And So It Begins.... 1970 340 Cuda Restoration

[loco340cuda]

I thought it would be cool to include some before and after pics to see what I started with and ended up with.  I would say much improved...... unless your into the rat rod muscle car look which then you would favor the before picts.   

[1 Wild R/T]

Congratulations!! That is a Huge accomplishment... Time to enjoy what you've worked for..

[dodj]

Well it's been a little over a year since I disassembled the car and took it to the body shop and I'm happy to announce the car is pretty much done

That puts you in a pretty elite club. Other than Alan, not many tear it down and Git'R'Done in about a year!
The before and after pics are awesome! Really shows off your hard work.
Congrats! You did a great job on your 'cuda. 
Have you taken it out on a shakedown cruise yet?

[usraptr]

To fix the covers you will need to take the seats apart and then remove the hog rings to straighten out the seat covers.  The only issue you might run into is that the covers already have holes in them from where the side bolts come thru as well as the locking hardware so if the seat covers are really crooked this could be an issue as the holes might need to be opened really wide an might show, but hard to say without looking at it.

Check out the how to videos on Lendgary Interiors website.  You'll see that it really is not that big of deal to recover these seats.

Thank you.  I'll check out the Legendary website.    Our interiors are almost identical.  The only difference I see is that I have the center console.  What radio are you using?  I have the original AM 8 track that I had refurbished.  Any tips/tricks on painting the silver in the groove of the steering wheel cover?  I've made three attempts at masking off the surrounding area and the silver still bleeds through in the grain pattern. 
One last question.  I noticed that you converted to the electronic ignition.  Did this give you any issues with your Rallye tach and how did you resolve it?  My engine wouldn't start with the tach wire hooked up??
Congrats on a beautiful and successful restoration.  I started mine in 2009 and I'm still not done.  Hopefully, I'lll be driving it this coming summer.   

[loco340cuda]

Thanks guys!

dodj, yes I have about 70 miles on the car now after 4 drives.  For the most part the car drives good but still needs a few things tuned.  I must say what a difference in ride and drive quality between before and after.  I still have some squeaks going on in trunk area (during driving) that I am trying to track down now but besides that the car sound solid and quite when going down the road.  If anyone has any advise on what to check for in the the trunk area for squeaks let me know as I have looked and banged on things and can't find anything obvious on where the noise is coming from.

usraptr, actually my car is a factory console car.  When I bought the car 15 years ago it had the console in it but it was really trashed.  At the time I bought the car I was new to the hobby and wasn't sure if I was going to keep the car as after I bought it I started thinking I was in over my head with it.  On top of that I really didn't have the money to replace it and if I recall correctly back then there were no repop consoles.  I removed it and removed the brackets so I could replace the carpet and give the interior a cleaner look.  The before pictures are actually after cleaning up the interior.  I should look and see if I have any pictures when I first bought the car (it was a step above a basket case).

For the radio I have the stock AM radio which I will be putting back in.  It actually is in good condition so I just need to install it (punch list item).   

The steering wheel cover was redone by the restoration shop that did the console.  I was actually going to restore the wheel cover myself but they said they would take car of it.  Because I was going to do it myself at first I did ask them the steps and for the silver they said they use a silver paint pen.

As far as your question on the electronic ignition yes it did give me issues with the tach reading properly but no issues with starting the car.  When I bought the car it had already been converted to electronic ignition but I upgraded that system to an FBO electronic ignition that made it run much better.  Ever since I owned the car the tach never read correctly due to the electronic ignition.  When I restored the car this last year I updated the tach electronics with an R/T engineering kit and it now reads correctly.  I highly recommend the upgrade, I believe I posted some pictures of this somewhere back in the previous pages on this restoration post.  Let me know if you need more information on this.

[usraptr]

Thanks guys!


usraptr, actually my car is a factory console car.  When I bought the car 15 years ago it had the console in it but it was really trashed.  At the time I bought the car I was new to the hobby and wasn't sure if I was going to keep the car as after I bought it I started thinking I was in over my head with it.  On top of that I really didn't have the money to replace it and if I recall correctly back then there were no repop consoles.  I removed it and removed the brackets so I could replace the carpet and give the interior a cleaner look.  The before pictures are actually after cleaning up the interior.  I should look and see if I have any pictures when I first bought the car (it was a step above a basket case).

For the radio I have the stock AM radio which I will be putting back in.  It actually is in good condition so I just need to install it (punch list item).   

The steering wheel cover was redone by the restoration shop that did the console.  I was actually going to restore the wheel cover myself but they said they would take car of it.  Because I was going to do it myself at first I did ask them the steps and for the silver they said they use a silver paint pen.

As far as your question on the electronic ignition yes it did give me issues with the tach reading properly but no issues with starting the car.  When I bought the car it had already been converted to electronic ignition but I upgraded that system to an FBO electronic ignition that made it run much better.  Ever since I owned the car the tach never read correctly due to the electronic ignition.  When I restored the car this last year I updated the tach electronics with an R/T engineering kit and it now reads correctly.  I highly recommend the upgrade, I believe I posted some pictures of this somewhere back in the previous pages on this restoration post.  Let me know if you need more information on this.

Thanks!   

[loco340cuda]

I also forgot to add that at some point in the future I will probably put a console back in the car.

[340challconvert]

What a great job on the Cuda
Congrats on your work!

[marc70challenger]

Awesome!!!!  Great job

[twalker]

Looks fantastic, congrats!


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[YellowThumper]

Very nice. Glad you are out enjoying it.
Only thing I can find to complain about is the big white box in-between your tail right.



Lol

[marc70challenger]

Concerning the squeak. Are you sure (or saying) it's in the trunk. And not underneath?  Rear end or suspension?  If you can't duplicate not moving ...

Not saying it's something bad either. Can you tell if it's right or left?  Under acceleration or deceleration. Over bumps or turns. Etc. ?

Is everything tight?  Gas tank. Filler neck. Exhaust  Etc.

Just some ideas.

[dodj]

I still have some squeaks going on in trunk area (during driving) that I am trying to track down now

Trunk torsion rods. I had to put some foam pipe insulation on mine. Also a little lube on the bushing that slides along the hinge. 

[loco340cuda]

Thanks guys for the feedback on the squeaks.

As I have continued to listen to it I'm suspecting it is the trunk torsion rods.  Dodj thanks for the info on what you did to quite it down, I will have to try that out.

[Mpdlawdog]

Beautiful car!  if you dont mind me asking...why did you paint the front bumper and not the back??