what am I in for??

[cudadave72]

I have now owned my Cuda for almost 2 years now. When I bought it (off e-bay no less) I was told that it extremely solid and had no rust. When it showed up here upon first glance it look solid but I immediatly found problem areas around the hood hinges, back side of the radiator support and the trunk had a nice new mat and tons of speckle paint but is weak and needs replaced. Also I found a bulge in the paint in the drivers rear quarter panel along the top edge where someone incorrectly put in a new quarter. I have also found a few small "bondo" cracks in the paint in various areas. Dont get me wrong the car looks awesome and these problems are fairly minor but what I wanted to see is any members here bought what was a great looking car and got big suprises when it came time to restore. Pictures are greatly appreciated!

[cudadave72]

I'm the only one??

[422STROKER]

Nope, your not the only one I'm sure.  What are your longterm plans?  Maybe just enjoy it while you can, most likely no one notices but you.  Plus it's fast.LOL


Tom

BTW did I mention it's fast?...

[cudadave72]

I do plan to enjoy it for a while. My plans are to drive it for the next two to three years and do small "projects" along the way such as redoing the trunk (replace pan and completely paint)and engine bay during the next few winters. This way it wont be torn completely down and I can continue to enjoy it. Also it will much more manageable when it comes time to do the complete restoration. I shouldn't paint a grim picture as the car really still looks awesome. The interior is near mint and for a car that has never had a complete restoration (aside from 3 or four repaints and quarters replaced) it seems very solid. The last cosmetic makeover was over 10 years ago. I do realize however I am going to get some suprises when it does finally comes apart! Below is a picture of the car one in which I circled the area where the bubble is in the paint where the quarter was not installed correctly. Its over lapped and I believe that moisture is trapped causing the body filler in this area to lift. I'll get some pics of my other concerns tommorrow.

[bb71challenger]

Even though what you are describing is minor, what you will have to do to make it right and yourself feel better is a lot of time and money, and think also about the time you will not be able to drive it. If I were you I would try to enjoy it for as long as possible before tearing it down for a repaint/restomod. With the money you will have to spend on it you would easily be able to purchase another driver imo. With prices on cars coming down by the hour you might want to hold off on any activity on your current project. I dont know if I am coming across in the right way because ultimately you need to be happy with what you have, I guess what I am advising is to weigh all the pros and cons carefully before you do anything. It may also be that I am biased since I have been without my car for almost 2 years and I am going absolutely nuts not being able to drive it.

[cudadave72]

I guess the good news for me is that I own an auto repair shop and grew up around body shops and have several friend in the industry so my out of pocket expenditures will not be that bad. The biggest thing to overcome is finding time to do it all.

[Super Blue 72]

I guess it depends upon how meticulous you are with your cars.  I'm a driver type of guy, not a show type of guy.  Small stuff doesn't bother me so long as the car is mechanically sound.  There is the issue of catching things while they are still small before they become something big, though...  Very cool you own a repiar shop! 

[71chally416]

When I was working on mine I noticed a small "crack" above the wheelwell on the drivers side. I made the mistake of trying to touch it up. By the time I had all the plastic ground off I found a big crease from the door jam to a few inches in front of the rear marker light where it was side-swiped. There was a little rust hiding under where it was cracked and about 100 slide hammer holes all down the side. Whoever did the plastic job did a miraculous job hiding it. I beat it around some to try to get the crease out and re-applied some plastic for now. It'll have to do until I can replace the quarter. Other than obvious things I saw when I first looked at it, no other surprises. It was well worth the money.