73 Cuda assembly questions & parts needed

[hotwheels63r2]

I have a nice little Cuda here that is a shell. I have several boxes of parts, trying to assemble this thing and I have some questions:

Could anyone tell me if the door lock cylinder clips onto the door skin, or is there some sort of bezel that holds it to the door handle? I see 2 screw holes on the back of the handle. What holds it all together?

What color was the wiper motor? cad plate?

Anyone have some headliner bow clips or know where to get them?

Thanks in advance.

 

[burdar]

There was a "C" shaped retainer that held the lock cylinders to the door handles. The retainer was held on with two philips head screws.

The two speed wiper motors were painted black. The three speed motors were natural aluminum. The barrel was plated zinc dichromate. That's the yellow/gold plating.

The headliner bows just snap into the holes in the roof. Are you talking about the two wire clips that attach to the rear bow and above the rear window? I believe RestoRick makes repros of those wire pieces.

 

[hotwheels63r2]

?

Thanks for the heads up on the C clips, I knew something went there. Anyone have some?

Well, looking close now it has a 'new' roof. There are these clips that snap on the edge of a hole, 10 of them were in place. I thought the headliner bows snap into them. That is why the clips broke, the bows do not go there?

Looking for how the seatbelts mount. I have just a bunch of bolts, I snuged them down and they do not get tight. most cars use a spacer of some sort, I assume these got lost too?

The seat belts had media blasting material throughout!! Be sure you remove seatbelts when doing this, whoever did it almost ruined them.

I have a repro headliner, the B pillar side boards look like they wrap around little spikes. I assume there is some glue needed, and I see 1 screw hole not yet punched out. Does a screw and a trim washer go here? Seems like it does not fit 'tight' Does the 1/4 trim panel or the seat help hold it in place?


The Year One seat covers fit nice, can't wait to finish carpet and headliner and drop in the seats!


I wish I had 3 Cudas to look at side by side right now.

 

[burdar]

My 73 Challenger's headliner bows just snapped into the holes in the roof. There are three holes that are in a trianglar pattern. You just have to pic a hole and see how the headliner fits. I think earlier years used separate clips to hold the bows but I think 73 should just snap inplace. Challengers don't use a sail board like the Cudas so I'm no help there.

As far as the seat belt bolts, you should have three different lengths. Each length has a different marking on the head. The longest ones(2) attach the belts to the trans tunnel. The shortest ones(4) attach the retractors and belts behind the rear seat. The four medium length bolts attach the front retractors and the shoulder belts.

 

[hotwheels63r2]

Oh boy!

So if someone put a roof from a 71 or something on here, I'd have to guesstimate where to drill........

I see the bolts are different lengths for the seat belts, but even the short bolts bottom out before the bracket is 'tight' to the floor. (rear belts) rattle, rattle......

Thanks so far.

 

[burdar]

The seat belt bolts have a shoulder on them. They will only tighten up so far. That allows the belts to move around. My rear bolts held the belts tight but all the other ones let the belts move around. If you post what numbers are on your rear bolts, I can compare them to mine.

The headliner bows attach to the roof frame....not the roof skin. Are you saying that the roof frame was replaced on your car too? Posting a picture of the roof may help.

 

[challenger6pak]

I agree post a pic. It sounds like you have the wedge shaped clips that hold a 1970 headliner.

 

[hotwheels63r2]

Yes, if that is the last year for the triangle spring clips, that is what I have. It looks like they took the roof and inner structure from another car.

When I put the headliner bows up there, it spread the clips open and broke a few.

Now I see there is no way the end of the bows will fit these, I wonder if all I need are the bows from a 70 Cuda? Should I try to cut the ends off? and why did they change? will the bows even fit ? This car is a 73, I assume the bows are original to the car, they have a 'bend' on each end.


For lock cylinder rods/ door handle to latch, or anything else:

I used rods from the inner door handle to the latch from a Neon, you could use f*rd escort, or one from many newer car.

I took used inside door handle rods (us body guys save them for things like this)
I placed the door handle I had on the bench opposite the other handle. (rods point to each other)

Bend the rod 90 degrees, try to copy other bends (opposite ) cut the rod the length only when you think it looks good. ( leave it long and do the last 90 degree bend after a test fit)


ANd thanks a ton guys and gals!! I'll post some pictures to verify all this!!

The plastic clips that hold the rod ends can be found at body/paint stores, NAPA, pull a part, etc. Even MOPAR dealers should stock them.

 

[challenger6pak]

The rods are different for the 70. My guess is that they changed to save money. The rods without the clips took less assembly time and less parts. When you build 100,000 cars little things add up. You can use the rods for a 70 with the 70 headliner or drill holes for the new 73 headliner. If you drill holes they need to be in the right place. You also have to be careful you don't go through the outer part of the roof when making the holes. Too bad it is not a 71 roof. They had provisions for both set ups. Next question. Have you tried your sunvisiors? If you have 73's the holes in the roof should be too big to mount them. 73's do not have the long rod that attaches to the rear view mirror. 70's do. I have encountered this and know a fix for it.

 

[burdar]

I looked at my rear seat belt bolts last night. THey all say C13 on the head and are silver zinc plated.