1969 'cuda 383 4-speed

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I expect to be blasted by some for doing this and others will think it's really cool. As it has turned out, the car is farther gone than my level of expertise and it really deserves to have a first class restoration. I had a unique opportunity come up so, today, I took the car to Springfield, Oregon for a complete restoration by Graveyard Carz. Yes, it will be the first A-Body done there and they are all very excited to be given the opportunity to bring this car back.

What do you think?
 
cuda dad said:
pics
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hopefully they will show it on there tv show,and i hope u have a big credit line on your credit card,,,,good luck,,,

the traction device you showed looks like somes one early invention of the modern cal tracks,,

glad some one saved the car,,
 
Rocky_JS said:
Awesome project! Looks like a handful but amazing things can be done today with the parts available that just weren't really possible before.

The factory a-body 383's did not have the left rear mounting boss. It was a ground down pad over the steering box as you described. I also don't think they used "HP" on the pad either. A D383 would be a 68 model year engine. c=67, d=68, e=69 etc.

Just a thought... You might want to see if there are VIN numbers on the right side of block on pan rail. You may be able to help someone match that block to their car? They are worth good money maybe more so if you can locate to the car it came from.
You can just machine down the MM pad down on a more date "correct" 69 block none would be the wiser except the vin.
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If I remember right , they didn't start stamping HP on the blocks until 68. After 67 if its a HP block it will say HP. Nice find good luck with it
 
cuda dad said:
I expect to be blasted by some for doing this and others will think it's really cool. As it has turned out, the car is farther gone than my level of expertise and it really deserves to have a first class restoration. I had a unique opportunity come up so, today, I took the car to Springfield, Oregon for a complete restoration by Graveyard Carz. Yes, it will be the first A-Body done there and they are all very excited to be given the opportunity to bring this car back.

What do you think?
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So my question is, did u sell it to them or your paying them to do the resto? Either way i'm glad to see a rare BB car saved.

Please keep us posted when/if the car will be on the show......i'd like to see how much he thinks he knows about a BB A-body???
 
BB-Dave said:
So my question is, did u sell it to them or your paying them to do the resto? Either way i'm glad to see a rare BB car saved.

Please keep us posted when/if the car will be on the show......i'd like to see how much he thinks he knows about a BB A-body???
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I was watching last weeks episode yesterday and Mark was talking about the progression of Barracudas. Got to thinking it would be nice if they did a 2nd Gen car. Hope it gets air time and More tech than play.
 
fstfish66 said:
hopefully they will show it on there tv show,and i hope u have a big credit line on your credit card,,,,good luck,,,

the traction device you showed looks like somes one early invention of the modern cal tracks,,

glad some one saved the car,,
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No credit card, the price is locked.
 
BB-Dave said:
So my question is, did u sell it to them or your paying them to do the resto? Either way i'm glad to see a rare BB car saved.

Please keep us posted when/if the car will be on the show......i'd like to see how much he thinks he knows about a BB A-body???
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No, I did not sell the car. I asked Mark on FB if he would consider doing the car and he responded. I sent him some pictures and we reached an agreed upon total price. I calculated what I felt it would cost me to do it myself and decided it was worth the difference to me, to have it done by them. I know they are B/E body guys but I met with them yesterday and I am confident it will be done right. Royal use to have a Formula S and told me he prefers the 2nd Gen to the E body. The guys are really excited to be doing something different. Mark is pretty well connected and has a lot of resources. I know there are other shops that could have done the car but this is how it worked out. He has received so much flack for not doing an A-Body that I am very confident it will be on the show, don't know how much. He will have it up on the GYC Facebook before it is on the show. The current episodes were filmed last year.
 
cuda dad,
i'm happy you're getting your cuda restored. i have two fastback formula s cudas a 68 and a 69. i did the 68 myself and am starting on the 69 this year. mark worman would be the last person i would contact to restore my cars. i can't believe he would do a full resto for less than $30k (probably more) and at that price there are a lot of resto/body shops to chose from. i will be looking forward to seeing your car on the show but i have to watch most of the show with the volumn on mute. i hope your car turns out nice. it will be a great car if it comes out right. good luck with "nut guy."
 
jimharvard said:
cuda dad,
i'm happy you're getting your cuda restored. i have two fastback formula s cudas a 68 and a 69. i did the 68 myself and am starting on the 69 this year. mark worman would be the last person i would contact to restore my cars. i can't believe he would do a full resto for less than $30k (probably more) and at that price there are a lot of resto/body shops to chose from. i will be looking forward to seeing your car on the show but i have to watch most of the show with the volumn on mute. i hope your car turns out nice. it will be a great car if it comes out right. good luck with "nut guy."
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Thanks! I hope it turns out nice too! I have met most of the cast and they are all friends. Sure, there is a lot of nonsense on T.V. but the work being done on the cars is first class. I will do my best to document the process in this thread. Mark has a passion for Mopars and is serious about the restorations. He has demonstrated to me that he cares and it means a lot to him for the car to be correctly restored in every possible way. Thanks for following my restoration thread.
 
Pretty cool, I hope we get to see it on the show. At least in the background or something if it's not featured. Don't worry about the guys ragging on Mark. They can't tell the difference in the act he uses to get his show on tv and the real guy who's actually a Mopar nut.
 
I'm curious; what kind of time frame did they give you? Just from watching the show, it looks like they have a ton of work on.
 
cuda dad,
please don't take offense to what i'm going to ask you but .... are you going to actually drive your cuda once it is restored? i agree that the cars that mark and the gang finish do look first class. so nice that it's hard for me to imagine driving those cars on the road with little old ladies and mini-vans and crazy teens in "beaters" - let alone parking the perfect resto car in a mcdonalds/walmart parking lot. i have nothing against the "museum quality" restos but once you drop $40-50k on a car, it is hard to think you could just jump in it and drive it to the next red light hoping that the guy behind you sees the red light you're waiting at. i did my 68 cuda myself and did it "a panel at a time" not a nut and bolt rotissorie project. my car looks very nice but i would call it a "survivor restoration" in that there are still many small imperfections. not accounting for the 2300+ hours in labor i put into it, i probably only spent $2-3k on paint/materials/nos/oem parts. as such, i will have no problem driving this car daily around pittsburgh this summer to various car shows. if your car is going to be a trailer car, that's fine. everyone has their own idea and tollerance on how they use their "baby." i would be interested in hearing your opinion on just how you will use your beautiful cuda once mark gives you the keys back.
 
Nice - I am not far from them and they do first class work. Maybe I will take a short trip down to check out your car. And yeah I agree Mark is a cool down to earth guy and think a lot of the BS is for TV.

Blah - A B E - parts are parts and pieces are pieces. They probably don't do A's more because of the expense to return ratio and not their capabilities. If you need anything let me know. I have a huge 2nd gen parts access locally.


cuda dad said:
Thanks! I hope it turns out nice too! I have met most of the cast and they are all friends. Sure, there is a lot of nonsense on T.V. but the work being done on the cars is first class. I will do my best to document the process in this thread. Mark has a passion for Mopars and is serious about the restorations. He has demonstrated to me that he cares and it means a lot to him for the car to be correctly restored in every possible way. Thanks for following my restoration thread.
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jimharvard said:
cuda dad,
please don't take offense to what i'm going to ask you but ....
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Time will tell. My first thought is I will drive it somewhat sparingly. Local shows, club events, weekend pleasure. I will not leave it alone in any parking lot. Think about it this way, if you buy a new car, you drive it everywhere (or not) and it's worth half of what you paid (if you are lucky) by the time it is paid for. Or you buy a newer car and mod it, supercharger, body kit, paint, etc. with no return on investment. These are some of the reasons why I don't mind spending the money to have the car restored to OEM specs. It doesn't mean I can't have fun with the car.
 
Rocky_JS said:
Nice - I am not far from them and they do first class work. Maybe I will take a short trip down to check out your car. And yeah I agree Mark is a cool down to earth guy and think a lot of the BS is for TV.

Blah - A B E - parts are parts and pieces are pieces. They probably don't do A's more because of the expense to return ratio and not their capabilities. If you need anything let me know. I have a huge 2nd gen parts access locally.
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Thanks a lot, I appreciate that.
 
Based upon what I know about the history on that car, it ended up with the right owner. It was in NY, went to Nevada, then to at least two other owners in CA before it landed in your hands. Good on you for wanting the car done correctly, and having the resources to do it right.

I am sure the antics on the show are just that: antics. It seems like they are trying to hard to create drama where there really is none. Everyone who has met them in person says they know their stuff and are nice guys.

Based on pics, it does not look like your only Mopar, so while you are waiting you have something to do. Pictures of the progress would certainly be cool. Great car, great color.
 
That is one awsome 'cuda! Hey everyone. i'm new to this forum, and i'm also currently building a 'cuda except mine is a '68 notchback. and i had this question it might be dumb but i wanted to know before i go out and do it. anyway here's my question. Will the Dodge Dart 1970 front clip fit onto my '68 cuda? I love the way my cuda's front clip looks but i love the dart a bit more.
 
ohmars426 said:
That is one awsome 'cuda! Hey everyone. i'm new to this forum, and i'm also currently building a 'cuda except mine is a '68 notchback. and i had this question it might be dumb but i wanted to know before i go out and do it. anyway here's my question. Will the Dodge Dart 1970 front clip fit onto my '68 cuda? I love the way my cuda's front clip looks but i love the dart a bit more.
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seriously:protest:
 
ohmars426 said:
That is one awsome 'cuda! Hey everyone. i'm new to this forum, and i'm also currently building a 'cuda except mine is a '68 notchback. and i had this question it might be dumb but i wanted to know before i go out and do it. anyway here's my question. Will the Dodge Dart 1970 front clip fit onto my '68 cuda? I love the way my cuda's front clip looks but i love the dart a bit more.
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that would be a fast back dart,,,,
 
ohmars426 said:
That is one awsome 'cuda! Hey everyone. i'm new to this forum, and i'm also currently building a 'cuda except mine is a '68 notchback. and i had this question it might be dumb but i wanted to know before i go out and do it. anyway here's my question. Will the Dodge Dart 1970 front clip fit onto my '68 cuda? I love the way my cuda's front clip looks but i love the dart a bit more.
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They use the same inner fenders, frame, and etcetera. The latch support, latch support bracket and all front sheet metal are needed from the Dart. Not sure on the hood line, probably the same at the back. You may have to mod the fenders to fit the Barracuda doors, but I do not see any reason it won't work. Dog Fish? Not sure I would care for the way it would look but it would definately be unique. The Barracuda has curves, the Dart is square. Sounds like a clash.
 
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