Cloning a 71 Cuda from a 74

[sluvxe]

Whats different on the body?

Planning on new fenders/hood/grille/ Headlight buckets?

What all should i need for a front clip? How much stuff will bolt right up, or only needs holes drilled for mounts? Which stuff will need new mounts?

Also Tail panel, Just cut out old one and replace with 70/71 tail panel? Year appropriate bumpers will bolt up?

 

[moparleo]

What is the point if it isn't real? It will cost the same to fix a destroyed 71 than to fake one.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

well you need a new front valance , totally different for 71 as well as the turn siganls , the header panel to support the grills is different too , the whole front clip should bolt on no problem but the bumper brackets are different as are the frame mounts locations as theyhad to have 5 mph bumpers in 73 .
Tail panel will weld in , you need different tailights & , the rear lock is different as is the release mech & cover

 

[sluvxe]

well you need a new front valance , totally different for 71 as well as the turn siganls , the header panel to support the grills is different too , the whole front clip should bolt on no problem but the bumper brackets are different as are the frame mounts locations as theyhad to have 5 mph bumpers in 73 .
Tail panel will weld in , you need different tailights & , the rear lock is different as is the release mech & cover

Amd Metal has good fitment? Ive thought of getting some older stuff, but fixing a fender will cost almost as much as just buying one around here. Is the rear valence/bumper different aswell? Should fit without modifying the quarters?

Also, 71 bodies are pretty hard to find, and kinda pricey, even more so if it came with a Big block or 340 even if it isnt there now. Vs the 74 im going to get in the morning, which is mostly rust free and essentially the same unibody.

 

[moparleo]

Rust free doesn't matter if you are going to replace all the sheetmetal anyway. In the end, you will have a car that nobody will want to buy. A 74 wearing 71 sheetmetal is just that, a 74. You say you want something cheap but the work you want to do to it will cost a small fortune unless you are going to do the all the metal work your self. Again, what is the point of doing this ? It can't be to make money unless you try to pass it off for something it isn't. How much do you think it is going to cost to do this "clone job" ?

 

[sluvxe]

Rust free doesn't matter if you are going to replace all the sheetmetal anyway. In the end, you will have a car that nobody will want to buy. A 74 wearing 71 sheetmetal is just that, a 74. You say you want something cheap but the work you want to do to it will cost a small fortune unless you are going to do the all the metal work your self. Again, what is the point of doing this ? It can't be to make money unless you try to pass it off for something it isn't. How much do you think it is going to cost to do this "clone job" ?

It certainly isnt to make money, nor do i having any intention of resale what so ever. The mopar community and the restoration community at large is obsessed with profit, how much their car is worth, matching numbers ect ect.

Mopars have never, and will never be about profit, or how much its worth in dollars. It was always be about having an awesome car thats fun to drive and looks the way i want. I dont want/need a showcar, i dont go to carshows, carlisle, but i might hit the strip on occasion for fun with my dad.

Replacing floors/quarters and lots of other areas with lots of rust all over is high dollar restore territory. More so than starting with a fairly rust free body and cloning from there even if it isnt exactly as ma mopar intended underneath the carpet.

Starting from a rotted out husk of a car that needs significant sheetmetal(if were talking a true 71 here) will easily be 20k by the time the body is done, esp when you consider that someone is going to want 5-10k for that 71. So yeah i feel that cloning is a bit more cost effective to get a look you want, without paying collector/resale prices. Esp considering that some of these cars change hands 5-6 times before they wind up with someone that keeps it.(and then prolly sticks it in a garage and never drives it lol)

 

[Chryco Psycho]

As a keeper / fun car to drive it makes sense , no reason to not biuild what you want , at least it is not a loss of a very valuable car if it is hit / distroyed at some point , just keep it insured enough to cover your replacement .
I think Leo is just trying to make sure you have thought this out , & are not expecting to sell it for large $$ down the road if you get in a bind & have to sell it .
Personally I would do a 70 AAR over a 71 but that is me .

 

[sluvxe]

As a keeper / fun car to drive it makes sense , no reason to not biuild what you want , at least it is not a loss of a very valuable car if it is hit / distroyed at some point , just keep it insured enough to cover your replacement .
I think Leo is just trying to make sure you have thought this out , & are not expecting to sell it for large $$ down the road if you get in a bind & have to sell it .
Personally I would do a 70 AAR over a 71 but that is me .

Well i generally prefer challengers over cudas except for the challenger body lines. So its the headlights/body lines/fish gills that get me on cudas. I really like the new challenger body lines alot.

That being said, looks like im skipping the car i was going to get due not being able to get it here. But i have a heavy work schedule this week which means more money to buy something thats closer to what i want.

 

[ODSVET]

What is the point if it isn't real? It will cost the same to fix a destroyed 71 than to fake one.

that's just retarded, how could back dating a 74 to a 71 cost more than repairing a destroyed car ?

 

[ODSVET]

It certainly isnt to make money, nor do i having any intention of resale what so ever. The mopar community and the restoration community at large is obsessed with profit, how much their car is worth, matching numbers ect ect.

Mopars have never, and will never be about profit, or how much its worth in dollars. It was always be about having an awesome car thats fun to drive and looks the way i want. I dont want/need a showcar, i dont go to carshows, carlisle, but i might hit the strip on occasion for fun with my dad.

Replacing floors/quarters and lots of other areas with lots of rust all over is high dollar restore territory. More so than starting with a fairly rust free body and cloning from there even if it isnt exactly as ma mopar intended underneath the carpet.

Starting from a rotted out husk of a car that needs significant sheetmetal(if were talking a true 71 here) will easily be 20k by the time the body is done, esp when you consider that someone is going to want 5-10k for that 71. So yeah i feel that cloning is a bit more cost effective to get a look you want, without paying collector/resale prices. Esp considering that some of these cars change hands 5-6 times before they wind up with someone that keeps it.(and then prolly sticks it in a garage and never drives it lol)

20k to get a rusted , clapped out body ready for paint ? maybe at macco ..

 

[CoronetRTguy]

If my memory is correct a 70 and 71 Barracuda/Cuda fenders are the same with the exception of 71 Cuda having the gills in them but Barracuda doesnt. You can get the gills and cut the 70 fenders and weld them back in.

 

[ODSVET]

If my memory is correct a 70 and 71 Barracuda/Cuda fenders are the same with the exception of 71 Cuda having the gills in them but Barracuda doesnt. You can get the gills and cut the 70 fenders and weld them back in.

exactly, they sell the panels

 

[CoronetRTguy]

exactly, they sell the panels

thought they did the worst thing would be linning it up and cutting it..whooops the sides dont match up and whoops its parked next to a real 71 Cuda and my gills are off.......

I think MOPAR Muscle or MOPAR Collectors guide a few years back did it on a set of fenders and had the messurments as well.

 

[sluvxe]

20k to get a rusted , clapped out body ready for paint ? maybe at macco ..

Apparently you havent seen what people think these cars are worth.

This one Sold on this site!
http://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4933

@10k Needing quarters roof trunk, prolly other stuff to get the body together, although it came with the panels. Grille needed replaced/or fixed. Still didnt have fish gills fenders or a shaker(which i would want) and cutting the fenders to add gills really just doesnt sound like a great idea unless your really good at doing it.

So right there thats most of the front clip anyways. So your going to tell me that starting with a body that doesnt need a roof/quarters/floor/trunk. (for 2k instead of 10k). IS gonna be more expensive? Even if you do the work yourself, isnt your time worth money?

In all honesty, a car that doesnt come with all its numbers matching bits, really isnt all that collectable vs another car. And restoring cars isnt my job or where i make money. I wanna put a car together my way and DRIVE it around, not wax it in my garage and look at how pretty it is, then trailer it to car shows so other people can look at how pretty it is.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

Apparently you havent seen what people think these cars are worth.

This one Sold on this site!
http://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4933

@10k Needing quarters roof trunk, prolly other stuff to get the body together, although it came with the panels. Grille needed replaced/or fixed. Still didnt have fish gills fenders or a shaker(which i would want) and cutting the fenders to add gills really just doesnt sound like a great idea unless your really good at doing it.

So right there thats most of the front clip anyways. So your going to tell me that starting with a body that doesnt need a roof/quarters/floor/trunk. (for 2k instead of 10k). IS gonna be more expensive? Even if you do the work yourself, isnt your time worth money?

In all honesty, a car that doesnt come with all its numbers matching bits, really isnt all that collectable vs another car. And restoring cars isnt my job or where i make money. I wanna put a car together my way and DRIVE it around, not wax it in my garage and look at how pretty it is, then trailer it to car shows so other people can look at how pretty it is.

Why dont you look for a 71 Barracuda and be done with it and add the fender. I do believe AMD makes the fenders.

If you are going to do a lot of sheet metal work yourself well cutting the fenders shouldnt be that big of a deal. I would worry about cutting to put a new roof on, putting quarters on, putting tail panel on, putting floors in, putting rockers, inner fenders on the car and the list goes on. That is the structure of the car, cut that and not have it braced right and well forget it you got a paper weight.

If all you want to do is drive around in a clone car save your time and money and get a clone car.

AMD also makes a shaker hood for the Cuda and you can buy that straight out its not like it used to be. We had to buy a flat hood and cut the shaker out if we wanted that.

I think maybe you are taking on a project that will not only be time and cost effective but beyond the skill set you have as of right now. I think in the long run you would be better off just buying a 71 after you save up for it.

The reason these cars are so high is because of the demand for them and people will pay the price for them. I can probly find a nice 71 Barracuda driver for 20-25 grand.

I really think you would be way a head of the game to do it that way then try to do the body work yourself. I see restored and clone cars going for half of the price they were a few years ago let a long the price of the restoration work that was done to it.

My dad did body work all his life, Ive seen him cut cars in half and put them back to factory specs (if not better, they allowed so much of a fraction to be off) and it was a work of art.

I've seen his cars up against a guy who also did it for a living and called himself a pro but when both cars were sitting beside each other you could tell who put the time in and effort in to do the work and who also knew what they were doing.

I have seen my dad fixes guys cars that cut the structure with out bracing and fix it but it took some time and a lot of cash to fix that.

That 340 Cuda you posted not a bad deal at all on it I think all it need was quarters put on and if that is all man what a steal on that car.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

Oh and really on matching numbers it will fetch more in the long run but if someone really wants a 71 they will pay for it and not worry about it.

I think you just want a driver but want it at 1977-1980s prices before they took off in the market and well that isnt going to happen anymore.

Wasnt someone making 71 Cuda bodies? I know they did the Camaro and 55 chevy and the 67 Mustang. If they did do the Cuda body that may be your best way to go as well.

You have deep pocket dreams on a 71 Cuda as we all have those type of dreams for the car we really want.

 

[sluvxe]

Thats just the thing RTGuy, 72-74 Unibodys are virtually the same as 70/71, but cost significantly less. If im buying up essentially a new front clip anyways, whats the difference? Swapping parts is much easier than doing body work, even a front clip.

I just passed on a very very solid 73 cuda for 2k because i didnt want the title headache. And it is my preference not to do crap loads of body work if i dont have to. Either way im sure itll be closer to 10k before i find what im looking for. Esp since im also looking at challengers aswell.

Also in 1980, my dad bought a 71 se/rt for a thousand bucks. i doubt well ever see prices like that again. But ill be damned if im gonna pay 5-10k for a rotted out cannibalized husk. Those are for people who have deep pockets and dont care what it costs, just because it came with special numbers, though most of the original stuff is missing.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

Thats just the thing RTGuy, 72-74 Unibodys are virtually the same as 70/71, but cost significantly less. If im buying up essentially a new front clip anyways, whats the difference? Swapping parts is much easier than doing body work, even a front clip.

I just passed on a very very solid 73 cuda for 2k because i didnt want the title headache. And it is my preference not to do crap loads of body work if i dont have to. Either way im sure itll be closer to 10k before i find what im looking for. Esp since im also looking at challengers aswell.

Also in 1980, my dad bought a 71 se/rt for a thousand bucks. i doubt well ever see prices like that again. But ill be damned if im gonna pay 5-10k for a rotted out cannibalized husk. Those are for people who have deep pockets and dont care what it costs, just because it came with special numbers, though most of the original stuff is missing.

Can you send me the link to that 73 Cuda in a pm? Also what kind of title mess?

Yeah well the tail panel if you find a 73-74 Barracuda/Cuda and then repaint it and change out the front end I still think your best thing to do is buy a running Barracua/Cuda. Dont forget you will have to change out the quarter panel section with the side marker lights and buy the side marker lights as well.

Oh so you are looking at Challengers as well. I had a 70 R/T bought it in 1996 for $350.00 bucks with a 70 SE parts car. The R/T had the build sheet all body numbers matched but was missing the dash vin. I was going to restore it and enjoy it but put my 70 Coronet R/T on ebay and it shot up to 8000 in about a half of a day and I was like why is that happening. I did a little research and talked to Galen found out my Coronet R/T was a one of one.

I sold the Challengers for 3500.00 and started to work on the Coronet. I then had a stroke and worked stopped. I now have a 96 LT4 Vette and miss owning a MOPAR so I'm looking to get one again.

How far you willing to drive? I got a guy in Texas who just bought a 73 Cuda and knows a lot about MOPARs I can have him look around.

I still think by the time you put a whole front clip, quarters rear tail panel and all the parts to make it look correct outside you will be better off buying a 71 Barracuda or Cuda.

There is an AAR Cuda on ebay right now buy it now price for 11 thousand.

I will dig around and if I see anything I will pass it along to you.

 

[sluvxe]

Well around 10k id find something decent around.here wont be long now till i have that though.

The 73 is gone now though will post pics of it if interested later when i get home.

 

[ODSVET]

if you post a link to an actual AAR 'cuda for 11k I'll buy it right now