73 Cuda resto 2nd time

[edl94]

This is my second time with this car only this time it's mine. My father purchased this car around 1983 right after I moved out of the house. I guess he did not want a car like this around while I was still there. It was the car he always wanted untill a couple of years later when he found a 1971 challenger convertable. With only one stall in the garage the convertable won. Living in the seattle area sitting outside under a pine tree is not a good life for an old car. Forward to 1993, the cuda was not looking so good the drivers side quarter was rusted through and the paint was bubbling in other areas. He wanted to fix it up so he took it to a friend who put a new vinyl top on it. I volunteered to replace the quarter and paint it. The only bad rust at the time was the left quarter I installed a partial and killed the rest of the rust the best I could and painted it. It turned out great. Back under the tree it went. He drove it now and then when he could get it to run. In 2005 he told me he wanted to sell the cuda, it still looked good. There was some paint bubbling on the right quarter, door, and fender but the worst was under the vinyl top. It was hard to tell what was going on under there but it did not look or feel good. I told him I wanted to buy the car and he gave it to me. He refused to take any money.  More to come Here is the fender tag

[Topcat]

Welcome and can't wait to see more pics of your car.

[MirageCuda]

Welcome and Congrats!  More pics!

[edl94]

So at this point the car had not run in over a year so I rented a trailer and hauled it home. The car looked to be in pretty good shape on the outside and in. I wanted to get started on it right away so I ripped off the top and saw how bad it really was. Then I cleaned out the trunk and lifted the mat. What I had was a rust bucket. I got discuraged closed the shop door and went on to other things always thinking one day I will fix that car. So it sat there for 5 years I finally got serious last fall. I figured I could make a couple of patches for the holes and try to scab the windshield frame back together. I ordered a two piece trunk floor, new headliner, carpet and alot of other stuff I knew would be needed and started work. I yanked the engine and found the battery tray and inner fender rotted out, more stuff to fix. I found a rear half of a Cuda in Oregon for $300.00 I figured this would be a good source for patch panels. If anyone wants what is left come and get it free. I can send anyone who is interested more pictures and info, see photo below. I started striping the interior and carpet and found floor rot in the left and right front floor pans. At this point I needed to part it out or go for it. I decided to go all in and bought a rotisserie. My plans were to replace the bad sheetmetal and still not totally gut the car. more to come.

[Topcat]

What's left over could still be turned into a Cuda trailer perhaps.

[edl94]

So I wanted to a low buget resto but the farther I got into it the more unlikley that idea became. I just wanted a nice driver not a show car. Once on the rotisserie I discovered more problems the air intake for the heater was rotted out. That is how the water got in and rusted the floor pans. I sold my
jeep and came up with a bunch of money for the project. I ordered a new roof skin, inner fender, two floor pans, right rear patch panel, right front fender patch panel, and a lower door patch. Let the cutting drilling and grinding begin. I spent almost all of my spare time working on the car this winter. So far it is turning out really good. I have all of the metal work done it still needs a little body work but it is almost there.

[edl94]

I have nothing but good things to say about AMD their body panels fit perfect. I was most impresed by their roof skin. It fit like a glove I could not believe it when I set it on it was perfect! So after a few months it's in primer and the inside and under side are ready for Ralley Red paint.

[usraptr]

Great work!!  Keep us posted with your progress.   

[Sean]

Lookin' good!  Glad to hear that you were able to save another rotting Cuda and are bringing it back to the condition that it deserves!

Sean

[Street_Challenged73]

Very nice progress with your 'Cuda!!!   Keep up the awesome work!

[edl94]

So it's been a busy summer not much time to work on the cuda. I spent the first part of the spring and into the summer working on my fathers 71 convertable challenger. I refreshed the 318, converted it to power disk brakes, and installed fuel injection. It runs and stops great now. Back to the cuda after a bunch of reading here and other places I decided to stiffen up the frame before painting. I plan to run a little bit of horse power so I ordered US Car Tool front and rear torque boxes and sub frame connectors. I like the fact that they weld onto the floor pans I hope they are worth the money. I plan on installing these with the car  on the rotisserie will that be a problem? There are several posts that talk about having the car sitting on the tires when the connectors are installed. If there is a special method or I am going to mess something up doing it this way please post and let me know.   
The picture in the 318 going into the challenger.

[70shaker6pk]

Great work,  thanks for the resto pictures!

[TKat13]

WOW! I feel bad for being so aggravated at my rust levels... I should be ashamed... Great work

[joelson6]

looks good !

[edl94]

So I am finaly back to work on the cuda. I did paint the underside and body in the spring. I am not happy with the color. That said I did'nt mind messing it up installing torque boxes and sub frame connectors. I will be running a little bit of horsepower and it appears most people on this site think this is the way to go. so here are a couple of pictures of my progress.