a 5.7 in a Prowler. 

Brian

[Pipefish]

Thanks for all the feedback I appreciate it.I will check out the place in Mena AR.sounds like they know there stuff,and besides I live in Siloam Springs,AR not to far from Mena.Here are a few more pic of my dismantled cuda. 
                                                                                               
                                                                             

[AprilsPink72Cuda]

Welcome. I am glad you are jumping right into your project and doing it right the first time! 

[360 'CUDA]

Hey pipefish

I have a '73 with the same color combo that needs quarters and driver's side footwell.
Where is the rust your dealing with?  It looks OK to me in the pics.

Good luck !!

[hotrod98]

Pipefish,
Keep me informed on your progress. I live in Fort Smith and my wife and I both drive cudas so we may run into you at a show or two. We drove them up to the Branson show last August and had a blast. My wife's car is a 73 with a 5.9 liter FI motor with the A518 overdrive tranny. She got 25 mpg on that trip. My car is a 71 cuda clone with a 340 pistol grip. Let me know what parts you're going to need so I can keep an eye out. There's several cudas around here and we've been trying to get them all together at one spot for a mini cuda show. lol  We also own a 70 challenger convertible with a 426 hemi and we're building a superbird clone and plan to use a late model hemi and keisler 5-speed for it.
hotrod98

[Pipefish]

Hey hot rod sounds like you have a lot of nice cars.One thing I'm looking for is an A/C dash it get hot around here in the summer as you already know.As for cuda360's question about the rust on my car ,it needs quarters and a trunk pan and a little work on the firewall,i'll know more after it gets back from the blaster Tuesday

[hotrod98]

Pipeline,
I guess you already know that there are a lot of differences between an a/c car and a non a/c car. Dash, heater box, heater controls and the firewall. Actually the cowl area is different as well.  I just sold a parts car that had an a/c dash in it. I'll check and see if the guy is interested in selling it. Personally, I think that you're lucky to have the non a/c setup. My 71 is an air car and I removed the a/c stuff. I wish the firewall was a non a/c firewall. I will probably convert it later on to make the car look right. I added a shaker hood last summer and shaker hood cars weren't available with a/c. I have a lot of the stuff to convert your cuda to a/c. I'll get with you later. The stuff's not going anywhere, so no hurry. My advice is to forget the a/c. We drove all of the way to Branson in August and never missed the a/c.
Here's a pic of my wife's 73.

[Pipefish]

Hey hotrod your wife's car looks great,what size wheels and tires are you running?and about the A/C
your probably right,I didn't know it would be that much trouble, no problem I'll just a little faster.....
My Hemi just arrived this morning..hope it fits under the hood

[hotrod98]

Thanks for he compliment. The Hopsters are 16x7 front and 16x8 rear with Eagle F1 D3 tires. If I had it to do over again, I would order 17's instead. I've had those wheels for a while. They were on my 71 for a couple of years.
I think the guys at Street and Performance have just about everything you need to make that engine fit. I wonder how the oil pan will clear the crossmember. I had to use an e-body 360 pan on my 5.9 conversion. The truck pan wouldn't clear. You will probably have to order an electric fan assy with the adjustable thermostat. Summit had the best deals on them. Don't forget, we need pics as you go along. I'll probably bug you for info so that when I put the 5.7 crate motor in the superbird clone, I'll have everything I need before I start.