71 Cuda Pro-Touring Build

[MizzouRT]

This is such a cool project, both in concept and the craftsmanship going into the build. 

I see you are working hard to keep weight down.  Any ideas on what it will weigh when completed? 

[johns cuda shop]

I am not sure at this point but I am aiming for 3200 lbs with a tank of fuel and me in the drivers seat

[MizzouRT]

3200 lbs with fuel & driver - you got to love that!

[Cuda Commando]

Cant wait for this baby to be finished.Superb

[johns cuda shop]

I decided on closing up the gap around the license plate area and make a greasable sliding plate mechanism after getting a similar idea from member (bob) Twistedfish. I did mine a little different using to stainless rods with holes drilled in them for grease,rare earth magnets locks the plate holder in the closed position and a can be opened easy by hand. I had to move the filler tube mount on the inside of the trunk and had to make a slimmer license plate light because the original didnt fit with the mods. The light is made from aluminum with LED lights . The result the rear tail panel looks much cleaner.

[TUNISCO]

Nice work!

How about a remote so when you're runnin from the po-po.......

['Cuda Hunter]

That's what I was thinking.

Double plates so you can change what you have on!

Cool idea John.

[challngd73]

Or maybe you don't run from "po-po". And risk getting pitted in such a beautiful ride!

[johns cuda shop]

I sunk the battery box in the trunk as far as I could, I will probaby be using a Optima battery. I wanted to keep as much of the weight as low as possible. I couldn't find a holddown bracket that I liked so I made one from 6061-T6 Aluminum. I made some holdown bolts from 1/4 stainless steel threaded on both ends.

[brads70]

Looks great John!

[MoparDealer1971]

Man this is so cool.  Just went through all 13 pages.  I wish I could fabricate like you can, if someone was actually paying for this work I can't imagine what it would cost.  I have to take a simpler approach because I don't have all the tools and skills but I marvel at this work of art.  Is there a writeup somewhere on the 6-series headlamp swap?  I am going to go search it now.  Are you doing all 4 lamps?

[ntstlgl1970]

Nice welds on the battery hold down, looks good!

[johns cuda shop]

Man this is so cool.  Just went through all 13 pages.  I wish I could fabricate like you can, if someone was actually paying for this work I can't imagine what it would cost.  I have to take a simpler approach because I don't have all the tools and skills but I marvel at this work of art.  Is there a writeup somewhere on the 6-series headlamp swap?  I am going to go search it now.  Are you doing all 4 lamps?
[/quote I am going to use the halegen light harness kit from Ron Francis . Thank you for all the great comments.!!! More pictures are available at http://s1187.photobucket.com/albums/z400/customachinecomponents/71%20Cuda%20Pro-Touring%20Build/

[johns cuda shop]

Because of the drive line angle being set at 1 degree down instead of the factory 3 degree, I had a issue with the headpipes hitting the floorboards. Not wanting to disturb the TTI pipes (they are a mandrel bent tuned system) I had the cut the floor board for clearance. The back tail pipes still need some ajustment but I will take care of that when I reset the tabs that are welded on the rear for the upper links. The car is going to sit a full 2 inches lower than it does now ,this is why I set the drive line angle at 1 degree down. I dislike my headers and exhaust pointing downward towards the pavement, and I wanted to gain some exhaust to ground  clearance,plus I didnt want to see the exhaust pipes when you look under the car.

[johns cuda shop]

I proceeded onto removing the drip rails. Since the drip rail and the roof skin are pinch welded together in that spot,I didnt want to cut the roof loose from the car. What I did was I cut off 2" sections of the roof rail at a time. I placed a good strong tack weld between each section, then cut the rest of the roof rail off. Since the area is open, it will need to be filled with weld. This is hard to do because you need to weld it upside down. I plan on welding it fully when the body goes back on the rotiserie. I will probably use the Tig with a silicon bronze rod as that area has a tendency to warp. with the old window channel in place I can fit the windows. I plan on only front power windows so I made some brackets out of aluminum to fix the rear quarter windows like a coupe