SuperDuty455
Member
Hello,
Now that I'm about to get a small block and transmission, it's time for the real work to begin on my 1970 'Cuda. For the little story, check my presentation post, but basically I got extremely lucky, and after 15 years of research, I had the opportunity to buy a 1970 Cuda that had been sitting for three years only 1km away from me, in a small town in the north of France next to Dunkirk (yes that Dunkirk).
But first a quick description of my car, it's a 1970 'Cuda 340 automatic, BS23H0B190959, that currently has a 1978 440 HP and matching 727 from an A38 Police Patrol car...or at least that's the most likely origin of that engine and trans as the partial VIN indicates it's from a car built in 1978 in a factory that made B-Body car, and which B-Body cars got a 440 HP in 1978 ? A38 Police cars.
According to the fender tag, it was scheduled for November 14th 1969. It was originally FE5 Rally Red with the black vinyl top, and V6X black hockey stripes, and some nice options : power disc brakes, console, Rally gauges, AM 8 track stereo, all the chrome moldings as well as the tail panel molding.
No build sheet, I suspect the seats may not be originals, the front seats had already been reupholstered. There was no carpet when I got it, and no headliner, and it was not hidden in the dashboard. Nothing under the package tray either. So it's gone, or it was never there.
Body wise, outside of the trunk floor, and an unfinished repair on the driver floor, it's quite solid. Some other repairs were done in the past though, both trunk drop offs are patched up, and the front lower corners of the rear wheel arches also had been patched up (not very well, I'll have to fix that). It's also apparent that the roof was straightened, there are signs of hammer and dolly work all over. Though it looks like a good job. There are a handful of small rust holes that will need to be addressed as well, but really nothing very important. That's why I purchased it, the overall condition was really good and didn't need major work like frame rails or entire body panels replaced.
Here it is in the garage just after I drove it home :
And my brother and I shared a local beer for a happy time, he had just purchased that rare Maserati Karif you can see next to it :
At the time my brother and I were running a classic car shop, here it was with a few friends :
Then...I had to shut down the business and a bunch of different things happened, and it sat...again, in a private parking lot where I did do a few small repairs. It was staying next to @Vettfab 1970 Barracuda 170ci but I can't find a photo of them together...
As you can see, it has mint 15" Rally wheels and new tires, they came with the car. It's also really low in the front...that 440 isn't exactly light, the rubber bumpers are touching the frame... :
With my Mercury Capri (extremely rare cars in France, likely less than 10 in the country) :
As I explained in my presnetation post, the main problem with it is how sluggish it felt driving. When it's static, the engine responds well and sounds great, like it wants to go, but as soon as I drive it, the power is gone. Whether you press the pedal slightly of to the metal, it makes no difference. You can hear the gears change...somewhat, as everything is horribly loud. And fuel consumption is ludicrous. So driving it is a chore...
Here's the 440 HP as I saw it the first time :
It has a 1971 intake manifold, points distributor, a crudely adapted alternator mount made with an AC bracket.
One of the first things I purchased is the kickdown linkage for the transmission, it was absent. That was the first bad sign, I imagined it would cause issues but it didn't correct anything.
The carburetor is a Carter AFB 9626S, apparently it's an 625cfm aftermarket version from the 90s.
Now that I'm about to get a small block and transmission, it's time for the real work to begin on my 1970 'Cuda. For the little story, check my presentation post, but basically I got extremely lucky, and after 15 years of research, I had the opportunity to buy a 1970 Cuda that had been sitting for three years only 1km away from me, in a small town in the north of France next to Dunkirk (yes that Dunkirk).
But first a quick description of my car, it's a 1970 'Cuda 340 automatic, BS23H0B190959, that currently has a 1978 440 HP and matching 727 from an A38 Police Patrol car...or at least that's the most likely origin of that engine and trans as the partial VIN indicates it's from a car built in 1978 in a factory that made B-Body car, and which B-Body cars got a 440 HP in 1978 ? A38 Police cars.
According to the fender tag, it was scheduled for November 14th 1969. It was originally FE5 Rally Red with the black vinyl top, and V6X black hockey stripes, and some nice options : power disc brakes, console, Rally gauges, AM 8 track stereo, all the chrome moldings as well as the tail panel molding.
No build sheet, I suspect the seats may not be originals, the front seats had already been reupholstered. There was no carpet when I got it, and no headliner, and it was not hidden in the dashboard. Nothing under the package tray either. So it's gone, or it was never there.
Body wise, outside of the trunk floor, and an unfinished repair on the driver floor, it's quite solid. Some other repairs were done in the past though, both trunk drop offs are patched up, and the front lower corners of the rear wheel arches also had been patched up (not very well, I'll have to fix that). It's also apparent that the roof was straightened, there are signs of hammer and dolly work all over. Though it looks like a good job. There are a handful of small rust holes that will need to be addressed as well, but really nothing very important. That's why I purchased it, the overall condition was really good and didn't need major work like frame rails or entire body panels replaced.
Here it is in the garage just after I drove it home :
And my brother and I shared a local beer for a happy time, he had just purchased that rare Maserati Karif you can see next to it :
At the time my brother and I were running a classic car shop, here it was with a few friends :
Then...I had to shut down the business and a bunch of different things happened, and it sat...again, in a private parking lot where I did do a few small repairs. It was staying next to @Vettfab 1970 Barracuda 170ci but I can't find a photo of them together...
As you can see, it has mint 15" Rally wheels and new tires, they came with the car. It's also really low in the front...that 440 isn't exactly light, the rubber bumpers are touching the frame... :
With my Mercury Capri (extremely rare cars in France, likely less than 10 in the country) :
As I explained in my presnetation post, the main problem with it is how sluggish it felt driving. When it's static, the engine responds well and sounds great, like it wants to go, but as soon as I drive it, the power is gone. Whether you press the pedal slightly of to the metal, it makes no difference. You can hear the gears change...somewhat, as everything is horribly loud. And fuel consumption is ludicrous. So driving it is a chore...
Here's the 440 HP as I saw it the first time :
It has a 1971 intake manifold, points distributor, a crudely adapted alternator mount made with an AC bracket.
One of the first things I purchased is the kickdown linkage for the transmission, it was absent. That was the first bad sign, I imagined it would cause issues but it didn't correct anything.
The carburetor is a Carter AFB 9626S, apparently it's an 625cfm aftermarket version from the 90s.
