The Rest Of The Story

[TUNISCO]

I introduced myself the other day in the intro section, Scott with a 70 'Cuda.

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=85200.msg851739#msg851739

Now for The Rest Of The Story........

So I got it, dragged it home, dragged it up the driveway and pushed into the garage.
Let the Carcheaolgy begin!                     

[TUNISCO]

Same style Plates as my Avatar which was off my first Vette back in the day.


First Tag... sorry for the pic


Second Tag...  this one sucks too


I guess I could probably pitch that warranty card out, it's expired.....should check to see if that dealership is still there. I blocked out the gals name, didn't seem cool to put it out there for everybody


Hey Joe, go get the lady an owners manual.....oh we don't have any....give her a Belvedere manual, it's the same.


I wonder if she ever left Arlington

[TUNISCO]

So trying to decide if I was going to be able to just repaint and rebuild the motor and put the total resto off for later, or be forced to go the whole nine yards from the git go.
Since the vinyl top is half gone already and it was showing some rust, I figured I'd start there.



Yep.... as soon as I tore the top off the decision was made. If I have to take the glass out now, there's no way I'm doing it again later.




Under the windshield



Upper windshield

[TUNISCO]

Ok well Let'see what else we can find.

I don't think this is right......right?


The good news is the motor looks good otherwise, Standard bore, no ridge, so that's good.
Took it to the machine shop.

I'm happy with the floors, they're actually better than they look. I had some rust cutter on them when I took the pics.





The empty but unopened can of Pennzoil...



That was so much fun cleaning up...It's a little pitted in the low areas but I can save it.

[tommyg29]

cool pictures and great find.
I think that oil helped prevent what would have been a lot more rust in the trunk

[TUNISCO]

Anymore surprises?

Probably gonna need new mufflers...


I knew it had a black repaint in the 70's... I'm kinda diggin this!


Ok so there's your assessment, could have been better, certainly could have been worse.
PK  (Skunkworks challenger) has very kindly offered to loan me his rotisserie, so I'll get it up on that and get busy.

[hezzel]

Sweet project and nice start  Good luck with the resto

[Skunkworks Challenger]

I stopped by Scott's place yesterday to drop off the rotisserie I'm loaning him for the restoration.  Got a good look at the Cuda and a couple of his other "toys".  The 69 Camera is an outstanding piece of work and so is the motor cycle.  Sorry I don't know what the cycle  is but is is one cool , highly customized  bike.  He does all his own work and it is like art.  I'm sure the Cuda will turn out just as well.  Yes, some rust but the pictures Scott posted of the Cuda are definitely non-flattering--the car is much better than the pictures indicate.  It is very straight with maybe 1/2 oz of putty in the whole car--nothing but door dings.  He is a master in panel repair. This is one restoration thread you will want to watch!  PK

[TUNISCO]

Thanks for the kind words PK.

Anybody who is just lurking, maybe have a project and don't know if you want to share, well this is what can happen. Somebody in the "community" could be close and happy to help out....Just sayin!

So yeah the rotisserie fits like a glove. I love the way it's built, simple and sturdy. So this morning I dropped the rear end and got the car on it. It took literally just minutes, I did have to drill one hole in the pipe that ties the supports together because of the two inch difference between the challenger and 'cuda.

I've got most of the paint off now, here's a few pics...







Starting to do rust repair...ran out of gas

[brads70]

Nice project! The roof is better than I first thought by your pictures. What I thought was rust/rot appears to be adhesive for the vinyl roof.  The rotisserie sire makes life easier!

[joelson6]

looks like you off to a good start. nice rotisserie.


nice pic of the inside of the muffler. always wondered what it looked like 

[tommyg29]

wow,
you dont fool around. Cant believe how much youve done in just a few days!

[TUNISCO]

Nice project! The roof is better than I first thought by your pictures. What I thought was rust/rot appears to be adhesive for the vinyl roof.  The rotisserie sire makes life easier!

I got lucky on the roof, it still has a little reddish primer residue on it so the pics don't really do it justice.
Too bad the whole car wasn't wrapped in vinyl!

looks like you off to a good start. nice rotisserie.


nice pic of the inside of the muffler. always wondered what it looked like 

I can make you a good deal on the muffler, I've got two!

wow,
you dont fool around. Cant believe how much youve done in just a few days!

Even at my current enthusiasm level it's gonna take forever......I'm sure money will slow me down at some point.

[sadil340]

Other than the roof the body looks solid - esp the tail panel which was the worst part in my '70 project. Do you have a list of the options? Two option plates...

[dutch]

great project and great progress too!  our cars were very similar when they left the factory ... lemon twist, vinyl roof, elastomeric front, rallye everything... mine came with air though.  I decided to change some things to mine since there was no original engine ,buildsheet or tag on the car, but it will be cool to see yours return to factory specs    good luck!