E-Bodies.org Cuda Challenger Forum

Not being one to " leave well enough alone. I decided I wanted to run 18x11 rims with 315/30R18 tires up front. So to do this necessitated custom front fenders. I saved my original rust free California fenders and bought a pair of AMD replacements to play with. I then scored a new in the box english wheel form my local Kijiji. I had never used one before but after a few hours practice I felt I was getting the hang of it and started building my new fenders. Watch your fingers/thumbs on the english wheel!  :D

 

Here is the new 18" rims next to the old 15" rims

This is with the new AMD fenders placed on to see what needs to be done

Well? no turning back at this point.

Top panel first. I did scrap one top panel in making these. ( pictures make it look easy)

Next came the side panels I did them in 2 pieces per side. I also welded in the original wheel arches.

Metal work all done, original turn signal metal welded back in. I did have to rework the  lower wheel arches for tire clearance when at full lock. It was a lot of work welding , basically you do a spot weld ( mig) and immediately cool it off with the airline to prevent warping. Then grind down all the thousands of welds. It was a fun project but I can't say I'd want to do it again anytime soon. 

This is so IMPRESSIVE!   :perfect10:  I need to make a new smiley just for you.... stand by.

Minimal bondo, then paint. I'm not happy with the paint as in low light its not a very good match to the rest of the car, but it will have to do till I can afford to paint the entire car....

You are so amazing I had to make this smiley for you!    :bradsthumb:

With in hours of finishing this I drove it down to Carlisle, made the 7-8 hour drive no issues. Amazing to drive on the hwy on ramps!  While at Carlisle it was fun to see the steady stream of people looking at it. Most came over and poked/tapped the fenders to see if they were steel or fiberglass. I expected a pile of negative comments as most Mopar enthusiasts are purists, but I was really surprised at all the attention it got, all positive? Mopar Muscle magazine came over and asked to take a few pictures. It ended up in the December 2014 edition! I was very surprised!  It also ended up on the front cover of bangshift.com!
http://bangshift.com/general-news/event-coverage/chryslers-carlisle-collection-nothing-b-e-body-photos-cool-iron-abounds/

I have seen this impressive work in person and it is simply amazing!   :bigthumb:

Thanks guys!  I get board easy if I have nothing to do. Other than paint I think I'm finished though?   I'm really Jonesing for a 71 AMC Javelin to make into a Mark Donohue clone......  I have a " thing" for Trans Am cars  :yes:
Besides I have a set of 15" Minilite rims kicking around doing nothing, I might as well find a car to put them on?  :)

That AMC would be sweet!   :inlove:

A buddy of mine here in Denver has a gorgeous Pontiac TA, and his dad is really into AMC Javelin's.  Some consider him THE guru in the U.S.  Here is a pic and quick video of his Javelin.

Nice I'm facebook " friends" with the guy that ( Wayne Davis) has the clone racecar, same guy as your video I'm guessing. It was for sale on e-bay awhile back.

A few more of the finished product.

It has a super cool look and the wheel look like they fit it perfectly!    :1place:

I may be blind but where did you get your wheels?

Quote from: Carticular on October 26, 2017, 07:38:56 PM
I may be blind but where did you get your wheels?

Welcome to the forum! Wheels are from here....
http://www.team3wheels.com/lt_iii.html

I love the rims. I love what you have done to your car. 

Why are they $450ish per rim?  Call me cheap, but dang, that is expensive. 

And not to upset everyone, but why are so many Mopar folks purists?  Is this common among Chevy and Ford folks?  Please don't kick me off the site for asking. 

Welcome @Carticular (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/carticular_1053)   :panama:

Quote from: nsmall on October 26, 2017, 10:26:26 PM
I love the rims. I love what you have done to your car. 

Why are they $450ish per rim?  Call me cheap, but dang, that is expensive. 

And not to upset everyone, but why are so many Mopar folks purists?  Is this common among Chevy and Ford folks?  Please don't kick me off the site for asking.

Yes they are pricey, same with the tires.( Falken Azenis RT615K) But as the old saying goes ..." going fast costs money, how fast do you want to go? "  When I first got my car the family 6000lbs Suburban out handled and braked the Challenger. That drove me nuts! As far as handling and braking goes these cars were terrible in bone stock form.  To be fair  almost 50 years of technology advancement will do that.

As far as the purist thing goes.... different strokes for different folks I guess. I certainly appreciate the numbers matching high dollar cars and enjoy them at car shows. I Enjoy watching guys like Alan , Cody, Shane Kelly and others restore them to perfection. I would never do what I did to a high dollar collectible car. Mine is a lowly /6 , something I could afford and not feel to bad about modifying it. I'm finding out that as " anal" ( in a good way/for lack of a better term?) as some Mopar people are , the worst in that category go to AMC people. Like WOW  already!  haha ( Mopars are way cooler cars!)

I would say with Chevy and Ford people its not so bad  as they were produced in such great numbers as compared to the rest, that unless you have a rare Shelby, or Yenko it's no big deal to cut up a car as there are millions of them to choose from. Next time you go to a car show look around and see how many Mustangs/Camaro's there are....   "WHO ORDERED PIZZA"  :Stirring:

Quote from: CudaMoparRay on October 27, 2017, 12:15:23 AM
Dodge should have done something like that to the Demon instead of looking more like an add-on.
It would be an integrated part of the body like yours.

:iagree:  They almost look "Cheap" to me. Like someone bolted on some 4x4 bushwacker flairs ?

So when you are doing the rear flares and fitting 355+ out back??

Quote from: dave73chally on October 27, 2017, 10:58:09 AM
So when you are doing the rear flares and fitting 355+ out back??

I've been asked that a few times. I'm happy with it as it is now. If I get tired of this look I can simply bolt on my original fenders. If I mess with the quarters that not a simple bolt on to go back.

I like that look as well. The fronts are just awesome.

Wait, the AMC crowd is worse?  I had no idea.

That makes sense about Ford and Chevy.

Totally agree about the Demon.  Why fender flare it?  It's hard to understand that decision.  I guess I'm whining because I won't be buying one in the next 20 years.

There are  members at TheAMCFORUM that consider it sacrilegious to modify an AMC. Some members will flame you for it. I have been a member for over three years now over there in purist land.

Brad it seems you have a single 4 bbl carb under that T/A hood. Can you post a picture of the base plate. Is it steel or fiberglass? How did you get the air cleaner housing to seal against the hood?  I ask because Year One  emailed this morning to state the T/A hood I ordered will arrive Thursday, 11/02/2017. My engine is a 340 sporting a four-barrel. I have made plenum boxes for carbs out of fiberglass and may do it for my Challenger. Thanks. BTW, the front flares you made for your Challenger are to die for.

There are members of most car groups who think stock is the only right choice & to do otherwise is sacrilege... I'm building a Ford Falcon, semi common, no value, still I got so much hate from the Falcon website I quit posting.... Their loss... I like stock, I prefer my stuff look close to stock but work better than original...

Quote from: IRON MAN on October 27, 2017, 09:03:03 PM
There are  members at TheAMCFORUM that consider it sacrilegious to modify an AMC. Some members will flame you for it. I have been a member for over three years now over there in purist land.

Brad it seems you have a single 4 bbl carb under that T/A hood. Can you post a picture of the base plate. Is it steel or fiberglass? How did you get the air cleaner housing to seal against the hood?  I ask because Year One  emailed this morning to state the T/A hood I ordered will arrive Thursday, 11/02/2017. My engine is a 340 sporting a four-barrel. I have made plenum boxes for carbs out of fiberglass and may do it for my Challenger. Thanks. BTW, the front flares you made for your Challenger are to die for.

The base I have was made by hybrid-fiberglass-solutions  . I don't think they are around anymore? I just noticed that one of the sponsors here Shakerhood.com make one in steel.( first picture) I sent an email asking for the measurement between the bottom of the carb flange to the air filter surface to see if it will work with my intake set up , but haven't heard back yet?
http://www.shakerhood.com/products.php?id=CudaParts

Quote from: IRON MAN on October 27, 2017, 09:03:03 PM
There are  members at TheAMCFORUM that consider it sacrilegious to modify an AMC. Some members will flame you for it. I have been a member for over three years now over there in purist land.

Ya I've been over there lurking for a couple years, joined up awhile back. I hear what your saying.... although some members do heavily modify their AMC's

I like them all: I really appreciate a stock restoration but if you have a 318 car that isn't too rare I see no reason not to modify it. That being said though I like day2 type mods more than this "pro touring" deal. However that is what individuality is all about so that's where good workmanship trumps all I believe.
I do wonder though if there are more correctly restored Cudas and Challenger than there are correctly restored Camaros and Firebirds? I think there may be.

I helped my friend build a real Pacer X with a well built 360 & he also rebuilt a Gremlin X with a 360 instead of the 304 , I am sure the value has increased by $ 1 or so but not a lot more !!

Brad, Thanks for posting the pix of your fiberglass base plate. I could  make it if I had a metal base plate to make a plaster mold from. The Vendor you mentioned is commanding Nordstrom pricing for their steel base plate  $650.00 + shipping. I guess with classic MOPARs one can no longer be a K mart shopper.  :rofl:

Tom @rocketresto (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/rocketresto_130)  from "shakerhood" is at Fall Fling - you probably won't get a response 'til he's back in WA  :dunno:

the air cleaner they make is a 4bbl SHAKER base welded to a "TRANS AM" ring - I believe @mccannix (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/mccannix_432) found a similar single 4bbl prototype at FRAM in the '80s

the race cars had a flat piece of aluminum? with a round hole cut in it, attached to the bottom of the fiberglass hood
it appears the handful of factory 4bbl cars had a stamped steel adapter riveted to the bottom of the fiberglass hood

the factory 340 4bbl (& TRANS AM race car) air cleaner looked like this  :takealook:

Quote from: 6bblgt on October 28, 2017, 12:38:10 PM
Tom @rocketresto (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/rocketresto_130)  from "shakerhood" is at Fall Fling - you probably won't get a response 'til he's back in WA  :dunno:

the air cleaner they make is a 4bbl SHAKER base welded to a "TRANS AM" ring - I believe @mccannix (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/mccannix_432) found a similar single 4bbl prototype at FRAM in the '80s

the race cars had a flat piece of aluminum? with a round hole cut in it, attached to the bottom of the fiberglass hood
it appears the handful of factory 4bbl cars had a stamped steel adapter riveted to the bottom of the fiberglass hood

the factory 340 4bbl (& TRANS AM race car) air cleaner looked like this  :takealook:

Do you have any pictures of the race car set up?  Makes sense Tom didn't reply as he is at the show! :bradsthumb: 

The first picture of the aircleaner bases, just to clarify is from Shakerhood.com website. It's not mine.... yet? LOL
Question, why is there 2 doors/holes at the back? Like for what purpose? To let warm air in during the winter?  :notsure:

Quote from: mccannix on October 28, 2017, 02:55:14 PM
Actually the one Tom at 'shakerhood ' has is like the one Brads70 pictured.
It is not a 4bbl base welded to the ring but rather a 4 bbl shaker base with the 7 studs intact and the TA outer ring fits over the studs and is joined with the 7 oblong washers and nuts.
The prototype  I got from Fram was spotwelded with the same amount of spotwelds that they use on a regular TA 6 pk base.

Cool good to know!  :bigthumb:

my jewlr.com issues are preventing me from adding pics  :steamingmad:

 :takepicture:  :banana:

single 4bbl race cars & production 4bbl adapter plate

Cool stuff ! Thanks for posting @6bblgt (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/6bblgt_211)

Quote from: dave73chally on October 29, 2017, 01:07:24 PM
Another off topic comment - Brad I noticed you fabricated an engine bay cross brace, did you notice a difference before and after install?

Hard to say as I  installed the US Car tool cowl brace at the same time.  I'd say if your serious about making your car handle , the first thing you really need to do is install the factory style torque boxes , subframe connectors , and the US Cartool cowl braces. These  things make a huge difference. I can jack my car up at the side and the entire side comes up off the ground pretty much at the same time.
It did not do that in stock configuration. You need to take the flex out of the chassis before you add bigger torsion bars as otherwise the entire chassis is a big torsion bar.

Thanks for the welcome and the info on the wheels! You car is amazing and I hope you keep going with it!

Hi Brad!  I'm always interested in anything done/updates, etc to your car!

:) :)