tklockwood
Well-Known Member
I am re-building my 'Cuda. The first time I did this car was in 1989. I did not have the maturity or resources that I have now so the car turned out pretty good but not as good as I had hoped for. This is my 7th 'Cuda, and the one I plan to keep forever. This is a 1972 340 'Cuda that was originally kind of a petty blue color with a white interior and a white vinyl top. I bought it as a body shell with an 8 3/4 rear end. No other parts were included. No doors, hood, fenders, interior, wiring, front suspension. Nothing. I assembled it using mostly parts from a 1970 car that was too rusty to save. I painted it white because I wanted to. I like white cars. For most of its life it has had mismatched side markers and 70 parts up front. I also used an AAR hood, rear spoiler, and Supertrapp mufflers out the side like the AARs had. The Supertrapps are long gone.
The trunk had some rust issues that I "solved" by fiber-glassing over it since replacement parts were not available at the time. A couple of other very minor rust issues were patched in steel. I converted it from an automatic to a four speed using parts from the 70 donor car. I like sticks. I also used the 383 from the 70 car. Sometime in the late 90s a "friend" of mine managed to hit it with the open tailgate of his truck when it started in reverse and hit my car while it was parked in my garage. That pushed the tail panel into a more pronounced curve than it was supposed to have, andpulled the top of the tail panel down causing the trunk opening to be distorted. This was going to take some work to fix. By then I was a single dad raising a daughter mostly by myself, and dealing with a divorce. The car sat. And sat. And now I want my car back again. I have moved from Illinois back to Minnesota, and I have the tools and garage and most of the cash to fix the car.
I started out by picking up a trunk floor and a 1970 tail panel. Some time ago I found 1970 tail lights at a swap meet and since the front is already 70, and I prefer 70 I am turning it into a 70. No judgements please. The car will still be titled as a 72 and will never be sold. I am building it my way. For me. So I started by cutting the tail panel out. That first cut was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Once I had started and was committed it got easier. I got the tail panel out and then started on the trunk floor. Luckily the fiberglass had actually separated from the rusty floor and I was able to peel it off and throw it away.
Here is the 'Cuda sitting in the garage before I started on it.
Here the tail panel and trunk floor have been removed.
Here I was putting the gas tank braces on the bottom of the trunk floor before installing it in the car.
This shows a quick test fit before I added the braces, and then the braces before I welded them on. More to follow...
The trunk had some rust issues that I "solved" by fiber-glassing over it since replacement parts were not available at the time. A couple of other very minor rust issues were patched in steel. I converted it from an automatic to a four speed using parts from the 70 donor car. I like sticks. I also used the 383 from the 70 car. Sometime in the late 90s a "friend" of mine managed to hit it with the open tailgate of his truck when it started in reverse and hit my car while it was parked in my garage. That pushed the tail panel into a more pronounced curve than it was supposed to have, andpulled the top of the tail panel down causing the trunk opening to be distorted. This was going to take some work to fix. By then I was a single dad raising a daughter mostly by myself, and dealing with a divorce. The car sat. And sat. And now I want my car back again. I have moved from Illinois back to Minnesota, and I have the tools and garage and most of the cash to fix the car.
I started out by picking up a trunk floor and a 1970 tail panel. Some time ago I found 1970 tail lights at a swap meet and since the front is already 70, and I prefer 70 I am turning it into a 70. No judgements please. The car will still be titled as a 72 and will never be sold. I am building it my way. For me. So I started by cutting the tail panel out. That first cut was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Once I had started and was committed it got easier. I got the tail panel out and then started on the trunk floor. Luckily the fiberglass had actually separated from the rusty floor and I was able to peel it off and throw it away.
Here is the 'Cuda sitting in the garage before I started on it.
Here the tail panel and trunk floor have been removed.
Here I was putting the gas tank braces on the bottom of the trunk floor before installing it in the car.
This shows a quick test fit before I added the braces, and then the braces before I welded them on. More to follow...
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