Pretty well finished the interior - except for the front buckets - which I have to recover.
Next is the front grille assembly
Next is the front grille assembly
SRT8CUDA Build
- Thread starter RealWing
- Start date
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Looks awesome! The trunk panel/tail light alignment looks awesome! Most I have seen are not the greatest.
LOL, snow....woke up to it this morning dammit.
LOL, snow....woke up to it this morning dammit.
Thanks
The trunk panel alignment is never going to be perfect on these Cuda's - but that was as good as I could get.
Never fear - spring and warmer weather is coming!!!!
Jim
Some assembly required:happy1:
Joe Dokes
Well-Known Member
Hmmm, think you might need some front seats. ;)
Very nice. I have no doubt that looks nicer than the day it rolled off the showroom floor.
Regards,
Joe Dokes.
Very nice. I have no doubt that looks nicer than the day it rolled off the showroom floor.
Regards,
Joe Dokes.
Hi Joe
Yes - no seats yet!! I've got to re-upholster the front seats. I bought the new Rallye style bucket seat kit from legendary. They have raised side bolsters and look to be a lot more comfortable than the stock seats. They come with new foam etc.
I've never done any upholstery - so it should be interesting. There are some great videos from Legendary and it only takes them a few minutes to upholster a seat. I hate to think how long it will take me.
Jim
Yes - no seats yet!! I've got to re-upholster the front seats. I bought the new Rallye style bucket seat kit from legendary. They have raised side bolsters and look to be a lot more comfortable than the stock seats. They come with new foam etc.
I've never done any upholstery - so it should be interesting. There are some great videos from Legendary and it only takes them a few minutes to upholster a seat. I hate to think how long it will take me.
Jim
After installing the deck lid, interior and all the soundproofing, I found that the rear of the car was sitting too low. Even after cranking up the coil spring all the way - it was still too low.
I sent an e-mail off to Bill Reilly at RMS, and he got right back to me to check the center to center distance on the shock (should be 11.5" - 13"). After looking at the photos etc, he confirmed that I need stiffer rear springs. They will be coming my way - no charge. All part of buying the rear suspension setup
I may also have an issue with the axle vent hitting the tail pipe. Hopefully I will have enough clearance when I get the car sitting higher. If not, maybe I can rotate the tail pipe to clear the vent. I sure don't want to move that vent now!!!
I sent an e-mail off to Bill Reilly at RMS, and he got right back to me to check the center to center distance on the shock (should be 11.5" - 13"). After looking at the photos etc, he confirmed that I need stiffer rear springs. They will be coming my way - no charge. All part of buying the rear suspension setup
I may also have an issue with the axle vent hitting the tail pipe. Hopefully I will have enough clearance when I get the car sitting higher. If not, maybe I can rotate the tail pipe to clear the vent. I sure don't want to move that vent now!!!
Slowly progressing on fixing the cracks in the grille surrounds.I'm using a product called Plastex. Never used it before but seems to work really well. Some of the cracks are very wide because the plastic surrounds have shrunk (which is why they crack)
You simply apply tape on one side of the crack. Sprinkle white powder into a beveled notch on the other side and then wet with a chemical. Bonds to the plastic and seems very strong. You can apply the powder and chemical to some fiberglass mat to strengthen the area.
You simply apply tape on one side of the crack. Sprinkle white powder into a beveled notch on the other side and then wet with a chemical. Bonds to the plastic and seems very strong. You can apply the powder and chemical to some fiberglass mat to strengthen the area.
Blasted the egg crate grille sections using low pressure glass beads to remove all the old paint. Then painted with SEM Trim Black. These pieces are supposed to be a flat black, but the Trim Black is a semi-flat black that is pretty close to original.
These pieces were originally painted from the back which left the front faces unpainted. Based on advice from others, I found it was best to paint from both sides and then sand the paint off the front edges.
These pieces were originally painted from the back which left the front faces unpainted. Based on advice from others, I found it was best to paint from both sides and then sand the paint off the front edges.
Cleaned these up and painted with Rallye Wheel Silver. Probably not 100% original but pretty close.
I bought new repro trim for the grilles from PG Classics, but no way do they fit correctly. They are not bent correctly in the corners and after trying to tweek them every which way - there is no way they would fit like the originals.:banghead::banghead::banghead:
So I went back to the originals. They are anodized, so I first had to strip the anodizing before I can sand and polish them and then clear coat. That will take many hours of work, but in the end, they will fit exactly back in the frames.
SO - DO NOT BUY THESE REPRO TRIMS for your Cuda!!!!
So I went back to the originals. They are anodized, so I first had to strip the anodizing before I can sand and polish them and then clear coat. That will take many hours of work, but in the end, they will fit exactly back in the frames.
SO - DO NOT BUY THESE REPRO TRIMS for your Cuda!!!!
Got a reply back from PG Classics:
"We apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you during your restoration and will have our manuf. look into it and see if anything can be done for future batches to address what you have noted. In the mean time RMA info will be emailed to you in a separate email if you wish to return for a refund."
Nothing wrong with their customer service - based on this reply.
"We apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you during your restoration and will have our manuf. look into it and see if anything can be done for future batches to address what you have noted. In the mean time RMA info will be emailed to you in a separate email if you wish to return for a refund."
Nothing wrong with their customer service - based on this reply.
Canadian Cuda
Active Member
Hey Jim might be a silly question what are you using the Driano for? It was in the picture of the grill trim pieces. Back from Florida and going to get back to my Cuda project. Do you think you will have this car at Moparfest this year? Cheers Bob
Hi Bob
The draino is added to a water bath to make a caustic solution to strip the anodizing off the aluminum. Only takes a few minutes. After that, you have to sand it and then polish and then finally clear coat to prevent it from oxidizing. many hours of work!!!
the plan is to have it at Moparfest!!!
Jim
Canadian Cuda
Active Member
As they say you learn something new everyday. Thanks Jim for the info on the use of draino to remove anodizing I am sure that tip will come in very handy. Been following your build for sometime with great interest. If I every get this website my stuff figured out I will try to post my notchback build. Short of that I will bring pictures to Moparfest to show you there. My pictures when ever I post a reply always end up sideways. Cheers. Bob
Finished polishing the Al grille trim. Coated it with Eastwood clear coat. Looks pretty good and is not yellowish.
Pretty difficult to take a picture of it - but here is a shot.
I ordered some semi-tubular rivets from Jay-Cee Sales & Rivets to rivet the trim back onto the grille - like the factory used. Also ordered a rivet tool from www.tubularrivetclincher.com Got the rivets in a week, but 3 weeks later - no tool. I was able to contact the tool seller initially and ordered the tool and a die set OK. The tool seller - Bryan - said he would provide the tracking number but never did. He hasn't replied to e-mails, I've left several phone messages which are never returned. Now his voice mailbox is full, so he obviously isn't listening to his messages. I found a phone number for a person who used to look after his orders and she said she will talk to him and have him phone me - which didnt happen.
Called her today and told her to pass onto this Bryan guy that it is obvious he has not shipped the order and to cancel it and credit my CC. Now I have to start over and find a tool and dies so I can assemble this grille. Plus I expect a hassle to get the credit.
Mumble, mumble, mumble
The message is - do NOT buy anything from this guy at www.tubularrivetclincher.com
Called her today and told her to pass onto this Bryan guy that it is obvious he has not shipped the order and to cancel it and credit my CC. Now I have to start over and find a tool and dies so I can assemble this grille. Plus I expect a hassle to get the credit.
Mumble, mumble, mumble
The message is - do NOT buy anything from this guy at www.tubularrivetclincher.com
jeffneal66
Well-Known Member
You need to call your credit card company and explain so they can NOT make the payment.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I agree. That is my next step
The lower rocker panel wide sill moldings (Option code M25) are no longer available and neither are the plastic retainer clips (p/n 6002437).
However the wide sill moldings for a '71-'74 Dart/Duster are being reproduced, however they are about 1" too long, so they have to be shortened to fit - which is no problem.
I found some retainer clips p/n 6003775 that looked like they would work, but they are too wide.
In the end I decided to simply glue them in place using polyurethane adhesive. I first installed blind well nuts and crimped them in place, then screwed on small pieces of aluminum, followed by a dob of adhesive on each one. Looks like it should work OK.
However the wide sill moldings for a '71-'74 Dart/Duster are being reproduced, however they are about 1" too long, so they have to be shortened to fit - which is no problem.
I found some retainer clips p/n 6003775 that looked like they would work, but they are too wide.
In the end I decided to simply glue them in place using polyurethane adhesive. I first installed blind well nuts and crimped them in place, then screwed on small pieces of aluminum, followed by a dob of adhesive on each one. Looks like it should work OK.
One side completed OK
Working away on installing the Legendary "Rallye" style seat covers on the front seats. Some photos of the seat bottom. Legendary has excellent installation videos on their web site to install these specific seats on '69 Cuda frames (for upholstery dummies like me!!) There are 3 videos; how to prep the frames, how to prep the new foam and finally how to install the seat covers.
Nice work Jim. Looks like the new foam has a lot more angle on the side bolsters. Mine are pretty flat.
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