What to look for rust-wise on a 1972 Cuda

[mdh157]

Hello,

I may be buying a 1972 Cuda 340/AT, hemi orange car; however, i have not looked at it yet. I am new to e bodies but not new to the car hobby. My question is, what should i be looking for rust-wise on the car that is a pain to replace or would make it a parts car, etc?

Also, they are asking for $9000......is that the going rate for a car needing a resto? I know it needs a trunk pan, which the owner says he has, have no other info besides that. What will this car be worth when it's done?

 

[roadrunnerman]

if it needs atrunk floor then i would look under the main floor and also the crossmember.check the trunk extensions and lower quarters,doors,front fenders.Look very closely at the metal under the window chrome trim.Look inside the front fenders toward the headlight area.Check out the front suspension and ask owner when the last time it was driven on the road. Somebody else here can give a little more.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Well the trunk floor , drops , rear 1/4s and the seam under the rear of the door where the 1/4 joins the rocker are common areas , also any folded over body seam , bottom of the doors , trunk lids etc .
9000 for a 72 needing a resto seems high to me , so far after 2 years the best I was offered was 7k for my rotisserie restored everything new front to back 71 Charger r/t 440 4spd clone that 50k was spent on it to restore .So the 72 Cuda could be worth maybe 20k ?

 

[moparleo]

Does it run? If so, I would get it up in the air with a strong flash light, Check everything you can see for rust. Around the front and rear windshield moldings, under the hood, inner fender whells,under battery box,around the hood hinge area. Rust is not your friend, If the owner doesn't let you get a thorough inspection, pass on it.

 

[projectmopar]

The information members provided covers about everything for E-bodies.

I made the biggest mistake of everyone when purchasing my E-body. Flew in from Denver CO to Bear Lake MN, took an hour to look at the car, made the purchase and flew back out (all within an afternoon).

Once car was home and really getting to look at it, I should have walked away from it in MN. Rear quarters, rear window pan, trunk lid, trunk floor pan, floor patches and so on. Took the car completely down to pieces made the needed body repairs then upgraded every piece to the latest class trend for performance. $$$$$$$$$$$ The good thing was all the good original parts that had been upgraded sold for as much as the new items cost helping offset some of the the build cost.

:wav:​