Hey somedaysoon, I really need to see more pics and info on your car. That thing looks exceptional.
Thank you, I've never really given any specs on my build before or shown it as another members project but after having taken a little sabatical, maybe talking about it will get me inspired again. Well I purchased the cuda in the fall of '76 yes 31 years ago my senior year. I parked it in '78 to build the engine a little bit stronger. Well in '79 I married my wife of now 28 yrs and started a family. Yes you guessed right the car sat and sat. I pulled it into the garage here where you see it in '96. Yes 11 years i've been restoring this car but in my own defense I will say I had never painted nor done any body work prior to the cuda. I had to replace the quarters, the trunk floor, the outer wheel wells the trunk floor extensions, the filler panel between the deck lid and rear window, the frt inner fenders, I pulled the cowl, the radiator support and tail light panel. So basically there was a passenger compartment and frt and rear frame rails left and that was it. Now for someone who has never even welded I had a huge task in front of me. I never made a move without contemplating all aspects even though I tore apart and redid a lot of what I did. My whole objective was to put together the car of my dreams and not have anyone be able to say well you can sure tell he did his own resto. I know I should'nt care what others think about my car as long as I'm happy with it . Well I'm happy with it actually ecstatic and the best part is you can't tell I did it. I painted the car black and laid a blue pearl over it, then I ghosted in the hockey stripes with an extra shot of the pearl so when light hits it it jumps out.
The paint is awsome and yes I guess I'm boasting but I'm very proud of it. Those who have seen it don't believe that it's my first or that I did it. I've been asked to paint a few since but don't really care to do any thing till I finish my dream. So after the body and paint I redid the interior including sound deadening, headliner, recovering my seats with the exception of the bucket seat backs I let the upholsterer who did the embroidery put them on. I made my own gauge panel, rewired the whole car with a painless kit, put in keyless entry (or power locks), power windows, a pretty nice sound system, and reinstalled all the glass.
Well on the outside I body colored the rear bumper and guards, installed a body colored fiberglass frt bumper, deleted the wheel well trim and gilled rockers, blacked out the grille,darkened the frt turn signals (sorry no pics right now of the grille and signals after redoing them) lowered the stance put 18's in the rear and 17's in the frt,put 2003 mustang rotors and calipers which I made all my own mounts for, the machine shop opened up the rotors to fit the hubs from the cuda, I ordered the new rear axles (which are dutchman 35 spline which is in a truck dana I modified ) to fit the hub openings of the rear rotors, I've run all stainless brake and fuel lines 1/2" feed and 3/8" return, even a fully polished 3" stainless exhaust, oh did I forget to mention that I learned how to polish. I put in frame rail connectors very similar to the us tool ones which are contoured to the bottom of the car, but I did mine long before theirs came out, other wise I would have bought and used theirs(I'm sure it would have been alot easier damnit)_ Super stock springs, 3/4" rear sway bar 1" torsion bars 1 1/8" frt sway bar torque boxes again I did before they started producing them damnit. Kiesler 5 speed and hydraulic clutch. Please remember this car has not left this garage since it entered and no one but I have turned a wrench on anything. Well now for my jewel, the original 383 is now a 497 sprting a callies crank, oliver rods, ross pistons dished reliefed specific to my heads thickened tops and ring pack mowved down, straigline turbo grnd roller, eddie cnc'd heads, offenhauser tunnel ram base modified with 16 injectors, wilson 105mmthrotle body,ditributorless twin mp t70's all controlled with bigstuff3 ecu.
I made everything you see the fan shroud, the exhaust logs, the down pipes,the wastegate plumbing all fuel hard lines vacuum hard lines, rebent all the brake lines in the engine compartment, even the plenum on top of the tunnel ram, the alt , ac and pwer steering mounts, the more you look the more you'll see that is all one off. There is not another mopar engine bay that i find even similar, you can have your hemi's(no insult intended) new or old you'll find one just like yours just a couple of cars away at almost any show. I'm very proud of this car it is definitely one of a kind. Yes there is alot of $ in it but how much would be there if I didn't do my own stuff, I could'nt even fathom the amount. For those who have found this post and followed my ramblings on this new years eve I hope you realize that by reading and seeing with your own eyes that if you really want something bad enough there is'nt anything you cannot achieve if you really try, experience or not. Well **** I dont fell any more motivated now than when I started typing. I shoulda just went to bed damnit . Thanks for reading, Pete
