E-Bodies.org Cuda Challenger Forum

Hello Everyone —

After owning the car for about two years and letting it sit, I've finally registered the car under my name and am ready to start the restoration project. Luckily, I reconnected with an old friend who does body work for a living and will be helping me (I'm clueless when it comes to car work).

The current plan is we are stripping the car to prepare for body work. We do not know whether to start with the front or back and we can use all the tips we can get.

The car is originally a 340, but all I have to identify it was the vin, so I have no idea what the extra options were.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181009/8d2864860dd82429040887d4d3766d5d.jpg)
For everyone whose done the complete restoration process please comment any thing you think would be worth knowing.

I will post pics regularly and I've also started an Instagram account to post pics on there if you would like to follow the account [SuperSlimey_70Cuda].

For now, I'll leave you on how it looked before we started stripping it and after day 1. Thanks!(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181009/d4698b1685ebd093f74439c2513f6ce3.jpg)


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Take tons of pics and label everything well.  Stay organized.  Work while sober. :bradsthumb:

https://forum.e-bodies.org/cuda-and-challenger-general-discussion-roseville-moparts/2/breaking-a-car-down-for-media-blasting-tips-for-a-rookie/517/;nowap

Great Project.  First the best way to strip a car is to label all the parts and put them in bags. Once you get the car apart I would recommend sending it out to a professional who will dip the car to strip the paint and any fillers.  You will know when you get it back from the dip what sheet metal will need to be replaced. The cowl area is pretty rough.  When you repair or replace it make sure you save the VIN number on the drivers side top

I had my car media blasted.  No regrets.  Tons of time and extra money spent, but there is Zero fear of whats "under the paint"

Cool project...who knows maybe you will find the build sheet when you are taking it apart. If you do you will be able to figure out what options came on the car. If not....build it the way you want it!  I have a 70 Cuda I hope to start restoring in the next year as well

Nice Cuda Project
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the car!
:wrenching:

So the plan is to remove everything, we are trying our best to label everything and keep everything together and then have it media blasted.
Does anyone know of a place in the SF Bay area and also an idea of the price to get it media blasted?

Sorry guys, but I am a newbie, so excuse me if I sound very clueless at times.

 :welcome: from the Bay Area. Two members here in the Bay Area built their Cuda from the ground up. Try PM Topcat and HP-Cuda. They might know where to send you. Have fun.

Buy lots of Baggies & totes , too many pictures are never enough !!
Do you have acces to a rotisserie or dollies to move it around
I would drop the steering column , torsion bars , trans mount , driveshaft  & split the upper ball joints Pull the rad hoses & rad & shroud out  , disconnect the brake hoses , throttle cable & wiring  & drop the K frame out with the engine & trans.
The rear is just as easy , drop out the leaf springs , shocks & diff , then pull the brake &  fuel lines & tank
Interior can be done forst or last
Make sure to keep the hardware separated & marked where they go

 :iagree:

I paid $1,300ish to have my car media blasted in SoCal.

Keep asking questions.

make sure you take your car to a shop you absolutely trust as it doesn't take long for media Blaster to destroy a car.

 :welcome:

Don't sweat asking the questions.   I've been working on my car for over 6 years now and am still seeking help from the gurus on this forum.

My nickel's worth of advice on your project is to make decisions early about what you're going to do with the car in terms of modifications. Adding subframe connectors, for example, is a good way to stiffen the frame for improved handling.   They are a lot easier to add while the car is stripped down then adding them in later.  Similarly, when you get to the fuel system, are you going to go with a carb or make the jump to electronic fuel injection (EFI)?  The direction on the fuel system may have an impact on the fuel tank you buy (some, like the Tanks Inc version, are configured for an electric fuel pump in the tank versus using the mechanical fuel pump on the engine).  Dang near anything can be done (or re-done) given enough time and money, so the more homework you do in advance, the more better off you will be.  There are a number of restoration threads on this site that are a terrific source of ideas and guidance:  https://forum.e-bodies.org/your-restoration-project-roseville-moparts/10/

I would echo the advice from @TX9AAR (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/tx9aar_146) about sticking to working on a few subsystems at a time.   I didn't do that and ended up eventually taking my entire car apart which has filled up shelves and floor space with parts around my house such that my wife is probably pushing me harder that I am about getting the car finished just to recover the space.

If you haven't done so already, download a copy of the service manual for your car as this provides useful reference information:  https://www.e-bodies.org/resources/service-manuals-parts-catalogs-tsb/

Good luck on your project and keep the questions coming!

Quote from: HP_Cuda on October 19, 2018, 12:45:49 PM

Since you are in the Richmond area it looks like you may go where I will send another project to in Oakland.

Myers Sandblasting - which has good reviews on Yelp. They cannot epoxy prime your car afterwards but there are several body shops nearby that can do it for ya.

I also found:

S&B Sodablast which is in Santa Rosa though.

Great thank you. I believe I'll take it there. Need to find a place where they can epoxy prime it afterwards.


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Just some updates on the current progress. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181020/b8b9acfeb864cc38f965c68a7b0be75f.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181020/a4a9278ddc20672654424f7e8790b1d3.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181020/b8eeb981176b6a69190e0783f33957bc.jpg)


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Btw, if you need any 4 speed work done - Pete's Gear shop out of Hayward has done great by me!

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on October 10, 2018, 08:40:36 AM
So the plan is to remove everything, we are trying our best to label everything and keep everything together and then have it media blasted.



Does anyone know of a place in the SF Bay area and also an idea of the price to get it media blasted?

Myers Sand Blasting does entire cars.


860 Moorpark St, Oakland, CA 94603



PRMG+3Q Oakland, California
myerssandblasting.com
(510) 638-0444

@B5fourspeedfish did his there.

Quote from: HP_Cuda on October 22, 2018, 10:35:05 AM

Btw, if you need any 4 speed work done - Pete's Gear shop out of Hayward has done great by me!

I'm actually debating whether I want to keep everything original or throw a modern engine in there.

It has a 340 but it is not the original motor.

But thank you for the recommendation !


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Quote from: Topcat on October 22, 2018, 12:00:31 PM

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on October 10, 2018, 08:40:36 AM
So the plan is to remove everything, we are trying our best to label everything and keep everything together and then have it media blasted.



Does anyone know of a place in the SF Bay area and also an idea of the price to get it media blasted?

Myers Sand Blasting does entire cars.


860 Moorpark St, Oakland, CA 94603



PRMG+3Q Oakland, California
myerssandblasting.com
(510) 638-0444

@B5fourspeedfish did his there.

Thank you. I will reach out to them!


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Does anyone know how much a 340 engine goes for ?


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It really depends on a lot of things. The biggest issue is how much it has been bored out, then there is casting date, heads, current condition etc.
IMO a 340 isn't in as much demand as they used to be except for someone looking for a correct engine for their restoration. The cheaper, faster way to do a smallblock these days is a stroked 360 roller cam setup.

Just a little update on the car. Was sent to go get media blasted. Hopefully it comes back in one piece [emoji28]

I sent it to Myers Sand Blasting in Oakland, CA.
Will keep everyone update with the results.

Does anyone know where I can get it primered afterwards to prevent any additional rust ?

And here are some before pictures. Can't wait for the after.

Happy holidays everyone !

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/ec5991ff34c5d4184fd060680919df27.jpg)

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/4e5f90a52cb35f03dc700f61d32e9060.jpg)


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Just a little update on the car. Was sent to go get media blasted. Hopefully it comes back in one piece [emoji28]

I sent it to Myers Sand Blasting in Oakland, CA.
Will keep everyone update with the results.

Does anyone know where I can get it primered afterwards to prevent any additional rust ?

And here are some before pictures. Can't wait for the after.

Happy holidays everyone !


(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/f565f1889f477fe427c602f3b6949b6e.jpg)


(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/f1fa0586b5c97d6ec13dbfafce1d5c87.jpg)


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Quote from: cashmoneyerick on December 25, 2018, 10:13:00 PM


I sent it to Myers Sand Blasting in Oakland, CA.


Does anyone know where I can get it primered afterwards to prevent any additional rust ?

Good progress.   :cheers:

I'm sure Myers will get you a referral.

Nice project!
Normally the media blaster could throw a bit of etch primer on the car to stop surface rust. It really needs to go on it straight away,

I would also get them to blow and vac out the media from the car. The stuff gets in everywhere. They will normally have decent equipment for blowing or sucking most of it out.

2 things work well for removing media:

Lawn Leaf Blower: Air Volume

Followed by

Compressed air w/CDA filter: Pressure

Repeat as necessary.

I hope you took the windshield and rear window out before they media blast.  When I had my Cuda media blasted they shot it with a primer to keep the metal from rusting.  Like everybody has said you can never shoot enough pictures, and write notes with drawings.  It took me 9 years to do my restoration and by the time I started putting it back together my memory of "I'm sure I'll remember where or how this part goes" was long gone.  When referring to the hundreds of pictures I taken I sometimes found that while I had numerous picture of a particular part, I did not have a picture of the "angle" that I needed.  So take pictures from all angles.  That's where the internet and especially the great people on this forum came in to save the day.  As has been said buy numerous plastic totes and a few storage racks.  Label the storage totes, ie "interior", "brakes", "engine", "trunk", "transmission", "dash", etc. and put the corresponding parts "bagged and tagged" in each tote and store on the racks.  It makes it much easier to find the parts when restoring them and reassembling the car.  You can see the pics of my restoration at the link below.  Hopefully they may help.   Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. 

This will be a really cool project for you and it can be loads of fun if you approach it the right way. Another bit of advice I will offer is this.....do not stall along the way or you will become the guy with the 10 year restoration project. I've been there. Most of us have. Enjoy life, spend time with your family, but set aside a little time each week for the project so you don't lose momentum. Once you lose that, it's hard to get moving again and that's when you start forgetting the simple little things you didn't bother to photo. Momentum is key in these big projects and you seem to have it right now.

This may sound anal but it really works for me. I make a list of things to do. I keep a second list of things I need to order like sealer, gaskets, etc. It sucks when you are held up on something waiting for a $2 dollar gasket to arrive in the mail. Better to dismantle the steering column on Sunday, order parts you need that night online, and have them ready for you the following weekend when you feel like cleaning, painting, and reassembling. When things get really slow at work, I take a few minutes to update my lists. At night after work or on a day off, I pick something off the list to work on. You will be surprised by how much gets finished. There are some days you will be frustrated on the car and it's nice to step back and work on something different like repairing a center console and this way momentum is maintained. Truthfully you don't really need a list but I find that seeing something in writing on a to do list makes me feel like I really need to get it done. Keeps things moving along.

I have an extra room in my house so as I get things restored, I wrap them up and store them safely away along with the attaching hardware and gaskets. One less thing to deal with later on. And it always seems to be around this time you realize your missing a bolt or clip so you add it to your other list so you can get that dealt with before the final reassembly. As you spend little bits of spare time restoring lights, console, gauges, seats, etc. etc., it creates a lot more room in your garage and also gives you a feeling like things are really moving fast.

I find metal work is enjoyable and saves a ton of money but body work is absolute misery. I can do it but I think I'd rather work overtime at work and pay someone else to do that crap. Don't be afraid to try some things on your own to save money. You can have a $50k project real fast paying people to do everything. People in here will help and encourage you to try much of it yourself. Pay to do stuff you simply cannot do (like sandblasting) and attempt what you can.

Have fun and ask tons of questions. Nice bouncing ideas off people in here.

Hey everyone.
Finally got the car back from the media blaster.
I want to say that they probably didn't do the best job. There were some places that it looked like they didn't blast thurally, but I have the car back and have primered most of it. Looks like I have a real project ahead of me. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190307/6580199a5c53dc5abfb97b9c7c1e001d.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190307/3d060a62b353af0321410146fb4c11da.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190307/83bdbeb5e6ee4cf94654828e1b3faf41.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190307/5334e013b0cb684f22e5589eec55ccec.jpg)


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I would have removed the steering column before blasting.

Lots of repairs to address now !!

Don't get discussed--just pick a spot and fix it then move on to the next. It can be overwhelming somethimes when you stand back and look at the over all work a head of you but hang in there and just keep  plugging away thinking how much fun it is going to be to light them tires up on your first cruise.
JS27

Actually: I think you're in a good spot now. There are no surprises and whenever you repair something and move on to the next you can look back and see progress.

I agree. I'd probably start by verifying the front end is not out of whack and if the upper and lower cowl are okay, then put the inner fender panels in to provide more strength up front. You will definitely want the support before reinstalling a heavy engine.

Most of us have been where you are at so don't let any of this stress you. You can do it!

Can you elaborate on the areas they missed in media blasting.

I ask since I might use these guys in the near future.

Thanks,
Bryan

looks like a clean rust free slate to start with.

Quote from: HP_Cuda on March 07, 2019, 10:50:15 AM

Can you elaborate on the areas they missed in media blasting.

I ask since I might use these guys in the near future.

Thanks,
Bryan

They were a little careless on the underside of the floor pans, the wheelhouse area, some parts of the frame rail.

They may have rushed on my car, because I dropped it off in December and was supposed to receive it in mid January, but one of their machines broke and they couldn't get any cars done. Then they told me it would be ready at the end of February, after I got back from my vacation. I was in constant contact with them. Then while on vacation they call me and tell me it's ready and they need me to pick it up because they have other cars waiting. They had it towed to my house because they were in such a rush to get it out. I believe that is why they didn't do such a great job.

Also, I vividly told them not to blast the door vin off, and they did it anyways.

I would just make sure to check in with them constantly.


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Good to know, sorry you had a sub par experience.

Did they use a lift to do the underside?

damn, that sucks when you take you ride some place and they just can't get it right. Sorry man.

Quote from: HP_Cuda on March 11, 2019, 12:38:59 PM

Good to know, sorry you had a sub par experience.

Did they use a lift to do the underside?

I'm really not sure if they have one. I wanna say that they don't. It's not so bad, because I figure I have to replace with new sheet metal the places they missed.


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Sorry to hear about this on the door vin blasted off.  :Thud:

@B54SPEED (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/b54speed_749) had really good success working with them before.

I had some of my parts done there as well.

Well your car is going on a journey towards restoration; and it'll be nice to see it back on the road again.

Hey Rick

How much did it run you to get it media blasted?

Thanks,
Bryan

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on March 11, 2019, 12:07:40 PM

Quote from: HP_Cuda on March 07, 2019, 10:50:15 AM

Can you elaborate on the areas they missed in media blasting.

I ask since I might use these guys in the near future.

Thanks,
Bryan

They were a little careless on the underside of the floor pans, the wheelhouse area, some parts of the frame rail.

They may have rushed on my car, because I dropped it off in December and was supposed to receive it in mid January, but one of their machines broke and they couldn't get any cars done. Then they told me it would be ready at the end of February, after I got back from my vacation. I was in constant contact with them. Then while on vacation they call me and tell me it's ready and they need me to pick it up because they have other cars waiting. They had it towed to my house because they were in such a rush to get it out. I believe that is why they didn't do such a great job.

Also, I vividly told them not to blast the door vin off, and they did it anyways.

I would just make sure to check in with them constantly.


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Quote from: HP_Cuda on March 12, 2019, 12:21:06 PM

Hey Rick

How much did it run you to get it media blasted?

Thanks,
Bryan

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on March 11, 2019, 12:07:40 PM

Quote from: HP_Cuda on March 07, 2019, 10:50:15 AM

Can you elaborate on the areas they missed in media blasting.

I ask since I might use these guys in the near future.

Thanks,
Bryan

They were a little careless on the underside of the floor pans, the wheelhouse area, some parts of the frame rail.

They may have rushed on my car, because I dropped it off in December and was supposed to receive it in mid January, but one of their machines broke and they couldn't get any cars done. Then they told me it would be ready at the end of February, after I got back from my vacation. I was in constant contact with them. Then while on vacation they call me and tell me it's ready and they need me to pick it up because they have other cars waiting. They had it towed to my house because they were in such a rush to get it out. I believe that is why they didn't do such a great job.

Also, I vividly told them not to blast the door vin off, and they did it anyways.

I would just make sure to check in with them constantly.


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It was a total of $1750 for the car.

Pretty reasonable from what I've been told.




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Did you get a good picture of the door VIN decal , , as Runcharger said you can get near perfect repro decals if you did

Super late to the party.  Glad to see you had it blasted.  If its a car you plan to keep, worth spending the big bucks now to enjoy the car for a lifetime with no surprises/have to repaint again. 

Quote from: Chryco Psycho on April 02, 2019, 09:15:12 PM
Did you get a good picture of the door VIN decal , , as Runcharger said you can get near perfect repro decals if you did

I did not. I'm new to this and figured the guy wouldn't blast it off. Didn't even cross my mind to take a picture. But moving forward I'll be sure to document everything.


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That is too bad , a quick picture before would have been great to have

It has been said already; take detailed pictures of the areas you work on before and after.  It gives you a reference as to what needs to be done, both exterior and interior. I have taken hundreds of pics of my car as I work on it. I will at times reference them as needed! It really helps me as I put things back together.

I take my time and learn as i go (sort of what I am doing with the body work)
I make time each week and focus on one area at a time.

I am no body man and I am tackling patch panels currently (AMD cut to fit where needed)
I'm a decent mechanic but not a welder.
There are good people here always willing to help!  :wrenching:
You are making great progress.
Good luck with your car

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on April 03, 2019, 06:48:51 AM

Quote from: Chryco Psycho on April 02, 2019, 09:15:12 PM
Did you get a good picture of the door VIN decal , , as Runcharger said you can get near perfect repro decals if you did

I did not. I'm new to this and figured the guy wouldn't blast it off. Didn't even cross my mind to take a picture. But moving forward I'll be sure to document everything.


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A copy of the title or Reg will be all you need to get a new door Vin sticker made.

Contact ECS http://www.ecsautomotive.com/productdesc.php?co=c&id=52

Was the decal mounted horizontal? Or vertical?

Quote from: Topcat on May 05, 2019, 02:31:08 PM

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on April 03, 2019, 06:48:51 AM

Quote from: Chryco Psycho on April 02, 2019, 09:15:12 PM
Did you get a good picture of the door VIN decal , , as Runcharger said you can get near perfect repro decals if you did

I did not. I'm new to this and figured the guy wouldn't blast it off. Didn't even cross my mind to take a picture. But moving forward I'll be sure to document everything.


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A copy of the title or Reg will be all you need to get a new door Vin sticker made.

Contact ECS http://www.ecsautomotive.com/productdesc.php?co=c&id=52

Was the decal mounted horizontal? Or vertical?

Thank you for that. I will order them.
And it was mounted vertical I believe.
Left to right. If that makes sense.


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Haven't responded in a while.

But, I was wondering if anyone in the Bay Area would be able to help out. So now that I have the car back from the media blasters. It seems like ALL the panels and frame rails needs to be replaced. It just seems like there's wholes everywhere.

My friend whose helping me does body work, but he's never did body work on a car like this. I'm curious for a second opinion as to what really needs to be replaced and what may be patchable or fixable without replacing the entire panel or original metal.

If anyone has some time please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you guys!


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Wow that is not good  :crying:

@HP_Cuda (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/hpcuda_20) Can you help this guy out?  I know @Cuda Cody (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/cuda-cody_1) would give you a few minutes of his time.  I think it's worth doing the research and knowing what you're getting into so you don't give up.  I think it's really wise of you to pause for a minute and really think through this.  Wishing you the best of luck.

LA plant vs Hamtramck plant.  That is what we've seen when it comes to what way they were installed.  It's easy to get a new door VIN sticker so I would not worry about it. 

Quote from: cashmoneyerick on June 08, 2019, 04:05:41 PM

And it was mounted vertical I believe.
Left to right. If that makes sense.


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I'm always happy to help.  I'm not close enough to you to come look at it in person, but post as many photos as you can on here and I'm sure you'll get lots of good tips and advice on what needs to be replaced and what can be repaired.

If you haven't restored a car before they all look bad after blasting. You really have to make a few good decisions going forward though to make the end result a better product. Lots of eastern guys have done major jobs before. Perhaps post a few photos and we can help steer you a bit.
If the rear is in real bad shape and needing everything just buy the Dynacorn prewelded frame rails and trunkfloor unit. Even then you need to know how to jig everything up and how to weld it as well as knowing how to cut it apart initially.
I looked at it again and it does look more like a coastal car. Not huge holes but small holes everywhere.

Good luck with your project  :bigthumb:

Definitely don't allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. Everything is available. Much of it you can handle yourself. Lots of people here can guide you through it and provide info, pictures, advice.

I have a Challenger that I took a break on. The entire car was so rusty that looking back, I was an idiot to try and save it. But I've since rebuilt the entire front end, patched up many areas in the midsection, and it's waiting for me to rebuild the entire rear end. It will get done.

You will be surprised by how much can be saved. The TV shows always replace so much metal that it gives the impression that it's always necessary when most of the time, an area cat be cut away and fresh metal spliced in. I think entire panel replacement is done simply because it's faster.

@cashmoneyerick (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/cashmoneyerick_1213) on a positive note there are currently so many replacement pieces and this is a recent trend, so you lucked out on the timing vs cutting up old cars

Quote from: 70 Challenger Lover on June 09, 2019, 08:44:41 AM
Definitely don't allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. Everything is available. Much of it you can handle yourself. Lots of people here can guide you through it and provide info, pictures, advice.

I have a Challenger that I took a break on. The entire car was so rusty that looking back, I was an idiot to try and save it. But I've since rebuilt the entire front end, patched up many areas in the midsection, and it's waiting for me to rebuild the entire rear end. It will get done.

You will be surprised by how much can be saved. The TV shows always replace so much metal that it gives the impression that it's always necessary when most of the time, an area cat be cut away and fresh metal spliced in. I think entire panel replacement is done simply because it's faster.

I find it both quicker and easier to replace the entire panel and if you can't do your own panel prep and paint (like me) it works out cheaper because you don't need to pay to have the bondo work done to get the panel ready to paint. The end result is better with less bondo and zero chance of the rust returning and some panels hide structure that could be rusted take the roof skin for example if you remove it all the structure is exposed and can be repaired if needed but you will never know what it is like till the skin comes off.

Will you be attempting this yourself and if so have you done anything like this before?

Quote from: RUNCHARGER on June 10, 2019, 07:13:17 AM
Will you be attempting this yourself and if so have you done anything like this before?

I will be attempting this by myself and with a friend who for a living does body work. He has a lot of experience with Chevys, but never worked on a unibody.

But I personally don't have any experience with this before.


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Quote from: RUNCHARGER on June 09, 2019, 08:27:03 AM
If you haven't restored a car before they all look bad after blasting. You really have to make a few good decisions going forward though to make the end result a better product. Lots of eastern guys have done major jobs before. Perhaps post a few photos and we can help steer you a bit.
If the rear is in real bad shape and needing everything just buy the Dynacorn prewelded frame rails and trunkfloor unit. Even then you need to know how to jig everything up and how to weld it as well as knowing how to cut it apart initially.
I looked at it again and it does look more like a coastal car. Not huge holes but small holes everywhere.

I've been trying to find the Dynacorn unit your referring but I can't find it on google. Can you send me the link?


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Here's a link to the trunk floor/rail assembly. It's for a Challenger but a lot less work to modify for a Cuda than welding all the stuff together piece by piece. I have been thinking about picking one up just for future consideration myself.

http://dynacorndepot.com/trunk-floor-pan-70-challenger-6000wt-challenger-70-70

Quote from: RUNCHARGER on June 10, 2019, 07:11:59 PM
Here's a link to the trunk floor/rail assembly. It's for a Challenger but a lot less work to modify for a Cuda than welding all the stuff together piece by piece. I have been thinking about picking one up just for future consideration myself.

http://dynacorndepot.com/trunk-floor-pan-70-challenger-6000wt-challenger-70-70

Being that it is for a challenger; what are the main differences between that and the cuda panels ?


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The gas tank fill neck hole location would be the only difference, Sheldon would you need a proper body frame jig to get that section in as one?

Yes: You would have to carefully measure, cut and splice. You're only welding in one piece though, not 10 or 12. I think if I was doing this particular car that this is the first part I would replace.

I would want to see what the rear frame rails look like before jumping on this one large piece.
I agree with Sheldon that this saves time and money, however you should have a jig or frame table at least.

I just finished a challenger, having never restored a car before. I have a good background in metal working skills so that probably saved me.  Mine was probably worse shape that yours. What I did was totally un-bolted everything and put what was left on a cart. I then cut out what was 100% rust, then had it sand-blasted. I then sprayed etch primer and removed every piece of sheetmetal that  I wanted to replace. That didn't leave much at all to work with. I wouldn't do that again because when I started installing new sheetmetal, I didn't have anything to attach it to. Imagine having just frame rails on a jig and a pile of new sheetmetal, where do you start ??  Anyway when you're ready to install a new panel, remove just the old one so you have something to attach it to, even if what you attach it to will be replaced later. Other than that, you should read as much as you can in books and this and other forums and work on your metal working skills.  Good luck my friend, you can do it, just plan it all out before you start.

Exactly Van. It will need to be in a jig or cart for sure and once it is set in there that's why I would do the rear section first. You need reference points to build upon. Hopefully the rockers are fairly intact to support and work from.

From the pictures, it seems that you will be buying a good deal of replacement metal because it will be cheaper than fixing and bondo'ing what you have. The A pillars, the firewall, the cowl (upper and lower), frame rails, etc. I dumped about 8-9 grand in metal and my frame rails were better than yours and I still replaced the front passenger side rail.

Not trying to scare you off of the project but trying to be real on whats in front of you. I just took on a new job and I am doing a large amount of foreign travel so my time is somewhat scarce now. If you have any friends that are body folks you could enlist their help.

Good luck on the project,
B

@HP_Cuda (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/hpcuda_20) if you happen to have some of those photos of that car that you completely had to have gone through maybe post some.

Quote from: anlauto on June 16, 2019, 03:12:35 PM
Only takes two things...time and money  :alan2cents:

I totally agree with you on this one Alan, however, I want to add one more, "talent".

Little update pics on my restoration project. Before and after.

Looking good! Just read the whole thread.

 :1place:

Here are a few more progress photos. Girlfriend and I just had our first baby so i had to slow down on working on the car. But hopefully i pick it up soon again. Most of the heavy body work is done. Still need a few patches and fixes here and there, but its coming along.

Wow this is a massive project, but the results look amazing so far  :twothumbsup:

It has been overwhelming to say the least. Luckily my good friend works as a body shop and he has been moving this project forward.

My best friend was also a paint and body man.  If it hadn't been for him I would have never been able to finish my 'Cuda.  Then again, mine didn't need as much work as yours does/did.  You friend is doing a great job! :twothumbsup:

Oh WOW! This car started in a worst metal condition than mine... Good job so far!