Old Man's 66 Cuda Funnycar build

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Still nursing the shoulder from surgery . Ordered a new radiator for the 65 car . The new radiator is set up like a Chevy with the bottom neck at the bottom and will work perfectly with my 65 AFX car , so it was a no brainer . When it arrived I unboxed it at was amazed at the quality of it . Will put the new radiator in my 65 car , this will clear up the problem with the lower neck hitting the steering box on the 65 car . Also picked up a set of Spal fan relays to go with the new fans . Also picked up a fuse panel to go into the 66 car , have a few more things on order but have not got them in yet .. So stay tuned in , Will see Doctor next week , shoulder is still sore , do not want to go thru this again .
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Got in more parts , trying to sort out the exhaust system . ordered 8, 3 inch 45 degree bends, 4 3 inch 90 degree bends . 2 , 3 inch in and out 2 chamber mufflers , and 2 tip turn downs . Picked up 8 ft. of 3 inch tubing to round out the system . Muffler will be behind the rear end . The tips for the muffler comes out just under the rear bumper , will move the muffler down from 1/2 inch to 1 inch from floor . this will keep the system hidden and tucked up into the car . In the pic of the muffler you can see a piece of tubing cut into a half circle , this will be welded into the frame rails on both side to keep the exhaust up and out of sight .
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More parts , Boss Hog converter 2400 to 2800 stall , has anti ballooning plate . E brake handle and cables to attach to the Wilwood rear disk brakes . Also picked up a new set of Valve covers just to make sure everyone knows what they are looking at . You would be amazed that a lot of the younger folks have no idea what kind of motor it is ! I am still fighting with my shoulder , it's still sore and I have to be careful with it do not want to tear it up again . So I will keep collecting parts .
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Got more parts in , I am going with a fiberglass bumper in the front . I do not have a good one to be re chromed . Have looked but came up short on a good core . I am going to move the bumper back toward the grill and would have to cut it on the ends and weld it back together and then have it chromed . Glassteck fiberglass had one for$ 195 plus packaging and ride . There is a paint shop in town that can spray it and make it look like chrome . Took the turn signal housing cleaned and sprayed them flat black . Also picked up a B&M converter flax plate . My Doctor turned me loose with my shoulder but told me to take it easy so I will work on the light items .
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Well to start with I now have parts but the weather is something else here right now . June was the hottest month in the last 130 years . Tucson saw 119 several days , July looks a little better but to day is 109 . I have done a few small things and went thru some changes on the car in my mind ,..Finished up the turn signal bezels in front , used some silver tape in the bulb recess , this should reflect the amber bulb better than the silver paint I started with . Put the inside trim inside the back of the car . had to trim it down and give it some clearance for the wheel tubs , I want to use dyno mat on the tubs along with some black carpet when I finish it up .
I am going to add a few more pieces of roll cage tubing to the rear of the car . In the picture the ratchet straps are there to give me an idea what it would look like with more tubing in place . The reason for more cage is for added support , I will cut the 2x4 frame and add an exhaust port for the 3 inch tubes for the mufflers to go thru .
Also looked at the fuel tank looks like I will have to shim up the rear of the tank 1 1/2 inches , this will get the tank level in the car , it's a 20 gallon tank but with it not level when you get to a 1/4 of a tank full 3 gallons will be in the front of the tank
Also picked up a few more parts .
A K&N air filter to upgrade the one that came with the injector style air filter .
A 3 ft shifter cable , The one I have was 5 ft long and way to big .
A 31151 Milodon oil pan . The old one I have was from a dragster or old funny car , was to deep and hung down to low . The new on is 1 1/2 shorter and will hold 7 qts of oil .
At least I will not have to hold my breath when I go over a speed bump .
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I am back , have not died yet . We got a motorhome and did some traveling . 30k miles later we are back home . Picked up a Hilborn Injector intake with tubes , might try on Hemi in cuda , if they fit will use the blower on 65 AFX car .
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Well I had to do some thinking during the winter months , was down with Strep throat , the Flu and a sinus infection all at the same time for over 3 months . Being 70 years old I made the choice to finish up my 65 AFX Coronet with the Hemi . Over the last 3 weeks I finished up all the tin work in the 65 car and pulled and moved the Hemi from the 66 car to the 65 . .
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OK , I sold the 66 car to a long time friend of mine from N.C. . I am now in Georgia and a lot closer to home . ( N. C. ) He said that he would keep posting on the 66 cuda for everyone to see . Thanks to everyone on the interest on the car . I still have the 65 AWB car and will work on it .
 
Thanks for the update, but don't stop the pics of that build if you can. Love to see this being driven and you started a fantastic build. Good luck on the 65.
 
funnykarman said:
Well I had to do some thinking during the winter months , was down with Strep throat , the Flu and a sinus infection all at the same time for over 3 months . Being 70 years old I made the choice to finish up my 65 AFX Coronet with the Hemi . Over the last 3 weeks I finished up all the tin work in the 65 car and pulled and moved the Hemi from the 66 car to the 65 . .View attachment 1715322838 View attachment 1715322840
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I bought an old alum funny car pan that has the same shape as urs, and a single line system from the same car , have them on my 505 now .
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famous bob said:
I bought an old alum funny car pan that has the same shape as urs, and a single line system from the same car , have them on my 505 now .
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Thanks for looking , had fun building the cuda , Bought an old dragster oil pan but was to low for the car when on the ground . about 3 inches ground clearance , with the motor moved back it was an accident looking to happen , went to the shorter Milodon pan and problem was solved . As far as the injection system goes , I looked into a complete unit and Hilborn was just North of $7000.00 for it plus lines fittings plus not to many ways to insure it did not suck in trash or dirt and kill the Hemi it was feeding so I used the 6/71 blower . More to come and that's John .
 
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Just an update , Talked with Dave and he is putting a 440 together for now to go in the car . Hemi blocks are hard to find and real pricey , He just wants to get it running and driveable . He has everything to build both 440 and Hemi except the Hemi block ... John
 
OK just a little update , A few pic's of the new motor 440 , aluminum heads roller cam gear drive .
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funnykarman said:
After getting it welded up and setting the lower control arms level , the car had the right stance I was looking for but the tires rubbed the fenders when turned all the way left or right . Had this problem with a Willy's coupe and solved it with the control arms narrowed . Used 1 inch tape as a guide and found places on both upper and lower arms that could be cut and rewelded with no change as to were the shocks would be mounted . I cut them , braced them with 1/2 steel rods and plated inside both top and bottom arms with 1/8 plate. I also boxed the lower control arms with 1/8 plate across the bottom for added strength . I used QA1 coilover shocks for a stock Mustang II set with 500 # springs . For brakes I used a set of Wilwood brakes with 11 rotors . I am using M/T 26 inch tall tires up front with 4 1/2 by 15 Cragar wheels . rebuilt the control arms with Moog ball joints and rubber bushings .
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500 pound springs are going to ride like a go cart, ask me how I know!
I have a almost new pair of 300 pound springs when u get ready !
 
bob mCcarty said:
500 pound springs are going to ride like a go cart, ask me how I know!
I have a almost new pair of 300 pound springs when u get ready !
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Send him a PM on those.
 
funnykarman said:
After calling a couple of roll cage builders on line about getting a main hoop bent so I could get measurements for the rest of the cage and was told that they wanted to do the whole cage at one time and not in pieces , I tried in town and got the price of around $2500.00 average for the work so I bought a JD Square tubing bender with 1 5/8 die for $700.00 and 3 pieces of 1 5/8 roll cage tubing . With a 14 point cage did not take long to run out of tubing ! NHRA spec cage goes for about $100.00 for 20 ft . This not being a racecar I looked around at 1 1/2 mild steel black pipe and found that it was a few thousands smaller in outside diameter but thicker than regular tubing . At $44.00 for 21 foot this is what I used for the door cross bars and front frame braces ... There were four of the tubes that had to be bent in more that one angle . so not wasting tubing I cut and welded it together with a inner sleeve piece of tubing for strength ... So Guy's any one that lives around the Tucson area and needs a cage bent drop me a PM . you welcome to use the bender free of charge . P.S. I ended up with 7 more pieces of NHRA approved tubing , 140 ft worth that will be a whole lot cheaper that buying new ..... More fab next week , Hood made from 3 junk ones , and lets not forget those wipers and the motor placement ! !@#$%^&*():"> 7 days worth of HELL !!! :banghead:


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not sure what ur intended usage is , but that black gas pipe aint legal for nhra-------
 
Just to let everyone following this build know that Dave sold the car to a man from NY state . So I have NO way of updating anything but Dave said that Randy said that he had a Hemi to go in it . Thanks for everyone following the build . John P.S. still have my 65 AFX car and will continue to work on it .
 
^^ I admit the early B bodies are among my most favorites!! I just bought some parts from a friend in Wi. that is building one.
 
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