1970barracuda

Side panels

2012-01-23T04:56:00.000-08:00

As they say, anyone can restore a classic but it takes a real man to cut one up! So I attacked the original rear side panels with a saw to make room for the main loop of the roll bar.

The old plastic really emits a bad odor when cut or grinded.

Looks like a big hole but actually I tried to make it as small as possible, keeping in mind that the panel and the roll bar have to be installed as well. Of course this hole cannot be left like it is, even though the rear bench will not leave many angles to look at it once everything is installed back in the car.

So i formed a piece of plastic board to cover the hole. The plastic is easy to work with, you can form it under a heat gun, once cooled off, it retains its shape.

Almost there, now all i have to do is repaint the panel, but as it has already undergone a colorchange from brown to red I'm sure that will not be a problem.

Winter

2012-01-18T05:53:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally tightend its grip on my neighbourhood. Sub zero temperatures and snowfall are prohibitive to getting the 'Cuda out, so there's plenty of time to work in the garage! More to come in the next weeks...

Finished rollbar

2012-01-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

I just got fresh pics of the finished rollbar from Marcus of Prototech! I am delighted with the level of workmanship and the overall results. It was a great experience working with Marcus.

I will adapt the rear side panels around the rollbar and reinstall them.

More cool

2012-01-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

As the 'Cuda is currently out of the house, I've spent some time to tie some loose ends together. Parts of the airconditioning have been laying around forever so I cleaned them up. I am far from certain that I will ever install the aircondition - since I don't think it blends well with the racing attitude that the car currently leaning to - but I surely won't pack the parts away dirty and rusty as they were.

Cleaned up and freshly painted where the original finish was too bad to be left alone.

The whole systen including a new dryer. What's missing is s the compressor which is in the car right now and the radiator which seems to be beyond repair, at least with my skills and capabilities.

More bars

2012-01-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

The rollbar is taking shape and of course it doesn't end on the package tray. Bracing goes vertically down to the shock crossmember and to the rear, onto the trunk floor, right where the framerails are. The primered patches will be painted in body color, the bars will become semigloss black.

An additional brace is led from the top of the passenger side to the bottom of the driver side just behind the rear seat, creating more stiffness.

Let's roll

2012-01-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

The 'Cuda is currently recieving a roll bar to beef up the stiffness of the unibody. *I do hope I'll never be in need of its virtues in case of a rollover* Marcus Lipp of "Prototech" is performing the work. Marcus graduated in automotive engineering, does a lot of work on vintage racecars and refuses to seek solutions that are "just for show" and will not be functional. We decided on a bolt in version for the rollbar that can be taken out and ties in with all the interior panels and the stock back seat.

The mounts on the speaker panel are raised, to clear the seatback of the rear bench. The crossmember is also bolted and can be removed for better vision through the rear window. There is also additional bracing in the trunk, connecting the bar to the upper shock mounting points and the rear frame rails.

Before completion the rollbar will be powdercoated in semigloss black finish.

Hard hat

2011-12-12T03:44:00.000-08:00

I picked up some instant style with a period correct seventies Helmet. Courtesy of "Toxic Tom", a true artist with the paintgun and long brush! The deep metalflake really comes out in the sunshine, unfortunately there isn't a lot of sunshine in this part of the world in the middle of december...

The gold leaf digits reflect the build year of the 'Cuda, so I guess that pretty much defines weather I'm ever going to sell the car or not *Hararar*

Take a seat

2011-12-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

They don't recline, they dont swing forward and they're not adjustable. Nevertheless, I picked up a set of contemporary sport seats to have a little more support while cornering. The red blends in well with the rest of the interior. I want to have them easily interchangeable with the original seats and mount them for the more sporting trips with the 'Cuda!

Having a ...

2011-11-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

Time for a break!

Fuel pump

2011-11-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

I don't need it at the moment, but if a bigger engine should come along one day, I have this electric fuel pump waiting. The aerospace pump is good for engines up to 850 horsepower, so it should handle any hemi-project I might indulge upon.

Finishing touches

2011-11-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to putting an antenna in the front fender of the 'Cuda. It's not a correct vintage mopar antenna but a cheapo piece from the local autoparts store. The cable is routed through the proper hole inside the fenderwell. Now the Cuda is practically finished with everything in working order - but this project still has miles to cover. The possibilities are sheer endless, from more power via a bigger engine or fuel injection, to a slick fivespeed manual overdrive transmission, better brakes, or further suspension upgrades. I'll see what my time and pocketbook permit in the course of the coming years. Goal will be to make the 'Cuda handle better, be quicker and more reliable than it was when new. Additional wheels will also certainly be in store...

An upgrade I was advised to invest in is this chrome ignition box. It is said to be superior to the ornage one I had installed, not being built in China, we'll see next season.

Last run

2011-10-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Another weekend of spirited driving through the beautiful autumn countryside lays behind the 'Cuda. Unfortunately I left my camera at home so you will not be able to enjoy the images imprinted in my memory.

This was the last outing for the season, over the winter I will try to make further improvements to the 'Cuda to make it better yet....stay posted!

Wrenchin'

2011-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

A new addition to the toolbox. A gearwrench set from Kamasa. I already had a metric set and really love to work with it so I picked up a seven piece SAE spec set as well.

More carb work

2011-10-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

More fiddling with the carb. Since the 'Cuda was still running a little rich, I'm now trying out different jet sizes. Changed from 69 to 64 on the 600 cfm Holley and will see how the effects are.

Slick wheel

2011-10-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

I fitted a 15X8 inch Aero wheel for test purposes ...including a bada** looking nascar slick!

Carb swap

2011-10-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been fiddling with the carb for quite some time. The original carb has the engine running fine but it's consuming irrational amounts of fuel, soiling up the rear of the car in the process. I sourced a replacement, a 600cfm Holley from Germany to see if things get better. The carb is really almost the same as the original Holley, safe for the electric choke.

More pics

2011-08-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thirsty contestants lining up for gas at the only service station in town after the first day...

A pristine '69 Camaro convertible

Cars &Friends

2011-08-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of joining a select group of gearheads for one weekend of exciting mortoring in the Austrian Alps. The "Cars and Friends" Ralley led us over mountain passes and along some of the most scenic roads of the western most part of the county.

There were numerous faboulous cars brought to the starting line, ranging from early Porshe 356's, E-Type Jags, a Toyota 2000 GT and many more. One of the highlights was this Aston Martin DBR2 from the fifies.

The 'Cuda ran flawlessly all weekend, gulping up miles and miles of wonderful tarmac. Only on the way home I had an issue with a dead battery after I suppose the alternator is not supplying sufficient current.

Long sweeping uphill curves are the natural habitat of the fresh bigblock

Stance

2011-08-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Since stance is everything, I lowered the rear by one inch. I think it looks perfect now. The difference was not accomplished by an engineering marvel - just simple lowering blocks - but it helps the looks a lot and does not interfere with handling. I also adjusted the red Konis a little softer as the rear was a little choppy.

Let there be light

2011-08-10T03:23:00.000-07:00

More work on the rear lights

I was not entierly comfortable with the rear turn signals being red - they are mandatory amber in this country - for fear of having a hard case in the event of a possible accident. So I put colored bulbs in the backup light bezel a while ago to change the turn signal color. Since this left me without functioning backup lights my friend Robert came up with a creative idea. Three small leds drilled into the bezel on the underside enable a white light for backup .. Problem solved, thank's Robert!

Suspension Upgrade

2011-08-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

I had new tubular upper A-arms installed yesterday. They are from Hotchkis-Suspensions, and seem much more stable and sturdy than the previous pieces. In addition to that, these A-arms are fully adjustable and feature a unique geometry corretion bracket to improve cornering ability and steering response. Ball joint rod ends also add to the quality feel.

Interior

2011-08-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed the vigours of keeping the family and my employer happy have kept me from working on the 'Cuda for the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless a few improvements were done to the car. Being a non-smoker, I Installed one of those big tachometers instead of the ashtray. It's nice to know what the engine is up to even with an automatic transmission. Next to the tach is an fm radio, not an original mopar but a period correct blaupunkt unit out of the early seventies. It has been serviced and equipped with the possibility to plug in an i-pod. The tach is hooked up in the meantime, radio will fill the interior with cool tunes soon.

Wheel choice once more

2011-08-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Aaron from New Zealand suggested dark wheels with a fine red stripe around them for the 'Cuda. What a tasteful combination! It's exactly what I had on this Audi I used to own a few years back. I really miss that car now and then...

Road trip

2011-08-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

I helped a good friend pick up a 1964 Ford Galaxie in northern Germany. He'd been looking at the car for quite a while and now was the time to bring it home. The Galaxie is fitted with a 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet engine with dual quad carbs and is very presentable.

Red with a white top seems to be a quite common color combination in the area. The Galaxie made the 500 mile trip home without breaking a sweat and will have found a good home after initial registration formalities in Austria.

At the wheel

2011-06-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

As I feel there is still room for improvement on the color of the wheels, I had a friend at the office do some quick renderings of a few color choices on the computer. Red and black are my current favorites...

More tracktime

2011-06-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

More pics of the first trackday for the 'Cuda. Here next to Muggis killer '70 Hemi-powered Coronet.

Some tight turns on the track..

At the track

2011-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

I was able to spend a wonderful day at the racetrack at the Austrian Mopar Nationals! Although the 'Cuda is not quite finished yet, it's built to be driven so I took it out for a couple of shakedown runs.

The movie was made by Richard on his mobile phone, he was kind enough to let me have it so I can share it with you.

New wheels

2011-06-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

I got new wheels for the 'Cuda. Contemporary 15 inch road race wheels.
I'm still searching for a less prominient place for the licence plate. A little lower and set back more.

Still working on the stance, seems a little high in front right now.

Greetings from the new tires :-)

Two new parts

2011-06-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

Picked up some parts to be mounted! The licence plates that go with the registration. Not really expensive but not easy to come by either. You can't choose the number unless you pay an additional charge so I let chance rule. I find the DoubleD at the end quite fitting for the bigblock actually...

First drive

2011-06-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

Floor it

2011-05-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

The 'Cuda is back on the ground after a late night operation on the torqueflite to get the shifting issue under control.

shifting issue

2011-05-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Have the 'Cuda jacked up in order to solve a nasty shifting issue. After a brief warm up, the car wouldn't shift up from first gear. Kickdown linkage and shifting rods checked ok so the problem would have to be located somewhere else.

After an evening of measuring the pressures on the various service ports of the torqueflite, the governor seemed to be the most likely spot to hunt for the flaw.So off it went.
The only part of the transmission that wasn't taken apart during the overhaul.

And what do you come up with when you dig down into the most intimate parts of that piece of iconic american iron?...

...a bearing "made in Japan" :-)

A ring on the governor turend out to be responsible for the problem, it will be replaced soon.

Wipe out

2011-05-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Snapped on the wiper arms I have had laying around for quite a wile.

Blades are newm arms were mediablasted and painted with clearcoat.

Dash

2011-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

Put the finishing touches on the dash by installing the dasboard.

Magnum wheels

2011-05-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Got back to the original 14 inch Magnum wheels. I sourced a set of fitting tires locally and plan to keep the set ready for occasional use. Interestingly enough, although I believe these wheels were on the car from begin on, there was a surprise in store after close inspection.

It turnes out, one of the wheels is 6 inches wide while the other 3 are 5 and a half inches wide. Maybee one was replaced early on in the 'Cudas life - all 4 seem to be of the same age and wear - or somebody on the assembly line goofed up.

Yukis Cuda

2011-05-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Fellow 'Cuda enthusiast Yuki from Japan, who has been following ths blog with encouraging remarks, has now brought his own restoration blog to my attention. Since I regret having no clue whatsoever on the japanese language I do not understand a word on the page but I do enjoy the pics of a freshly painted 'Cuda interior. Enjoy:

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ebody_specialties

Second door

2011-05-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

The driver side doorpanel, another piece that won't be clogging up the garage! The challenge here was to cut the hole for the remote mirror, turned out really well and works as well.

Door lock lever freshly installed.

Grille

2011-05-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Got the driver side headlight bezel installed to complete the Grill - at least on one side. Perfect fit! Unfortunately the passenger side is proving to become a bit of a challenge as the headlight is not centered correctly. Will have to have that sorted out...

Front wheels to match the rears.

Detail

2011-04-29T01:59:00.000-07:00

Some details take a little longer. It took me a while to search for the little gromets that go behind the window cranks but I was eventually succsessful. Since they cleaned up really well they can continue to do their job in the interior of the 'Cuda.

More interior

2011-04-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Passenger side door panel in place, with door handle and window crank. The panel fits really nice, I've decided to use black anodized screws on the edges because I belive they blend in better than the original chrome screws.

The carpet is cut and the new door sills are in place, really ties the room together....the kick panels are also the original pieces, painted to match.

Make it red

2011-04-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

I continued to work on the interior. Since the rear panels will not be available in red until after summer, I've decided to paint the old panels to match the doors. The panels are faded from over 40 years of sun and the surface is scratched in a few areas but they are not broken or cracked and still seem soft and felxible enough.

Driverside rear panel after a few coats of R-M flat red paint.

One more

2011-04-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

First drive

2011-04-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

Immediately after getting the 'Cuda back, I decided to take it to the gas station to fill it up. My neighbour has a set of dealer plates, which are neccesary since the car isn't registered yet. The gasstation is only about three kilometers away even though I did aknowlege that there wasn't a lo tof gas left in the tank, I figured I'd make it ...

Halfway to the gasstation the car rolled out, dry as a desert in july. At least it gave me an opportunity to take a few pictures !

The front end will have to come up a little more for a perfect stance, rear looks good.

Homecoming Queen

2011-04-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

The 'Cuda is back home, ready for my finishing touches.

The engine runs!

2011-04-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

The engine bay without the aircleander and parts of the aircondition. This week the motor was fired up and, the 'Cuda proved to be quite a bitch! Oil leaks from the trans and that is not a good thing. So the trans will have to be sorted out before any further parts can be installed.

Glass installation

2011-04-01T02:26:00.000-07:00

The windscreen is being mounted on the 'Cuda! Special care was taken to black out the parts of the A-pillar that can be seen through the glass after installation of the screen. Rear glass to keep the rain off the back seat!

Wheels

2011-03-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

I finally got the front rims fitted to the wheel hubs. Looks a lot better with matching wheels front and rear! After the exhaust, the brake lines, the emergency brake, the speedo cable and a long list of other odds and ends have also been sorted out. Still missing are the windshield, the back glass and some interior pieces.

Exhaust tips

2011-03-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

The exhaust exits through the rear valance. A lot of tweaking was necesarry until it fit perfectly.

Exhaust

2011-03-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Audi is sold and you've had to look at it long enough! Luckily there is news form the 'Cuda, the complete exhaust system is now installed, front to back. Can't wait to hear the big V8 spill its fumes through the twoandahalf inch TTI pipes!

Starter is also mounted to the engine.

Audi interior

2011-03-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

More pics of the Audi ...

A6 for sale

2011-03-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

I'm putting my daily driver for sale. It has reliably carried me everywhere I wanted to go and now it has to go. It's a 2001 Audi A6 Quattro with the sweet soundig 3-liter V6 and 220 horsepower. The sportseats are clad in cream leather, the transmisson is automatic and the tunes come courtesy of a Becker Mexico CD-

radio. Of course it has airconditioning and HID lights. The Audi has just over 154thousand kilometers on the clock and I'm asking 7,500 Euros for it.

If you happen to be interested, let me know!

Hood Impression

2011-02-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just because...

Very rare piece

2011-02-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

Altough you can obtain almost any part for a 1970 Cuda in the ever expanding aftermarket, from sheetmetal to seatcovers, once in a while you stumble across a piece that just isn't available. Among those parts are the lower dash mouldings - in red. I was on the verge of buying a set - left and right - from a fellow in the US, until he chose not to answer my emails anymore. I now picked up the left piece in pristine condition from another seller on ebay. Note, this is not a painted black piece, it is made of the original red plastic! I can't wait to install it on the dashboard! Still searching for the righthand piece...

One more Barracuda

2011-02-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Time to show one of the other very fine Cudas living here in Austria. Günter has turned out a whole bunch of restorations over the last couple of years and this '73 smallblock is his latest piece of work. I like the purity of the car, from the flat hood to the no-nonsense steelies.

Getting organized

2011-02-09T02:50:00.000-08:00

Since the Cuda is currently over at Doc Stingers Mopargarage to have some work done I can't handle myself, I thought it's time to get organized in the garage. This toolchest will hopefully swallow all the handtools I will ever need and keep them orderly.

Of course it was moparized immediately!

The big picture

2011-02-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Quality time spent on saturday evening !

Front valance is installed, will need some massaging to get really straight.

Since I've been showing you a lot of detail lately, I've decided to do some overall shots of the car for the big picture. Getting the camera away form the car isn't that easy in the confinements of my garage but I did best I could. I've been getting some great response from all over the world, thank you all for that! It helps me stay focused and reminds me to regularly give you an update on what's going on.

Keep cool

2011-02-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

In my quest to reactivate the air conditioning, I started on some of the plumbing. I don't like to sweat so I thought I'd utilize the original aircon of the Cuda. Luckily none of the previous owners took it out, so all of the components were still in place. These are amont the last parts that were still untouched. A thourough cleaning, some sanding and a new layer of glossy black paint let them shine again.

More light

2011-01-26T14:13:00.000-08:00

I got the wiring and the accessories to hook up the road lights. The bezel is a reproduction piece and the toggle switch is from the local electronics shop. I hope te masters of originality will forgive me...

Headliner the fourth

2011-01-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

Kind of hard to get good lighting in the car but here's the headliner finished with the sunvisors installed. As said eralier, I am hopeful that the remainig wrinkles will go away with a little heat. It was kind of tricky to find the holes for the sunvisor base plates under the vinyl but I managed. Mirror base and stem was media blasted and turned out very well.

What's left of the headliner.

Inside job

2011-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Trying out the door panel on the passenger side door. Looks like it will fit well, I will have to wait untill the window is adjusted. Gatorgrain vinyl top can also be seen in this pic.

Headliner the third

2011-01-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

The headliner looks much better now. There are stoll some wrinkles and creases but I'm hoping they will go away over time.

I had the stem and the base of the mirror mediablasted, mounted back in place.

Headliner the second

2011-01-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

Since I wasn't completely satisfied with the wrinkles in the headlliner I yanked it out again and ...ironed it. Best way to get wrinkles out of fabric.

Let there be light

2011-01-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

I had to search quite a while to find new headlights, finally got a pair from Bosch.

Wiring question?

2011-01-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

Trying to figure out where all the wires go...

Two of these go to the ignition coil but what about the rest?

Making head

2011-01-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

I tackled another job I've been reluctant to begin with - installing the headliner. It had been folded up way too long so there are still a lot of creases in it. I'm trying to tighten it but it's quite chilly in the garage so I'll probably have to apply a little heat by putting an oven in the car...

The edges have not yet been trimmed.

Trying to get a handle on the handle

2010-11-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life's a bitch. I found that out by trying to install the passenger side door handle. It just wouldn't fit right. After several attempts, I inspected the new handle and found out that it was assembled incorrectly. The red spring was not in the correct position, clearly seen in comparison to the old handle on top. It wasn't easy to adjust the spring since it's one tight spring, but I managed in the end.

Here's the stubborn handle installed and in operating order!

Hood and doors

2010-11-25T05:58:00.000-08:00

Finally got the hood inserts mounted back on the hood. I searced forever for the small screws until I found them...

Driver side door handle back in place.

Before lunch

2010-11-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

I finished off the passenger side tail light before lunch today. Since the gasket sealing the light was missing I had to fabricate a new one before the lens could be screwed on the housing.

Both lights on the rear panel.

Progress

2010-11-24T00:26:00.000-08:00

Mounted the driver side rear light - as with the side markers, it is a rather complicated incorporating the lens, a chrome frame, the painted bezel and the light housing itself. came together nice though. The lenes have survived the last 40 years really well, I believe mainly because they are recessed so far back so they are well protected.

The first part of the driprail is also installed. Some cleaning was necessary as these pieces are the originals.

downforce

2010-11-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

I picked up a trans-am style spoiler on the moparts board. Should take care of the downforce on the front end. I still have to check how it looks on the car as the front valance is not fitted yet but the quality of the spoiler is very good.

Blackout

2010-11-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

Against all reasonable advice, I did the blackout behind the grille. While standing back from the front of the car, the light paint shines through the horizontal bars of the grille on both sides of the radiator. Because of this, the cars originally had these areas blacked out.

I spent a lot of time masking off the area that wasn't supposed to be painted, taking care not to miss anything and get black paint where there shouldn't be any.

Originally the flat black was blurry at the edges and I tried to achieve that as well. Will look good when the grille is back on!

Badge engineering

2010-11-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Added the 'Cuda badge to the tail panel. I don't exactly know where it should be so I went with the pics I could find and put it where I thought it would look good. The trunk lock is the original piece, cleaned up and in working order.

Bumpercar

2010-11-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Mounted the bumpers on the 'Cuda! -The shiny new parts make a great contrast to the paint and really tie the car together :-)

It's interesting, the rear bumper really does not fit to the front of the car as it is recessed into the bodywork. The valance panels are still missing...

Side markers

2010-11-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Installed the side markers. They are specific for the 1970 and '71 model years, after that they were of a more simple construction.

Decklid

2010-10-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

I installed the decklid, with the help of my fourteen year old daughter. Couldn't have done it myself, as the lid is quite heavy and it's impossible to hold it in place and insert the mounting screws at the same time.

Paint looks gorgeous!

Trim

2010-10-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

I started on the driver side stainless trim on top of the door. Original piece of trimm, polished and mounted with new clips.

Hood pins again

2010-10-15T12:42:00.001-07:00

Finished off the hood pins. Probably not the most imortant item needing attention but as good as any place to start.

The hood bumpers are in place as well.

Hood pins

2010-10-15T01:35:00.001-07:00

The first thing I started on, the hood pins. Beautiful work, not difficult, clean and you can see immediate succsess.

In the garage

2010-10-15T01:25:00.000-07:00

The 'Cuda is back in the garage!

Back home

2010-10-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

Finally freed from the restraints of the paintbooth, the 'Cuda is back home for final assembly! Michi and his brand new trailer made it possible

Freshly pained hood landscape:

Blackout

2010-10-13T00:50:00.000-07:00

One more trip to the paint shop and again the paint was just drying. Therefore, I was not allowed into the paintbooth - again. This time the tailpanel was given the correkt blackout treatment. The pic through the glass is all the proof I can give you.

PS: A fellow 'Cuda owner from Japan has written a very favorable comment on this blog, *thanks Yuki* further advancing my intention to make this a truly international site!

Paint!

2010-10-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

A sneak peak into the paintbooth. The basecoat is on the 'Cuda, tomorrow the master of the spraygun will shoot the clearcoat. I have chosen to go without the vinyl roof for the time being, I'll see how I like the look with the outside paint and the red interior.

Final prep

2010-10-06T12:43:00.001-07:00

The fight against a ruthless illness has pulled my attention away from the 'Cuda for a while. I've spent the better part of the last month in the hospital, that required all the strength at my disposal. Thank's to modern medicine and the skills of the doctors looking after me, I'm recovering quickly and I'll be back on track within a couple of weeks. But while I was out of business, work continued on the 'Cuda. Here a few pics of the final paint preparation.

Guidecoat

2010-09-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Since I'm back on the job and working on the Gross National Product again, so are the folks at the paintshop. The rear of the 'Cuda is covered in guidecoat, ready for final sanding.

Summertime

2010-08-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I had some time off for summer vacation. Beautiful lake, great weather, too much food...to sum it up: very exhausting.

In the mentime, the garage called for its first fatal victim Grind the Rabbit just couldn't get away from the left front wheel in time...poor fellow puked his intestines all over the place!

One more pic of the center console, as it is now finished and ready to install. The holes are all gone, the color is right.

Inside story

2010-08-04T05:01:00.001-07:00

Got some interior pieces ready for installation. Doorpanels, armrests and the console with lid.

Behind the sun

2010-08-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

The color of the sun visors needed to be changed , apart from that the previous owner of the 'Cuda found it a good Idea to glue a mirror on the driver side sunvisor.

I've had the parts for quite a while so I could fix the new visors quickly...

Taillight housings

2010-08-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

Since there won't be any news from the bodyshop for another month or so, I'll treat you to some small stuff. I redid the outsides of the taillight housings. I had them stripped of old paint and grime a while ago and it was hard to tell what color they actually had. From some other restorations I've seen, they seem to have a gold / copper tone to be correct.

Gold paint came out really nice! I've already done the insides in silver - it was supposed to be more like chrome but it's silver - maybee I can come up with some kind of chrome foil on the insides to get a better reflection from the lightbulbs.

Historic Road Racing

2010-08-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Took a trip to the Slovakiaring, just across the border to accompany A friend for some historic road-racing. Historical racing delivers a wonderful atmosphere of burning rubber and high octane fuel ...(actually they all run on pump gas) and is a lot of fun to watch. A swiss fellow rolled to the starting line in this beautiful reconstruction of Jerry Titus' 1971Trans-Am Firebird. Fitted with a Pontiac bigblock, which would definitely have been beyond the rules back in '71, the big bird was the fastet car on the track.

Appearing on pit lane, very much effort has went into the Pontiac to make it look exactly like the original racecar. There is a 1970 Cuda also racing in the series, made to look like Sam Poseys car but unfortunately it did not contend this weekend.

Here is Roberts Alfa Romeo Giulia tucked between a Mark 1 Escort and a Volkswagen Golf. He did very well all weekend, racing in the highly competitive 1.6 liter class.

Console

2010-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

I got hold of a red console from MCB Performance in Michigan. The original console was broken at the end and had numerous holes drilled into it by the previous owner. The new one will surely tie the interior together, as the Dude would say. You can tell it was designed fourty years ago by the complete absence of anything like a cupholder!

More paint prep

2010-07-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

New pics from the bodyshop. Things are coming together on the nose of the 'Cuda. The fenders are straight...

The last wrinkles have been treated.

Driver side quarter.
Sadly that pretty much wraps it up until september since the bodyshop is closing down for summer holidays. They will be back on the job with new energy at the end of august, I hope it won't take long from then...

Fit and alignment

2010-07-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

After quite a while, the 'Cuda is coming together again and looking somewhat like a car once again.

The hood, the front fenders, the panel that's in front of the hood and the front valance are bolted to the car to check for imperfections in the surface - yes, there are plenty - and for fit and proper alignement.

All of the spots that need attention are marked , so the finished surface will look good.

Paint preparation

2010-06-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Things may seen a little slow here now and then but currently, many hours of work are being put into the bodywork of the 'Cuda at the shop.

The roof has been sorted out - there was a slight dent popping out near the rear window - and the quarters have recieved a first going over.

Passenger side door and quarter after the first round of fílling and sanding.

Off for paint

2010-06-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

I had Ernst and his exquisite "Schlepp-mich.org" service take the 'Cuda to the paint shop today. Riding in style! Hood, fenders and other bits that need color are already there, now the rest of the bodywork will be straightend out and painted.

One more shot on the highway. I was lucky to catch a day without rain, one of the few in this rather wet year around these parts.

Looking back

2010-06-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided to go with the additional passenger side rear view mirror. The car was originally not equipped with one but I do not want to miss the comfort and added safety of such an option.

Made a template to find the correct location for the mounting holes, taking the driver side measurements.

The flange compression insert nuts for the new mirror installed.

Fuel Vent Line

2010-05-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

I had to drill some holes in the passenger side trunk floor extension to mount the fuel vent line. Psychologically difficult, otherwise easy.

Said and done

2010-05-26T02:36:00.000-07:00

Put the old fendertag back on...original, just as it was before the resto begann, including some of the original BL-1 paint. Couldn't resist to apply a thin layer of clearcoat though.

Fan belts

2010-05-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

Got the fan belts and a few other odds and ends installed. It went quite easy and all the accessories line up well. The transarent overflow hose from the radiator cap doesn't quite look the part but will have to do untill I find a black hose in the right dimension.

Visit to the Meilenwerk

2010-05-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

The "Meilenwerk" in Berlin is a fashinlable venue where you can

look at the classic cars other people store there. Some vendors are also displaying their stock and a few shops offer repair and restoration work. It all looks very pricey, there are definately no oilstains on the ground and quite a few of the cars are being offered for six digit prices. The emphasis is on german and italian hardware, with a couple of exotic american iron thrown in for good measure.
One of he highlights in my book, a nice '69 Camaro in its glass container, flanked by a '50ies Merc and an XJS drophead.

T-Bird on its way to the in-house brake-tester.

Fendertag

2010-05-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm contemplating on mounting the old fender tag without restoring it. Including some rust, a little bit of paint redone at some time and oily stuff that won't go away. I'm thinking of it sort of as a tribute to the fact that the 'Cuda is a restored car and not a survivor. It would also reference the cars condition prior to restoration and be a nice contrast to the rest of the engine bay. I've seen this done on the internet on some car and liked the idea.