67 cuda FB progress UPDATE

Metallic GunMetal Grey with Gloss black stripes or Flat black stripes?

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I didn't get anything accomplished on the car today but I was hoping for a few comments on the steering wheel so I know if I should just use it or remain on the hunt for another one to replace it.
Oh well, guess I'll just use it till someone tells me it looks like poo.
 
Run it. It's always easier to stay on a budget when the replacement of an item is more of a "want" than a "need". If you find one that's better and at the right number then swap it out. If someone is going to take the time to ***** about the shape of a steering wheel as compared to the rest of the car, then they don't understand the work and effort that you have into your car and they can get effed.
 
I disagree....since your putting so much effort into building such a nice car then you should put the same effort into the details.

The steering wheel is a big part of that since it is one of the most noticeable things you see when you look in a car.

Some body filler and some more time will get that wheel looking perfect. I would have cut 45 degree champher into the cracks that go around the wheel but other than that you nailed the repair.

You may want to use satin black on the column and dash though since the sun shines in the windshield you will probably have some glare off that shiny column.

Those reverse lights are going to stand out as well on that grey paint so you may want to reconsider those as well......a lighter shade of grey/silver or even satin black would be more complimentary. I would match the turn signals if you go that route.

Black out the rear panel and the grill and you have a mean looking car.

Not trying to diss on your work....you asked for an opinion and I'm giving you one. Nice job by the way....keep it up.


Here is a pic on the one i restored....I did not paint it though.

Good luck.

Mop

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Well, I asked for opinions and I gotem. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I realy do apreciate them. I actually do agree about the steering wheel since I am going to to great lengths on the metal and body work. It makes sense an it realy isn't a whole lot of effort to smooth the wheel out. I guess I was gettin a bit lazy. Hell, work is gonna be wet sanding the car 15 times. (slight exaduration)
I thought about it all day at work and decided that once I get home I'd sand the steering wheel, and I did. I'm out of sealer so I'll pick some up tomorrow.
Thanks again guys. I'll post a new picture of the wheel when I get it looking good.
 
There you go.....I bet you would have come to that conclusion on your own. Use some pinhole filler and using compressed air, blow off the wheel real good. That epoxy dust created when sanding, has a tendency to fill up the pin holes and hold on till you paint it then they blow out and leave the pin holes behind. You may have to prime it and sand it a few more times to get it right.

I know that you probably want to get it done and drive it but you must exercise restraint and finish strong.

My fat blu fish took me 5 years and my wifes jamaican blue baby has taken 3 so far....I still have a few months to go on hers and I have removed and redone things I wasn't happy with several times. It can be frustrating but you will be happy when your done and the car will show it.

Keep on keepin on.....
 
momoparman said:
There you go.....I bet you would have come to that conclusion on your own. Use some pinhole filler and using compressed air, blow off the wheel real good. That epoxy dust created when sanding, has a tendency to fill up the pin holes and hold on till you paint it then they blow out and leave the pin holes behind. You may have to prime it and sand it a few more times to get it right.

I know that you probably want to get it done and drive it but you must exercise restraint and finish strong.

My fat blu fish took me 5 years and my wifes jamaican blue baby has taken 3 so far....I still have a few months to go on hers and I have removed and redone things I wasn't happy with several times. It can be frustrating but you will be happy when your done and the car will show it.

Keep on keepin on.....
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Momoparman, I have been following your threads for awhile now and I realy like your Blue fish. (Avitar)
Just an update on the body color of my car. It is a grey color but it is gun metal metalic grey. I'll try and post a picture of the actual color soon. The color is actualy very dark it's Self and probably won't clash with the black reverse lights that much. Anyways, thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. They are very much apreciated, especially coming from someone that has built such a beautiful Barracuda as yourself.
Hope to talk with you again soon.
Aaron. :burnout:
 
12valve said:
Run it. It's always easier to stay on a budget when the replacement of an item is more of a "want" than a "need". If you find one that's better and at the right number then swap it out. If someone is going to take the time to ***** about the shape of a steering wheel as compared to the rest of the car, then they don't understand the work and effort that you have into your car and they can get effed.
Click to expand...

12Valve. I thought about just going with it, but it was bothering me for two days. I couldn't leave it. Maybe on something that I wont be looking at all the time. Anyways, take care. Hope you get time to work on your car, I'm looking forward to some updates.
 
Your fish will turn out nice I'm sure. I don't think that satin black on gun metal grey would be a bad look but the gloss black on glossy gunmetal grey will probably stick out/clash. I guess you could try them both ways and see what you like. A brushed nickel or brushed chrome finish would also look sweet...especially if you did the same to the exterior trim and bumpers

Just remember it's your car and you should finish it how you want.....My head is always full of ideas and I don't mind sharing.

More progress and more pics please.

Mop
 
After a lot of sandpaper and a lot of time, primer and paint, I finally got the steering wheel looking great.
I had a lot of issues with the paint wrinkling after about three hours of drying. In fact. it did it seven times. I figured out what it was and now it looks great!. I had some bad sealer that reacted with the paint.
Apparently sealer does have a shelf life.
Anyway, it's done and turned out great. here is a picture.
I will get some pictures up of the 273 rebuild soon. I have the pictures on another camera and I need to get them loaded on the computer first.
It's looking good with the exception of having a cracked head due to over torqing from the previous owner. What a basket case this motor turned out to be but atleast it will be a fresh motor when i;m done.

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You're doing a great job! The gunmetal grey is one of my favorite colors for any classic muscle car. I have a 70 Corvette coupe that is Laguna grey with red interior. I love the grey and red. I'm doing my 68 B'cuda coupe now. Mine is the MM1 metallic maroon. It originally had the white interior. I'm putting in Eddie Bauer grey leather to compliment the maroon.
Which stripes are you going to put on? I've seen the hood-top-trunk stripes, the side stripes and the across the trunk stripes. There are several versions of side stripes that I've seen. As far as the black, I prefer either the matte or semi-flat finish.

Good luck with the project - I'm subscibed!
 
I was going back and realized I missed page 3 of your thread. I dropped a 5.2 Magnum into my coupe with little to no trouble at all. Currently, I'm installing the PCM and fuse panel from the 2001 Ram donor truck. My suggestion to you would be to find either a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum to drop in. The scrap yards are full of them. My original 318 was trashed and the magnum cost a lot less than buying an old 318 and rebuilding.You might want to set the 273 in a corner for later. You know good and well that the kid will probably trash the 273 anyhow! LOL
The Magnum engine bolts right in. The 904 and 727 also bolt right on. Pick up the mini starter. They also fit. The LA timing covers will also bolt on. I got engine, fuse panel, PCM, harness, and all bolt on accessories for $400. Great way to go!
 
68coupe said:
I was going back and realized I missed page 3 of your thread. I dropped a 5.2 Magnum into my coupe with little to no trouble at all. Currently, I'm installing the PCM and fuse panel from the 2001 Ram donor truck. My suggestion to you would be to find either a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum to drop in. The scrap yards are full of them. My original 318 was trashed and the magnum cost a lot less than buying an old 318 and rebuilding.You might want to set the 273 in a corner for later. You know good and well that the kid will probably trash the 273 anyhow! LOL
The Magnum engine bolts right in. The 904 and 727 also bolt right on. Pick up the mini starter. They also fit. The LA timing covers will also bolt on. I got engine, fuse panel, PCM, harness, and all bolt on accessories for $400. Great way to go!
Click to expand...

68coupe.
WOW! THat sounds like you got a fantastic deal on your engine set up and wiring. s
Sounds almost to good to be true!
I apreciate your recomendations and maybe I will work that into the long term equation. However, My son and I are restoring this magnificent car for his senior project and has a year and a half to get it done, Also. it's a hell of a way to get to know each other better. He is realy set on learning this engine inside and out. I think it's better for him to learn how the old technology works and goes together before he moves onto the more modern technology. I figure this way he will have a more apreciation for how we all used to do things and what we went thru. Anyways, Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. I may just take your idea and put that one in a corner. Atleast till he graduates, then in with the new!
Take care and thanks again! Great information....
 
Well, there is some good news on the 273.
We got it hot tanked and all cleaned up, then we got the cylindars all reworked and ready for reassembly as soon as the new set of rings arrive.
Till then, we managed to get some paint on the block and the heads.
As I mentioned in a previous post that one of the heads had a crack in it.
We got the crack sorted out from an old timer that has been doing this sort of repairs for the better part of 50 years. They all checked out after he welded it up with great readings on the vacuum test and magna fluxed them the same day the block was checked after cleaning.
He did such a great job that it's very hard to tell it was welded.
Below are a few pictures of it all.
We also cleaned up the timing chain cover and painted it black and is just sitting on the block so we could have an idea as to the red and black color combo.

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ariffle said:
Thanks Momopar!
I apreciate your ideas and opinions.
It's overwhelming restoring these cars sometimes and this forum realy does help keep the mojo going.
Click to expand...

I know that for sure. Sometimes a guy just needs to know that what he's doing has meaning to more than just himself.......that's what keeps the fire burning.

I know that I have been motivated by comments both positive and negative and if you want a true opinion you can count on the people here to give you one.

Are you painting the whole engine black or red?
 
momoparman said:
I know that for sure. Sometimes a guy just needs to know that what he's doing has meaning to more than just himself.......that's what keeps the fire burning.

I know that I have been motivated by comments both positive and negative and if you want a true opinion you can count on the people here to give you one.

Are you painting the whole engine black or red?
Click to expand...


The Block and heads red, Timing cover and other tinwork black. I think. maybe. yes, that's the plan. LMAO!
Sometimes you just don't know till you do it and decide after doing it the way you had it in your head that it doesn't look as good in living color.

By the way, I still haven't gotten the car into the booth because I need to fill some unused firewall holes and smooth out the area where the origional heater box was located, as I'm putting a Vintage air system in place because mine was so bad it was comming apart when I removed it.
Besides, it will give more room under the dash. Hopefully i'll have the chance to work on the firewall very soon. Spring time is extreamly busy for me at work. Pest control is quite seasonal. Anyways, talk to you later.
 
Vintage air will give you lots more room under the dash and clean up the fire wall in the process. If you want to be real clean run the hoses for the air conditioner through the space between the passenger fender well then come up from the bottom.

Keep on keeping on. Does not matter what you work on as long as you work on something every day.......that's how it will all come together in the near future.
 
the strip thing is your personal preferance all would look great nice job on the steering wheel
 
After finishing up the firewall and rear window channel repairs, it was finally time to prep the car for good epoxy adhesion. I metal prepped the entire car inside and out, as well as underneath. It looks like it's all rusty, but it's what it looks like after you clean the steel and wash it and scrub it down with a good water rinse to be sure there is no etching solution left on it.

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Started working on all the dents and BAD creases. I will also be filling the door gaps as well as the hood, fenders and the trunk before the entire car gets a skim coat of body filler and blocked out.
I'm getting closer!
You cant really see it well, but the pass. side fender and door were whacked pretty good and there were deep creases and deep dents that had to be massaged out. The pictures don't give it justice, but the fender really is VERY smooth after the massaging. Had to shrink the metal
quite a bit all over the entire area. It came out awesome. I'm moving on to the drivers side next
but haven't started it just yet.
Also, on other fronts, the engine rebuild is progressing and I am assembling more parts and pieces so I can dyno it. Hopefully in another few weeks, we will see. I'm trying to decide on the correct cam combination and four barrel carb. Also, I have been acquiring the pieces to the front disk brake conversion and that WILL be done next week. However, it won't get put on because the K-member wont go on until the car has been painted. BUT at least I'm making progress and all the pieces are getting rebuild and acquired so it will go together quick once the car is painted.
More soon, as I get ready to start on the drivers side of the car and WOW are there some deep ones on that side. It looks like they entered this fish in a mild demolition durby.

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