Restore begins (again x2)

[NorthStar71]

The only silver lining in the past year has been my ability to work from anywhere...as my '71 Cuda 340 is not in my garage, I have been able to finally put some blood, sweat & tears into it!

This is my first car, purchased when I was 15, with the help of my older brother-in-law...who was/is thankfully a Mopar nut. Guess my sister "advised" him not to get a hemi for a 15 y.o

I went thru the engine back in the 80's and think most of the car is original, but it was painted a couple times; cheap brown from Macco, when i bought it for $300 (not running), and yellow by me in high school.

I gutted it with the intention of fixing the rusted out floors, and getting it back on the road years ago. Life, death, family and 2 kids going thru college adjusted my timetable for me!

Couple pics of my (very) amateur adventure. Trunk floor was shot, I didn't want to pull the whole rear panel, so I cut the new floor and fit it back inside & welded

New gas tank, shocks, rear brake lines and sealing all my seams... getting there slowly, but more done in 2 weeks than past 8 years

 

[NorthStar71]

Not sure how to decipher date codes and kinda curious on my 340 parts, anyone able to show this old dog a new trick?

Thermoquad 8024 means what?

correct radiator or not

Intake?

Thanks in advance

 

[NoCar340]

The carb number that matters is stamped into the carburetor base, facing the driver, near the driver's rear bolt hole. The intake manifold is right, the radiator is not (a quick search shows it to be a C-body 360 radiator). It's not entirely impossible that the factory installed it--they did have a habit of grabbing whatever was nearby and worked--but for restoration purposes, it'll never fly w/a show judge.

 

[NorthStar71]

The carb number that matters is stamped into the carburetor base, facing the driver, near the driver's rear bolt hole. The intake manifold is right, the radiator is not (a quick search shows it to be a C-body 360 radiator). It's not entirely impossible that the factory installed it--they did have a habit of grabbing whatever was nearby and worked--but for restoration purposes, it'll never fly w/a show judge.

Thanks, I did have the radiator out and flushed in the 80s bet they gave me a different one back

 

[NoCar340]

That's possible, but no more or less likely than a line substitution (either accidental or intentional). Chrysler didn't stop the assembly line to go find the right part, they threw in whatever would work to keep the line going. These were not hand-crafted specialty cars, they were mass-produced appliances. Nobody cared one whit about "correct" when they were being built. If it fits, it ships.

 

[moparleo]

Go to this site. They have all kinds of free downloads. Service Manuals, decoders...

 

[Zell]

@NorthStar71 Nice work on the trunk. It looks like you put some sort of seem sealer on the trunk pan. What did you use?

 

[NorthStar71]

@NorthStar71 Nice work on the trunk. It looks like you put some sort of seem sealer on the trunk pan. What did you use?

Thanks, actually tested 2 products since it is the trunk area. A fiberglass sealer for wider gaps and the Eastwood caulking tube.
I found the Eastwood seam sealer to be really user friendly and easy to apply, contour, and squeeze into tight spots.

 

[Zell]

Thanks @NorthStar71