72 Cuda g-machine - 2016 update

[IMNCARN82]

NICE UPDATE!!   You are doing a great job!!  Always a pleasure checking out your stuff!    I learn alot. What's underneath the panels. Good pictures too!! I'm about to rip into mine again. Thanks for the inspiration!   

[Moparpena]

Very nice machine!

Nice 4-link setup, but does it need some side way support? I mean something like panhard or watlink to stop axle side way play.

Very nice pictures too.

[Travis72]

Thanks Travis. It looks great.
I put on a new bumper w/o the bumper boobs on and a new non-dual exhaust pan today. I am going to start smoothing the spring shackle bulge thingies. Hopefully I get it real smooth. Are you going that route?

No, because I've always liked the look of the dual exhaust pan.  To be honest, I had never thought about smoothing out the spring shackles bulges.  Hmmmm... please post some pics in your resto thread of the process and how it comes out!  I'd like to see how that ends up looking.

On of the 4-link it's a triangulated setup, so the upper bars are angled in so a panhard or watts link is not needed.

Travis
72 Cuda

[ambitions2]

Travis the car is looking great.  I love following this thread, the car is going to be such a beast. 

[4THECHALLENGE]

travis your car is bad ass!!! but i think 3 piece wheels wouls  make it stand out even more 

[Chlngrcrzy]

Travis, do you have an aftermarket K-member and front end on your car? They look good. I will probably be needing to do something different with mine in the future. Where did you get them from?

[Travis72]

It's not just a k-member, but an entire new front suspension system.  It's called AlterKation from Reilly Motorsports.  Quite a few of us on here have that suspension.

I hear you on the 3 piece wheels.  I struggled for a long time trying to pick out rims I like, in fact I think I have some of the photoshop chops posted in this thread.  The problem was the rims I liked were like 1000 per rim!  I couldn't see paying that much. 

Travis
72 Cuda

[Chlngrcrzy]

Thanks for the info Travis, i will have to check them out, see if i can afford the front end in my budget.

[4THECHALLENGE]

COOL COOL   

[Travis72]

I was able to finally finish up the quarter panel install this weekend.  It took a few weekends due to all the trial fitting.  In the last couple of weeks I had welded in the new outer wheelhouse and trunk extension.  Then I primed everything with epoxy primer before going over the seam with Duramix seam sealer just to be sure.  You can't see the seam once the quarter panel is installed so I didn't worry about making that joint perfect.  I also cleaned, rebuilt and relubed the quarter window.  It's amazing how nice and smooth it rolls up and down now!    It was pretty easy to do with the quarter panel out of the way, but I bet the quarter window would be a PITA to remove/replace with the quarter installed.






On the quarter panel I just need to grind the welds flat and make sure I didn't leave any pinholes or anything.  I think it came out pretty good overall.  Not perfect, but it's pretty darn good and a lot better than adding an inch thick of body filler over that nasty old seam.  When I readjusted the quarter panel it fit the curve of the door pretty well.  So good in fact that it showed that I sanded a flat spot in the edge of the door that I didn't really notice before.     The only thing I'm not happy about is I couldn't get the door gap that great, but part of it might be because the door itself is out of alignment.  I need to realign the door to the quarter panel, then go back and try and realign the fender.   Anyway, these pics are of the process before I completed all the welding.





Travis
72 Cuda

[dutch]

looking sweet    nothing like new sheetmetal....

[certifiablecuda]

Very nice progress... I am looking forward to pretty much doing all the same sheetmetal stuff this winter once I get the Jeep out of the garage...  I need both rear quarters and trunk, so it the pictures will be a helpful resource.

Thanks again and keep up the good work!

cb

[ambitions2]

Travis the car is going to be a beast when your done.  Did you wire wheel the window channels and around the outer wheel well.  How is that thing so clean?

Loving this build...

[Travis72]

Yeah I had to clean the crap out of the wheelwell and everything else.  Doing stuff over your head inside the wheelwell is no fun.  Luckily, the window mechanism was in really good shape.  I just basically scuffed it with a red scrotchbrite pad and soap and water to clean it up.  I was going to paint it, but I thought that might interfere with the window so I left it alone.  I figured it had survived 36 years as is.  I did paint the bottom bracket though that mounts to the rocker panel since that had a lot of surface rust on it.

Travis
72 Cuda

[ntstlgl1970]

Looks good man, the 4000 pic is excellent reference material for people who pulled all the stuff out of their car and cant remember how it goes back together. Before you align the door, replace the hinge pins and bushings and striker if you haven't done that already. It will make aligning everything much easier.