new E body guy from AZ

[desert cuda]

hello all,

I am new to this E body site however not new to the " bodies only" forums. I recently acquired a sad site of a 'Cuda. this derelict shell is all that remains of a once great car. a little history on the car, it is a F8 green 1970 440-6 four speed car that has lived the majority of its life on the track at least since about 1974 in Arizona. the sad part is that it was in a garage in the town of Yarnell Arizona when there was a wild fire that decimated the building.it was going to be sent to the crusher when a friend saved it. he has since decided that he has far to much on his plate ( AAR 'Cuda to complete first) to really give the "phoenix" a shot at being reborn.to i am now it's caretaker, please do not think i am crazy.

 

[moparleo]

Welcome aboard. We are all Mopar crazy. Looks like you have your work cutout for you.

 

[js29]

Welcome aboard from central New York! GOOD luck with that one. When someone tells me I am crazy, I tell them all I need is one more doctor's signature and I will be certified. taken from A line from the t-v show mash

 

[DetMatt1]

Holy sheet! You're crazy but welcome to the site from the Motor City anyways! It's a shame what happened to that car and to think about other treasures of all kinds that get destroyed in these natural disasters.

 

[desert cuda]

its really not as bad as it looks. the car had a 8 pt cage in it that helped save it. the floors are solid as is the inner structure. I work for Restoration Performance Center in Tempe and deal in reproduction sheet metal so its not a big deal but i am trying to save as much of the original parts as possible. the engine was next to the car when it caught fire and was a very sad site. i feel i need to save this car as a tribute to the 19 fire fighters who lost their lives fighting this blaze less than 100 feet from this car. if you are not familiar with the yarnell arizona fire please look it up.

 

[74 challenger]

WOW and welcome to the site. ps were all crazy

 

[gdrill]

Welcome from another newbie. Wow......I feel a whole lot better about mine now!! :icon_mrgreen: That is definitely going to be a challenge.

 

[dongei]

well..........you don't have to grind out any bondo. Super cool find.

 

[desert cuda]

thanks for all the welcomes, and yes we are all crazy. its like a disease, this affliction we have the MoPar brand.they should call this forum the asylum!

 

[DetMatt1]

i feel i need to save this car as a tribute to the 19 fire fighters who lost their lives fighting this blaze less than 100 feet from this car. if you are not familiar with the yarnell arizona fire please look it up.

There are lots of reasons to save it but that's the best one!

 

[challenger6pak]

I agree. It will be a nice dedication to them. Welcome to the site.

 

[desert cuda]

i am thinking about starting a restoration thread to follow the progress of the cuda affectionately dubbed "the Phoenix". we removed the rollcage today and was surprised that the body is trying to pull itself back into shape. the door gap was pretty bad as the rear kinda sagged a little during the fire but after removing the cage it is much less, and even the passenger door opened ( after some convincing on my part with the door latch) things are looking up. next its a parts list to hand over to the boss. wish me luck.:icon_biggrin:

 

[burntorange70]

Welcome to the site. Wow I sure do hope you start a build thread on that one. Be interesting to see it come together.