My first Mopar build, 73 340 Cuda

[nsmall]

I decided to start a thread.  There is a lot to say, but I dont have much time to really say much as I have two kids under one, and a 6 year old with Autism.  I already owe a lot of THANKS to Burdar, Alan, ChrycoPsycho, Brad T., Travis Higgins, Tom Walker, 72bluNblu, and IMNCARN82.  I often ask you specifically for help and you always have my back.

Always wanted a Mopar, never thought I could afford one.   I have a budget that I am 10k over already, but Im really enjoying finishing the car "my way" and I dont regret the build so far.  The car is a solid car that I have drove for the past 15 months.  It has a 340 and a 727 trans.  Like I said there is a ton to say so I dont even know where to start or stop talking.

I will let the pics do the talking.

I still need some help finishing the heater and wiper situation.

The final color will be Toxic Orange.  That only took 10 months of intense research to decide...sigh.  Cant decide if I want to shave or inset or leave the side markers. This decision drives me crazy as the car will go to paint in the next 6 months and I cant make up my mind.

I have the car running great, I have over 90% of parts parts to finish it.

Basically the car is going to be a very excellent driver.  Im not a car show type of person, yet I am really up tight as I have practically collected all new parts to finish the car.  This car has taught me a lot about myself and that is a whole thread itself.

Thanks for everything.  This site is one of my favorite finds ever, not joking, really enjoy it.

At the end of the day I try to keep in mind...Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?


The following photos are basically how the car looked once I bought it...

[nsmall]

First pic is the day I first got it.  My son who has Autism was really excited...

[nsmall]

More pics...

[nsmall]

More...

[nsmall]

My first major modification.  Alan, close your eyes for the following pics (these pics may hurt some of your eyes) be easy on me.  My friend Richard has a steady hand with his air disc grinder and after 3 hours of filing, I am really happy with these non functional holes I put in the hood.  At least hot air can come out.  I have no regrets doing this, not sure the next owner will be so impressed.

[nsmall]

Final engine will have orange paint over entire engine block, I will add aluminum Mopar valve covers.  I painted heads before installing new Edelbrock RPM 7576 Air Gap.  Took two tries on intake as first attempt didn't have enough RTV on rear of intake and oil was shooting out the rear.  The 14 X 3 air cleaner clears hood with no problems.  Thanks to the opened hood scoops it was easy to see if the air cleaner would clear the hood.

I also added a 355 sure grip (dr diff clutch), used Chrysler gears at the same time.  I had 276 open end gears so long story short, the 340 is alive now.  I need to change the squirters aka nozzles as chrychopsycho thinks it will help my cars major hesitation with I initially floor it.  I have a carter AFB and Edelbrock says they have a kit that has a 43 nozzle as I have a 28 and I hope this fixes the hesitation.

[cudamadd]

Nice pictures    The car is a  .beautiful colour .,with the white . No i wish my hood had cut outs like yours . Ithink they should have come from the factory like that ,it would have helped with over heating 

[nsmall]

The first pic is before I repainted (very sad looking in person) the rear passenger quarter that was replaced before I bought the car.

I switched the front 255/60/15's with 215/65/15 and the final product may be 215/60/15 or 205/60/15 as I like the contrast.

[nsmall]

The green Cuda is of a friend of mine (Chris) who has helped me make a lot of important final decisions.  The grey Cuda is of a friend/mechanic named Jay who rebuilt my front suspension with the PST performance kit, swapped out my old third member and will drop my engine, front suspension, and tranny before the car goes to paint.

I love both cars as they are an inspiration to me as are all Cudas for that matter. I actually like my car in its rough stages as I think the e-body is the best muscle car ever, they even look good ugly/beat up.

The newer challenger was in my church's parking lot and once I saw toxic orange in person, I knew it was the color for me, that decision took almost one year...sigh

I plan to lightly tint my new AMD glass, I'm currently and almost finished getting my new tri-city plating bumpers all lined up, and once I finish setting up my heater and wiper mess, I will be just about ready to tear the car down for paint.

I do need advice about what to do with the undercarriage as it is pretty rust free minus the rear end area which I may dissemble so I can sand it down and paint it.

As for the undercarriage, is there a cheap spray I can cover it with as I am not doing a full rotisserie job on the car, but Im thinking I could spray the underside with something as it just has the factory spray from 43 years ago.   I have no idea what to do, I just want it to be something unless you all think I can just leave it, paint the suspension pieces and call it good enough.  Remember Im mainly building a driver that looks great, Im just a newbie so I am not certain what to do.

Thanks

[cudamadd]

Nice friends with nice rides .There is no right way or wrong way ,Do it your way and drv the wheels off it. When the suns out  about 6 of us just cuz and curise , Hey but donnot tell anyone , mopar allways seams 2 b at the from off the pack. Ha Ha 

[blown motor]

The underside of your car looks really good. Don't know what to suggest, others will have a better idea on that than me.

[djw383]

My teenage nephew with autism loves to go for rides, he laughs, gets scared and then wants to do it again....

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[rUNCHARGER]

I like the way the car looks at this moment. You could drive that every day and leave it in a parking lot without worrying about getting a speck of dirt on it or a door ding. It still looks nice enough to garner attention though.

Sheldon

[twalker]

Hey Neil, glad you set up a build thread!  Love your car, keep making it your own!!


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[jimynick]

I don't know where you're at and that makes a big difference as to what I'd do with the undercarriage. If you're in sunny climes and don't drive it in the rain, I'd just clean it off and Krown undercoat it and call it a day. If you think it'll get exposed to rain and/or God forbid, salt, then I'd powerwash the undercarriage, let it dry very well and seam seal/caulk every seam under it, spray it with a protectice coat and THEN Krown it. That's what I did with mine as I found that when dealing with a E body, every place two pieces of sheet metal come together is a place where it WILL rot. You've got a pretty good looking start and I don't know that I'd media (or any other thing) blast it. If you contain the areas of repair, your paint costs will be much lower. Good luck
PS- paint the engine compartment whatever colour you paint the exterior and you'll avoid more of those "is that a Chevy?" comments.