I'll give the readers digest version but it still might look like an encyclopedia.....
Well, a year and a half ago I posted pics of a recently built blue 70 resto-mod Cuda I purchased from a builder in FL. Beautiful looking car and sounded bad-ass on the youtube video. Did some research on the car and had an inspection done by an independent company because I couldn't go to FL and wouldn't know what to look for even if I did. Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone here on the forum near the shop to take a look at it. Although the inspection turned up some minor things he didn't find anything major so I thought all was good so I bought the car and had it shipped across the U.S. to CA two weeks later in an enclosed, lift-gate non-transfer hauler. Well, I think the shop employees went on a hell of a joyride and maybe swapped parts before it shipped. Drove it 2 blocks home from the delivery point and found the "total restore" car came with leaks from everywhere, the oilpan which was dented, the brake calipers, rear end, radiator and more. Clutch was slipping and hard to get into gear. (inspection photos showed clean bottom with no leaks). I called the builder and he said he'd stand behind his work and arranged for me to take it to a rod shop near my home.
The shop found 38 issues with the car and didn't want to touch someone elses work. Not sure why they even offered to take a look at it if they didnt want to work on it. Took it to another reputable rod shop and they did a major inspection. The rear end looked like it had a million miles on it inside, worn parts, gobbs of silicone had been put in to try and stop leaks, clutch arm was rubbing and jerryrigged to make work, Tremec TKO tranny was NOT a TKO, it was a stock mustang tranny. The 4-wheel Wilwood disc brakes were NOT Wilwood brakes, cross member had been cut to fit the 440 and transmission and the bracing wasn't sufficient to stop floor separation (some slight separation was noted in the original inspection report but was much worse when I got the car). I had been sent pics of the car stripped down to the frame being painted and wires being fed in the dash for rewiring but the shop found nothing but wire birdnest, shorts and crimped wiring leading to dead ends, wiring crimped together 3-4 places in one lead, a mess.
Without taking up the forum they found the 38 issues the other shop found and much much more, most of it a general visual inspection wouldn't have revealed unless things were disassembled, If a person very knowledgeable about Cudas did the inspection it would have caught some things too. Lessen learned for me, don't worry about costs to have a reputable in-depth inspection done.
The builder hemmed and hawed backpedaling and claiming he wasn't around his shop much during the build and said he fired 3 of his workers over the shoddy work (ya, right). I told him the car was misrepresented and a lot of the issues were internal and wouldnt have been noticed on the visual inspection but would have been noticed during the build. After months of going back and forth the builder stopped talking to me and referred me to his lawyer. I threatened to sue and expose his clients misrepresentations and what I considered fraud and we settled on an amount that was reimbursed to me. It wasnt as much as I wanted but saved me trips to FL to go to court.
To make a very long story shorter, with the car torn apart I did the following main improvements:
Magnum Force IFS kit (paint matched to car)
Coil over suspension
Rack and pinion steering
4-wheel Wilwood disc brakes
Completely rewired dash with master plug
New Ford 9" rear end
New beefed up Tremec 5-speed tranny
New Bell Housing
Hydraulic clutch conversion
New radiator and fans
New high capacity low profile oil pan
And a lot more (not to drag this posting on and on).
Basically the whole car was rebuilt underneath. Now it's done right and what it should have been when I got it. Only difference is Mucho $$$$$ later. I quickly learned if you improve A you have to modify B, then C wont fit right unless you change D, and while your in there might as well modify E and F but you might have to tweek G, H and I which affects........you get the picture and most everyone here can probably attest to....
I'll post pics soon and hopefully within weeks be driving my dream Cuda that I bought 1-1/2 years ago but only drove 2 blocks before going in the shop.....
The excitement I felt when I first got my Cuda quickly faded away when all the issues were found and I've been bummed the past 1-1/2 years seeing my empty garage stall. But the wait is almost over and I'm starting to get excited again. Hopefully this time I'll be smiling for more than two blocks.
I'll be like a newbie again here on the forum asking questions....
Speaking of questions, Whats a good anti theft device to keep it from driving away without me in it such as an ignition kill, fuel pump disabler, etc?
