1970 4 door cuda?!?!

[ECS]

Some of you know that ECS is involved with building a "ONE of a KIND" Plymouth Concept Vehicle that involves both Chrysler and the DMV. We are assembling an OE type Four Door 1970 Plymouth Cuda. The concept was taken from the ONLY red vehicle that was actually built (and later destroyed) by Chrysler in 1969. We will be covering the process and hope that everyone will join in the pictorial journey as things progress. The vehicle will hopefully be displayed at the 2014-15 SEMA show and be the only one in the World of its kind.

Body Parts Clamped & Tack Welded Together - Incomplete

 

[moparleo]

Looks like a Hollywood prop. If you look closely it is only the left side of a mock-up.

 

[ECS]

Looks like a Hollywood prop. If you look closely it is only the left side of a mock-up.

That was an old photo. Are these photos a bit better to eliminate the appearance of a Hollywood prop?

 

[moparleo]

That looks much better. Keep us up on its progress.

 

[DetMatt1]

I wish it were a hard top but that's interesting.

 

[ECS]

I wish it were a hard top but that's interesting.

It will be a Hardtop! The roof was actually lowered about an inch. We removed the B Body sections and what you see are the E Body panels welded back in place. If you look at the photo of the roof (shown below) the top section was split in order to lower the trajectory so it could be bent DOWN to meet the E Body replacement section. The drip rail section also had to be split apart and re-formed to match the downward slope. The sail panels had to be completely remade from scratch on an English Wheel. The Roof required a lot of engineering changes to work.

 

[johnscudashop]

Nice work.. !!

 

[DetMatt1]

What I'm saying is I wish it weren't going to have a B-pillar which makes it a sedan not a hardtop. I do see a B-pillar, don't I?
Very nice work though and it looks like a fun project.

 

[ECS]

What I'm saying is I wish it weren't going to have a B-pillar which makes it a sedan not a hardtop. I do see a B-pillar, don't I?
Very nice work though and it looks like a fun project.

We are building it the way Chrysler did in 1969. They used the platform of their B Body Line to create the Concept Car. Here is a link to the actual story that was told by a Chrysler Employee who actually saw the Car.

4-Door Barracuda
As an employee of Chrysler Corporation in 1969-70, I had the opportunity to see many things the "general public" never did. Not because I was that important, but because I worked in the mail room and delivering the mail was that important. One such sight was a bright red 1970, 4-door Barracuda. It was parked for only about two days on a kind of loading dock attached to the back of Chrysler's World Headquarters building in their Highland Park complex. This was around November of 1969. The dock seemed to be a temporary holding cell for an assortment of interesting cars. It was the same building Lynn Townsend, Virgil Boyd and more importantly Tom Hoover worked in. Naturally, Chrysler never made a 4-door Barracuda but the one I saw looked surprisingly good. I always assumed it was created around a B-body chassis because the proportions still looked just right despite the obvious body stretch necessary to pull it off. Having seen this car is even more significant now since the Autoweek story about Ford using their new Mustang platform to build other, less sporty cars - like a 4-door.

http://musclecaravenue.com/

(Look at the section that is listed about halfway down the page for the story.)

 

[ECS]

Nice work.. !!

Thank you! We decided to do this project because after completing 3 OE Cars in a span of 8 years, the work was no longer challenging or exciting. You can only visit the same watering hole before it becomes boring and routine! We thought it would be fun/different to build a "Concept Car" that had actually been made by Chrysler but never available to the Public!

Here are a few photos from earlier stages of the project. These illustrate some of the major reconstructive measures that were taken to convert the "conventional" body panels. It has been a difficult engineering challenge with many twists and turns along the way. Steve Been is a Master Technician when it comes to metal fabrication. This one of a kind oddity will certainly raise some eyebrows when complete! Stayed tuned.

2 Door Cuda (left) - 4 Door Cuda (right) Quarter Panel

2 Door Cuda (left) - 4 Door Cuda (right) Quarter Panel

Trunk Floor - Inner Wheel Well

Quarter Panel in place - noticed custom rolled & crimped edge

Front Clip & Spot Welds

 

[ECS]

Here are a couple of the front after most of it had been assembled. It is "weird" to see the car from the side and have 4 openings behind the front & rear Cuda assembly. We have a feature in one of the Mopar magazines (coming soon) showing the complete "Body in White". Stayed tuned as we continue to post progression photos of the assembly process.

 

[moparleo]

Since you say you like a change of pace, how about something that people would buy. How about a 1970 4 door wagon? Ala Magnum ?

 

[DetMatt1]

I understand what you're doing and respect it very much but make the next one without a B-pillar.

 

[a68postcar]

well brother, if its a challenge you seek. then this is it. get after it. keep us updated. pretty cool.

 

[ECS]

I understand what you're doing and respect it very much but make the next one without a B-pillar.

There has to be a B Pillar! If the B Pillar was removed, there would be no place to bolt on the extra set of doors. (lol) If you are referring to the "post" that separates the windows, there is no configuration that would work unless you used a C Body design. The original Concept car was based on a 4 door B Body so we are keeping this re-creation true to the original body design. We don't want anyone to think we are claiming this car will represent the original red 4 door made in 1969. It will be a different color and incorporate a few additional options that were actually available for an E Body vehicle.

 

[burntorange70]

Going to be strange to see an extra set of doors on a Challenger. LOL Nice work on it so far. Good luck with the rest of the build.

 

[DetMatt1]

Yep, See how nice it looks on the C-bodies?

 

[ECS]

Yep, See how nice it looks on the C-bodies?

Here are some rough preliminary drawings for the design of the car. It will NOT have a Shaker Hood as in the sketch. We plan on using a Rally Hood and a Luggage Rack on the Trunk. The vinyl top will be a Gator Grain design.

 

[DetMatt1]

Looks great that way! I don't ever see myself having a 4-door sedan but I do love a 4-door hdtp.

 

[ECS]

Here are a few pictures showing some previous assembly stages. One of the photos shows Bill Embree assisting with the the process. He is the Gentleman that was a career Employee of the St. Louis Chrysler Assembly Plant. He was actually involved in the building of the Car Bodies at that Facility. He said that many of the "hand assembly" stages of those vehicles were similar to what we experienced with this project. His input has been priceless!

Steve Been Spot Welding the Inner Fender Halves

Cowl Panel Body Stamping

Horizontal View of Driver Side

Bill Embree (knelling at the passenger side door opening) helping to access the "squaring" of the Body Panels