Hi from NZ :newzealand:, name is Tony and I am nearing completion of restoring a 71 Cuda I purchased in Indiana in 2018 . Towed it on a trailer behind Uhaul truck to LA and shipped to NZ. Have a build thread on CC but the site is having trouble in that I can not post photos. I am getting cuda painted in next 2 weeks so should be lots of photos of B5 blue.
Will add to story over time, may not be new to many duel forum members.
Cool car. I can't imagine restoring a Cuda in New Zealand.
cheers Cody :twothumbsup: thanks for the welcome.
Welcome!! Hello from France :france:
A beautiful 71 Cuda in a beautiful country.
Yea not easy, have to plan in advance :idea: what you might need in way of parts. Wish I had a Nappa, Summit Racing , etc nearby. Am very lucky here in my town of Nelson that a guy runs a Muscle car parts business and he stocks most common parts for mopar , at a price of course. All worth it in the end.
:welcome: From Riverside California
Welcome to site from Canada.
Another welcome from Canada.
Tony it's good to see you have found this forum .Not much going on at the over one ,your cars coming along :australia:
:welcome: to the site. Sweet Cuda. :cheers:
:wave: Welcome to this forum, Tony. Glad to have you among us, and that you're able to find some of the parts for your car locally.
Good to hear from you Tony :wave:
I enjoyed reading of your 'adventures' of picking up the cuda and cross country trip over on cc.c. You have been busy.
Car is looking good.
Welcome to ebodies.org!
:bigthumb:
Thanks for the welcome guys , look forward to being part of the team.
Got car back on her feet and out of the shed, hard to believe I had enough room in there to do anything. Clean up the
mess tomorrow.
:welcome: From central New York! Blue is a nice color on an E-Body. :bigthumb: :slapme5:
Very cool. Almost everyone loves a 71 Cuda. I am a big fan! :bradsthumb:
Thanks for the welcome guys.
When the wife said yes to me buying another car I knew I wanted a Cuda, also knew I liked the rectangular tail lights. Hard to find a 71 and nearly brought a 70 in LA before this 71 came up in Indiana . Metal work done and a great guy selling it. A mate and I had a fantastic 2 week trip to USA to pick it up. Would do it again. Might have to wait couple of years.
I can't resist putting a few bits back on the car, doing pedal box/ brake booster at moment .
Yes! Welcome to the site. cc has in essence died. The pic issue has been awhile now.
You will find it great over here.
Finally the day arrived to take cuda to painters :banana:, weather was perfect.
The tail panel was getting blacked today and tomorrow B5 Blue, most exciting.
I painted some fasteners last week .
Always a huge step forward.
Welcome to the site from Panama !
getting the body painted is always a big step forward !
We have paint, :wowzers:
Painter did a fantastic job, tail panel even has some texture.
Did you get the body panels painted at the same time ? The paint looks beautiful :drooling:
Whoa: That looks great, your prep must have been excellent.
Beautiful! :drinkingbud:
Thanks guys.
Panels get done in couple of weeks.
Painter was very happy with my prep, bit of na shame that the billboard will cover 95% of quarters .
Am away for 2 days otherwise would be staring at new colour all day.
Turing out nice :australia:
Wrong word she's beautiful :cheers: :australia:
Fantastic progress keep up the good work :bigthumb:
Been working on the jigsaw, slow and steady . am on school holidays so was hoping to do heaps but 2 steps forward and 1 back most days.
Insulation going great, hope to get vinyl top on soon.
Quarter glass went in smoothly.
been sorting through wiring, real birds nest.
All the little things now will some time test you . Keep on chipping away looking good :australia:
The fun part. What really kills it now is if you need a part and have to wait for it, especially when everyone is out of stock.
Must be hard to get the parts in New Zealand as well :newzealand:
I have a niece who has a job waiting for her in New Zealand, but she can't get there because her International flight was cancelled and nobody really knows when flights out of Canada are going to start up again :crying:
Wish I had a Nappa or Sumitt store for sure , have got a list of items I need. Small bits like plastic trim clips.
I have a friend in the USA who I send parts to and then he repacks them in 1 box and sends to me.
NZ boarders may not open till next so your daughter will have to wait bit longer.
Photos say it all.
Vinyl Top on, :banana:
Fit some trim and then get headliner in.
Took the guy 2hrs, he came out to my place.
Welcome to the site from Netherlands!
Cool project. The B5 paint looks beautiful! :bigthumb:
Be sure to black out some of the blue surrounding the windshield. It will show when window is installed.
Looks awsome btw!
Mike
cheers fellers.
Been chipping away.
Until I find a 71 proportioning valve I will use the one I have got. I made 3 of the lines and others were new stock.
Cleaned and painted the correct diff. Hope to get it in tomorrow.
That is one beautiful cuda. What colour are you going with for the interior?
Great progress. I hope you dont get stuck from a lack of a part that jams you up.
Cheers Shooter, the interior is gaining to be black.
Cheers nsmall, would be a lot easier to build this car in the USA. Got lucky when I needed 2 new brake rotors, a local imported had some in stock, otherwise I would have to wait 3-4 months.
I am looking for a Distributor for the 440 engine at present.
Got the diff back in and have got the brakes hooked up, sway bar and shocks next.
Got primer on fuel tank and 4 speed yesterday. Today I got tank painted with galvanised silver.
4 speed in orange tomorrow .
Got some new front rotors so hope to get brakes finished too.
Looks better and better. Going to make cruise season?
You're going to paint your transmission orange ? That's unique :smile:
I did paint my 4 speed but was wrong one :huh: I failed to notice and also forgot that the 4 speed in question had to go into my roadrunner and the one in the RR was to go in the Cuda due to it having the rear mount on end of tail shaft.
Took RR out, got it rebuilt ( front bearing slogged out), guy hot tanked housings and then clear coated, I polished up the the bell housing. Am waiting on a package of parts for USA that includes the pilot bearings I require. Should all work out :)
Had the panels reprimed 2 months ago and have been sanding them. Got colour on the doors and trunk lid :banana:
Still have not put headlining in.
Been helping Nephews with 65 Valiant , got engine in yesterday.
Friend gave me a hand to put headliner in the 65 Valiant, 8 bows, what a big job, 2 person job for sure.
Gave me the confidence to attack mine today and am very happy with result. :cooldance:. Just need to finish area around sail panel. Do that when I get sail panels tidied up.
Been working on my roadrunners new 4 speed, old ones going in Cuda because it has the rear mount. Had to shorten the input shaft by 10mm and install a roller bearing in crank. Flywheel was getting re surfaced today.
On a roll.
Unwrapped new dash pad and made stand.
Just doing a few small jobs on Cuda, gas tank in tomorrow hopefully.
Been spending time on my roadrunner, gearbox in and passed its Govt. check to get back on road. Had drive in weekend, do enjoy driving stick.
Nephews valiant been taking up most of my time, interior nearly finished , turned it over today so hope to get it running tomorrow. Brother, 3 nephews and I couldn't resist trying it out for size.
Those early Valiants are the ugliest cars ever produced.
Yet I do love their looks and would definately own one.
Great pic.
Quote from: anlauto on September 08, 2020, 06:54:35 AM
You're going to paint your transmission orange ? That's unique :smile:
Not as unique as you might think.
It will be just like mine! :lookatthat:
Excellent choice Tony!
Great progress :twothumbsup:
Cheers for the feedback guys :)
The body style is growing on me too, think once we get the surf board on top I will be sold.
Got more panels on so looking more like a car. still having trouble starting it even though it was a runner when we pulled it apart. Starter motor very slow, even with brand new battery.
Got my headliner trim painted and working on the dash.
got my gas tank in and valance fitted.
'cuda is looking good Tony. Long way from your road trip posts on CC.Com! :twothumbsup:
Did you check your grounds with the new paint? How is your engine to chassis ground, it's been awhile (only 40 years!) since I had my 71 but didn't the 71's have a ground from the firewall to the engine?
Hi dodo, yea only seems like a few months ago but been over 2yrs since that trip, mate and I had fun, just had a look a couple of old photos and saw a empty shell and piles of parts. I am getting close but these small jobs are taking time. Still having fun.
Cheers RUNCHARGER, yes have checked and cleaned every ground and power point. Mate said to take spark plugs out and starter did turn over quicker but must have a short because the Field/Ignition box produced smoke. May have to call an auto electricition . Frustrating that Valiant was a runner before we pulled apart.
Would love to get engine in Cuda but waiting on a pilot bearing for back of crank.
Might get my Mum to help with seat cover kit.
Ya, those bits and pieces to finish the car take a LOT longer than a guy might think. But you have come a loooong ways in the two years. Some people take over a decade to do the job.
You will be :burnout: before you know it.
Ya mate great job very very good process .and looks fantastic.And the valiant it has my thumbs up cheers :australia:
Hi mate, I like your attitude , doing a burnout sounds fun, summer here is on the run and I want to hit the highway.
I get up on my car days and have a big list of things I think I can get done, and come dinner time I have ticked off 3 :D,all good things take time they say.
I am fortunate I have other cars to drive so am happy with the Cuda pace. When I did my Challenger up I was crazy with how much time I spent on it.
Just done bit of research on my valiant issue and on Slant 6 forum it said have excellent grounding between regulator and firewall, my nephew painted all relays / regulators and bet we got BAD groundings, looks like this afternoons job.
My mate is just finishing his 29 pickup project that he has been working on for 12 plus years, so yes I got to be very happy with my 2 year cuda/valiant effort.
I just found this tread so first of all :welcome: from Utah. I admire you're dedication to come to US and drive across country just to get your car. Great job so far. It's really coming along nicely. :twothumbsup:
Valiant going :banana:, pulled starter apart and gave good clean, cleaned more earths too. We had drive in their driveway.
Been working on my seats, fitting covers from Legendary Interior, going great, seat foam in excellent condition which makes it easier. Have gotten family members to help when extra hands needed. Need to get front screen in.
Thanks usraptor :)
Hello from Idaho, USA! :unitedstates: I love the B5 blue, one of my favorite colors on these. Looks like you are doing some quality work, this will be quite the road ripper on nz roads! Steady progress is key to projects moving forward, :cheers:
Cheers wes473.
Engine/4 speed IN, :ohyeah:, was bit worried we wouldn't get it high enough to get over radiator support, but all good. Most time was spend attaching flywheel/clutch/4 speed. I sense some shed time coming up .
Always a fulfilling step. It's hard not to work on them every waking hour once the engine is in.
That is the truth, have spent quite a few hours out in shed today. Got starter motor in, Z bar in, shift rods and linkages fitted.
Was getting frustrated lying on my back trying to get spring clips on rods, decided to see if I could get all tabs, rods and shifter connected and the feed back through shifter hole. It worked, :woohoo:, no loss of skin. Love a hoist.
Getting there, good things take time.
waiting on some parts now. Thought I had correct radiator shroud , turns out it for a 28 in radiator. Have found a buyer for it so got me a new one ordered.
Mocking up exhaust, have to make the 3 foot section from manifold.
Love the overhead picture of the six pack carbs! :yes: That's jewelry :perfect10: right there.
Been slack on updates sorry.
Few time consuming jobs.
Got the fuel pipes sorted, just need an Air Cleaner. Got a K&N filter today. Will have to find one on eBay , no chance of finding one here in NZ.
Front of exhaust system just needs Tig welding, used a 180 and 90 % bends and 2' of straight.
Got carpet in.
Friend gave me a hand in with the dash yesterday, steering column too. Had to put streering wheel on and shifter in for a pretend drive.
Today I gave interior panels a coat to satin, my redo if look too glossy . Seat back pattern worn, will look at my options.
Really starting to look like a car.
It's pretty sad that you can get more accomplished in New Zealand than I can manage in the states. Haha. Are you near Christchurch? My old 73 Challenger is over there.
Cheers Montclaire, I been time rich lately so got some progress. I live 240 miles from Christchurch, go there often. Tell me more about your Challenger. I got a 73 also.
Quote from: Tony 73 on May 21, 2021, 03:52:43 AM
Cheers Montclaire, I been time rich lately so got some progress. I live 240 miles from Christchurch, go there often. Tell me more about your Challenger. I got a 73 also.
Transplanted 440/auto. I sold it around 2008, it went through a couple of flippers and made its way across the pond. Here's a picture of it now, it was sublime when I sold it. I had a lot of good times in that car! I have a 74 Barracuda now. Got a pic of your 73?
Nice looking challenger mate, will keep an eye out for it next car show in Christchurch.
Got mine out of San Bernadino , CA in 2010 as a project.
The 72-74s look great in yellow!
Quote from: Montclaire on May 23, 2021, 07:59:00 AM
The 72-74s look great in yellow!
Yep have to agree....
It is a nice looking 73, but, someone had a hockey stick stripe they didn't want to waste? :huh:
Quote from: dodj on May 25, 2021, 03:58:38 PM
It is a nice looking 73, but, someone had a hockey stick stripe they didn't want to waste? :huh:
Don't blame me, this is how it looked when I sold it:
Looking good.
Most of my interior is in.The panels came up great with the satin black paint i purchased. I have painted the front seat back panels for now also. I tried covering the sail panels in the off cuts of the hood liner but didn't really work . Got some perforated material from a fabric store and covered the parcel shelf and sail panels. The camera photos don't do the the shades of black justice. Will look good in natural light.
Finally got the pistol grip out of the shifter after days of trying. So got shifter boot on.
Clutch pedal was not returning so after a bit of research I removed the LARGE spring with the help of some washers. I have put a MCLOED diaphragm pressure plate in. Works great now.
Exhaust welded( front section) and in enough so I can do start up.
Got heater hoses hooked up. Fan shroud has just arrived from USA so put in next week, took 3 months to arrive.
Tried startup but failed as I had to ask about Neutral Safety switch. Once i ran a wire to ground I had turnover. Mate came out and we had issue with Ballast resistor getting very hot plus no spark . We had an extra wire from the resistor to the alt field so removed it and resistor issue fixed. Found the electronic pickup gap was 25 thou not .008 so made adjustment. Spark plug gaps were too small so widened them to .35 . Filled the middle carb and she wanted to start. We had a big pop out of the carb but then she settled down. Only ran for couple of seconds at a time but was great feeling. Have since put 2 gallons of fuel in tank. Having trouble getting fuel up to carbs, will pull fuel line apart at the filter before the pump .
Need to fill and bleed brakes next. Must get glass in too.
Got the shroud to fit but had to make 3 tabs to rivet to the radiator flange, radiator is an after market one.
Finally solved my lack of fuel issue. After testing everything working from front to rear I found the sender was clogged, cleaned it and was super confident. Still no fuel :headbang: Line clear and pump working ? whats going on. Rechecked . Found an old sender unit and was shocked to find that the one I was using had the pickup tube twisted, therefore the pickup was pointing upward. Will use the old one for now even though the sender is broken. I now have fuel to the carbs and the odd leak.
Was getting the engine to start but not run. Turned out to be as simple as the bolt securing the 3 wires to the positive clasp attached to the positive terminal was a little loose.
Engine running and sounds great :banana:.
Will bleed the brakes and maybe try a small forward and back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLpHtjYeOzM
engine running, brakes next and then test run in driveway
Congrats on getting the motor to fire up. Sounds great!
Congrats. All those little hiccup can be annoying.
Put there on purpose to make success taste even better.
Cheers guys.
Been chipping away. In a 3 day lockdown at present so plenty of car time. Got my first drive, be it very small, but felt great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to0uQXoQ8m0
Nice!
I heard Yacinda locked you guys down over one covid case. Wow. Glad she's not here. Lol
Cheers dodj, yes Yacinda quick on the trigger. Does make you smile when you see the number of cases in other countries.
I think I have blown the power valve in the middle carb as I getting backfires when I start. Mate said to get it running and then turn idle screws in.
Disc brakes bit sticky, may have to remove and check pistons .
Loving lock down, getting heaps of shed time.
Power valve in tack. 3 pumps on accelerator and she fired straight up, after 45s she dropped on to idle, wound in 1 of the mixture screws and engine choked to a halt. Love a small win.
Trunk rubber in place and trunk lid torsion bar in.
Found a thread on Disc brakes that Chryco Psycho had commented on as to removing caliper pistons. said to use master cylinder to push them out, worked a treat. Not happy with the colour of fluid but piston ingrate shape, no pitting. Will remove fluid and the caliper from hose and the give good clean. Am glad I checked as gives me peace of mind about car stopping. Hope other side easy job too.
Door hinges on and ready. Will wait for a mate to help put doors on rather than stress wife out.
Am on lookout for 6 Pack air cleaner, borrowed my mates fibreglass one in meantime.
I sucked the old fluid out and saw the dregs. Bit of elbow grease and a variety of tools did the job, good as new. I reused the rubber seals because they were in great nick and I have to order a kit from USA. Bit tricky getting dust seal in. Decided to use the compressed air method on second Caliper. Could only get it halfway out. Had to reattach it to hose and use master cylinder. No luck there either. The pedal was soft , I Realised that I needed to bleed the front as air in line be reducing the pressure. Once bleed the piston popped out. The inside of 2nd Caliper same as first one. Finish job tomorrow and then 2nd test drive.
none returning callipers problem fixed.
Today been removing old overspray from door rubbers. Messy job using thinners , soft brass wire brush and scotchbrite.
Fiberglass lid for air cleaner got painted today. Used a 2K Vitamin C that I painted my RR .
Got springs on hood hinges with out loosing a finger
Got the grill out, the original paint in great condition. The valance insert ? will need a paint.
Looking good!
Not much longer till it's on the road. Can't be many cars like yours in NZ I'm guessing?
Kudos on keeping all your fingers attached....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DucxhFYTW0
Cheers dodj, might be ten 1971's.
It's a bit noisy, will have to look at another muffler maybe or had a hotdog beside the tank. Will wait till it fails the certification .
grill inserts
Do you think the original silver ( thin strip that was behind insert) is the correct brightness and the rest has changed over time ?
Mate came out Friday and we got doors and trunk lid on.
Glass guy came out Saturday and put front and rear screens in.
Got plenty of little jobs to keep me busy now. Finish interior trim and get door glass in first up.
Looking good!!
:clapping:
Wing on
Mirrors on
Door glass in
Interior glass trim on
Need to get paint on hood and guards . Maybe next week
Took guards and hood to painter today, fingers crossed.
Masked front light panel, time consuming, and painted insert holes bright silver . 2nd photo bit fuzzy sorry.
Trying to get doors finished, lots of small stuff. Need to get car out of shed and into the sun shine. Chipping away.
Grill looks great Tony :worship:
Hi anlauto,
Really pleased , thanks for your help :bigthumb:
:wrenching: Car is looking great :bradsthumb:
Sure looks a lot different than when it was on a trailer crossing the western USA!
You have done a lot of great work Tony! :clapping:
Cheers 1Burgfish and dodj. I do look back at those photos , was a fantastic trip, love to freight car over and do the trip again but this time driving the cuda. One day.
Final panels painted, yee ha. :wowzers:
Talked the wife into helping attach a guard, what was I worried about, went on like a dream. Have booked her in for tomorrow.
Really happy with initial gaps too.
Tried a gill in and then realised I had no idea how the gills were held in place. Am 95% sure I do not have the retaining brackets. Will have to fabricate if I can find a good picture and some measurements.
Been 3 years since I travelled to USA to pick up the car and the many boxes of parts. Can not remember what I have got and what I have not when it comes to the small parts. Love it when a find small critical parts like the brackets that hold the fender gills in place. Thanks Dave :twothumbsup:
Driver fender on and gills in.
Light brackets and bulbs in.
Top valance on( not easy given the small access holes
Hunt is on for the headlight bezels I removed and have miss placed. Want to get front finished.
Front mocked up
You're going to black-out the rad support right ? :D
I know I should.
Went to try the hood lever and wondered why it didn't fit. Didn't pay enough attention when I chose the one in better condition last summer. Am pleased I found the correct one this morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q357VdgR7kA
Been a while since I last had cuda out in the sun. So close now. Can''t wait to drive it.
Put hood on once I get final adjustment to doors and guards. Got to do some fabrication on exhaust tips, they are NOS ones but 1 3/4 pipe.
Some photos
photo
Very Nice!!
:bigthumb:
Looks very nice!! Do you have another 71 Cuda hood latch lever?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looking great :twothumbsup:
Looks and sounds great! :veryexcited: It won't be long now. Great job! :twothumbsup:
Thanks guys, :bigthumb:, appreciate the feedback. Real keen to take car further down driveway, it about 25 deg slope and 50 long, brakes seem good but still nervous . Manual so could crawl down in 1st. Exhaust note a bit loud, may have to buy resonators . System is mainly pyres slip joint .
Sorry mate done have another hood latch, count myself lucky to find mine.
Seems I have 72 onward bumper brackets, I should have checked months ago . Will slot the outside ones and have to fabricate some inside ones, my mate confident we can do it .
Looks very nice great job :australia:
Happy New year guys, I had a nice relaxing start to the year spending time with family and friends. I got couple of weeks to go before school starts so cuda time it is.
Mate came out yesterday and we got doors and guards aligned. Then was hood time :), after much adjustment it looking pretty good. Hood pins not quite middle , and springs are way too tight. Have I used the wrong ones ? They are 2" in diameter.
Grill back on .
Have slotted outside bumper brackets and got bumper fitting pretty good. Will have to fabricate an inside bracket.
You were asking about bumper adjustments in your other thread...that looks pretty good from here :rubeyes: :twothumbsup:
Cheers Alan, nothing wrong with your eye site. Am going to look at bumper soon.
Hi dodj, I have slotted the outside bracket and fitting good. Inside bracket will need slotting and a extra piece of metal welded to tab so it can reach the inside hole of the bumper.
Did a small bit of filling and bumper fits perfectly. Used a did of angle so bolt washer sits flat.
Rear bumper fits great second time around. One of the brackets was off , replaced it and perfect. By fitting brackets to bumper before attaching to body made the job easy. Fitted over riders but need new ones.
Get valances on tomorrow.
Not looking forward to drilling hood for pin protector plate holes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiUwV4ZjR74
Morning team,
Had a few days off and gone hard on the Cuda, pretty much finished , :veryexcited: and ready for certification.
Got 2 more clips to upload but very late here so finish in the morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6XbEY3XaxA
Sounds great up front, got a bit of a crackle out left hand pipe and the fumes are hard on the eyes. Will check plugs to see it running lean or rich.
Got the short dump pipes because exhaust too noisey and I need to find quieter mufflers or add a hotdog style resonator . Also having trouble getting a rear hanger to fit.
Plastic bag beside brake master cylinder because I having trouble stopping a drip leak from rear pot, don't want to ruin my paint. Keep tweaking the nut but scared to over tighten.
Tappet cover breather needs the hose tail I had made shortened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVSIIAHwXD4
Was very nervous but had to test brakes at some stage. New pads and shoes need wearing in but she did stop at the bottom. Handbrake needs bit more adjustment, works but peddle on floor when applied. Have adjusted brake light sensor .
Wife did the videoing and was meant to record trip back up driveway, drove great under load, even managed loss of traction at the bottom of hill.
Am only running on the middle carb at this stage.
looking real sharp! Congratulations :congrats:
Thanks nsmall.
I been putting off attaching the trim on door and quarter panel tops . Looked at it a month ago but clips looked near impossible to slide onto the studs. I started a thread looking for help and am thankful for the reply I got. Told me to remove the excess paint on the stud and to apply force down on the clip while using force to slide clip onto stud.
I used broken hacksaw blade, which I could bend to keep off the door paint, to remove excess paint on studs. Clips were tough to get on and I was a bit concerned that the clips middle wings were being forced into a lower position as I had to force the trim down over these wings. Trim took some effort with the heel of my hand and a rubber hammer but its on and on dents.
Trim in good condition , did think about removing the anodisation, but autosol gave it a nice shine.
Took cuda out for another test ride yesterday, to do so I have to move my challenger and park it on front lawn. Just my luck , got caught in a passing rain shower.
Quote from: Tony 73 on February 26, 2022, 12:06:56 PM
Plastic bag beside brake master cylinder because I having trouble stopping a drip leak from rear pot, don't want to ruin my paint. Keep tweaking the nut but scared to over tighten.
Congrats on your progress. Looks great.
I had a similar issue with a drip leak out of the brake line fitting at the master cylinder. I have stainless lines, which turned out to be a real pain to get fully sealed. I went through a cycle of loosening and retightening that fitting about a dozen times before the leak finally stopped. From what I read elsewhere in this forum, the loosen/tighten cycle is the better route for stainless to deform and seal than just cranking harder with a wrench. This approach may apply to other materials as well, but I'm not sure of it.
I wish I'd thought of the plastic bag you used to protect your paint. The paint on my frame rail under the master cylinder has to be re-done due to this past leak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L495CVxLIU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JmNvcFbS7o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smdiN87OtLM
Getting confidence in the car, although the wife did get a bit of a fright.
Have worked out what the rolling resistance is, the disc brakes are sticking on after applying then, if a use my toes to pull pedal back up the car rolls better. Do have to apply a lot of pressure on the pedal so may have to take booster off and investigate
Having fun.
A mate came around to check out the cuda. Took it down the driveway. Got couple of photos with his nice 70 challenger.
I am booked in for big test to get car legal in 2 weeks.
Very nice...
Any report on passing your "legal" check?
Hi Mike,
I been a bit slack with my updates sorry .
So I never made it to the NZ Entry Cert appointment I made. I contacted the guy who issues repair certs and asked if I needed one because the panel replacements had been done in the USA prior to me purchasing the car. He said technically yes which got me worried so I cancelled my appointment to work out my options. My bad because I should have got the guy to come look at the repairs when I first landed the car. The guy is in the process of retiring and training a new guy.
I have made a new appointment on the 21st April, if they require me to get a repair cert because they find or suspect repairs then I will have to address that. They will inspect the cars brakes, steering, suspension , seat belts etc. Hopefully any failures will me minor, and I get 28 days to retest .
I have the exhaust off at present , have filled the flange joints smooth and will reassembled with high temp silicon sealer.
Have pulled horns apart and they working great . Just need to buy some rubber tube to get windshield washers working.
Fingers crossed. Will update after test.
Loaded cuda on to trailer today and took it into to get wheel alignment :wrenching:. Entry cert tomorrow :popcorn:
Wheel align done.
Drove car 200yrds from Tire place to Cert place.
Cuda on hoist at moment. They just rang to ask its Tare weight. Was a thread on CC forum . I put weight as 3450lb.
Had an issue with my wiper motor. Have swapped it out for the one in my challenger. The short arm that is bolted to the motor was the same length but I can not get the long curved arm to fit on. The cuda motor wouldn't park but the challenger one does. QUESTION - is the a know difference in the length of cuda/challenger curved arms ?
ALL three speed arms are the same length, different bushing style in the later years.
The two speed wipers have a totally different "curved" arm that you shouldn't hook up to a three speed. :alan2cents:
Thanks Alan.
FAILED test BUT only minor things that are quick fix :wrenching:.
Horn didn't work. Must be loose wire as was going few days ago.
Wipers not working.
Slight weep from new front brake hose. Will replace copper washer.
Steering box bolts loose. Classic me. :rofl:
Left hand lower ball joint play :huh:. Funny one as all suspension joints brand NEW, he even tested it correctly . I have a brand new spare so will swap over.
Really pleased, will fix over weekend and retest on Tuesday morning. Should be driving on Wednesday :banana:
Brought car home this morning and about to start on list.
Have had look at horn and have no power to horns. Tested horns in car by running wire from positive terminal and horns honk. Put test light into horn wiring and had mate push horn and no light in test light. Maybe horn relay or even fuse.
Maybe the wire came off the steering wheel ? :dunno:
Cheers Alan.
Think it was loose wire at firewall.
Horns going now.
Wipers working. My motor does not park so I must have put blade arms on in the incorrect position.
Steering box bolts very loose but tight now.
Have got some new correct size copper crush washers to solve weep issue on callipers .
Have got new lower ball joint 50% on.
Lucky ball joint picked up because I forgot that I had not put any grease in the wheel bearings, I had mocked up to get car moving to get it to painters . Very lucky.
Looking great for Tuesday retest
All items on list fixed :bradsthumb:, Cuda ready for re check and then drive home , 4 mile, on her own steam. Super excited :veryexcited: but nervous also.
:banana: Cuda is Legal :burnout:
Day started with drama when car ran out of fuel just before I was about to go down driveway to put on trailer.
Cuda flew through retest, put an extra 2 gallons of fuel in and headed for highway. Speed limit is 50 mph. Ran great and brakes pulled me up nicely, the exhaust drone at that speed is loader than expected, but all good. Will wait for traffic to lighten and will take wife out for spin when she gets home from work.
Big thanks :twothumbsup: :cheers: to all those who helped me on my journey, whether it be comments , watching or helping solve problems , this forum has helped me so much. Especially with me being :newzealand: overseas and half a day ahead of time.
Have put a personalised plate on the car that the wife won a few years back. I plan to buy off eBay a pair on 1971 Indiana plates that I can turn into personalised plates.
Still have a few small things to do; bill board stickers, correct wheel centres, tail panel badges, hood inserts, fog lamps. Great autumn /winter projects.
NZ travel restrictions are easing and plan to go to Mopar Nats or Carlisle sooner than later. If I strike it rich would be a dream to bring Cuda with me a cruise across USA.
Cheers
Tony
Congrats on getting it done!
:burnout: :burnout:
Quote from: Tony 73 on April 25, 2022, 08:15:29 PM
If I strike it rich would be a dream to bring Cuda with me a cruise across USA.
Cheers
Tony
Three trips across the Pacific would certainly make that a well travelled 'cuda!
Congrats on getting her legal! :1place: You should be very proud! :yes: Keep us posted of further updates.
Congratulations on passing.
Time to enjoy all the hard work.
:burnout:
Well done .looks great enjoy her cheers :australia:
Thanks guys, appreciate the the comments :cheers:
Must get out for another test drive but been busy with Nephews 65 Valiant Safari, been doing this project at the same time, got the electrics sorted yesterday , as well as a wheel alignment. Today I fitting blast bit of tailgate chrome and making an Earth wire for horns. Got it booked in for a Warrant of Fitness at 2pm, if she passes we will renew the registration and be legal to cruise.
Great job! Stateside guys don't know how easy they have it restoring these cars. I know well the feeling of sinking a year of work and big bux into a car that can't even legally be put into your own name let alone insured against fire or theft. It's a big relief getting the safety done and the car registered after all that dedication.
Cheers mate,
You do have to have all your ducks in a row thats for sure, clean title, bill of sale, importer, port of entry, repair certs. BUT, all worth it when you drive on the road the first time :veryexcited:.
I think you did it in pretty good time as well. I'm used to getting parts I order within a week. I imagine you have plan purchases well ahead of time....or the car progress would stall....
Hi dodj,
Frieght times do vary, waited 3 months for my windshield clips. Parcels from Rockauto only take a week on average so that super fast. Ordered a new water pump last night.
Had 2 teething problems. Took cuda to the High school I work at to show fellow staff and interested students. Went great. When I got home, lifted the hood, noticed 2 pools of fuel at base of manifold, shit, quick clean up, then noticed it was weeping out of rear carb bottom metering block screws. I had just replaced the washes on all these a few days ago due to tiny weep from middle carb. Took carb off and upon inspection I had failed to remove the old flattened washer still in the recess :headbang:. Removed these, reassembled and problem solved . Messed up the manifold paint of course :headbang:.
Headed out for my 2nd outing of the day to visit a car mate. did notice the battery was a bit slow but no worries. Stopped for gas and shit, battery failed. Called a mate who came and jump started me. We noticed a pool of water under car, can't be me ?, but yes it was me, water pump weeping ar rear, my challenger had done this 6 months ago so I knew what it was.
Decided to get to where I was going, 1 mile away . A few car guys at my mates and all keen to check out the Cuda. They said they could jump me so stayed for an hour. Mistake of course. Getting dark and have to turn lights on to get home. Water leak minimal . Got 7 mile to get home through town and highway type road. Car started to miss and lights got real dim. Realised electronic ignition and lights need power my battery did not have. Just made to to bottom of my road before car stalled . Got battery out of Challenger and got cuda back into the garage.
What was I thinking :headbang: won't do that again.
Checked my alternator output and it ONLY 11.7 , found my problem. Its a remanufacture one from Summit , only had 1 hr use . DAM not happy.
Also my exhaust way too low so will have to cut a slot in pipe from manifold, bend and weld.
Did have fun :banana: on the first outing and plenty of looks.
At the same time I was building my car I was restoring with help from nephews, their 1965 Valiant AP5. was meant to be 6 month repaint and tidy up. Rust reared its ugly head and 4 years later it finished. Got it legal last Monday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FE8SM8abgc
Hay Tony that's great you have the cuda all gone and on the road . Your nephews AP5 wagon stayed a little longer they originally . I have had a couple AP5 in my time ,great cars so far ahead of over makes IMO . I have a mate who has a 66 dodge coronet race car and he's son has a black AP6 wagon race car twin turbo ,real hand full I believe. Black to your cuda great job followed your build from start to finish . Once again we'll done :australia:
Cheers cudamadd,
Solved my alt problem, I had a pigtail join off the run wire going through the Ballast resistor before it went to alt field terminal. Caused resistor to overheat which is why I had left that field wire off. All sorted, alt putting out 14.8.
New water pump due from Rockauto on Tuesday.
Went for very short ride today, the DRONE at 50 mph is really bad, will have to get new mufflers.
Well you're bound to have a few issues on your initial 'shakedown' drives. Glad they were all relatively small issues. :bigthumb:
:cheers:
Scott
That is for sure Scott.
Water pump out and can see why I had leaks, inner lip nearly gone in one spot.
Not sure if you are going for all OEM look. If not, I would consider hanging your exhaust similar to the newer vehicles. This will significantly reduce the drone resonance from exhaust.
Not an ebody but the rubber is from a Dodge truck.
Cheers YellowThumper, I will look into that for sure, be way cheaper than buy new mufflers.
Tried making a GoPro clip, sorry about the wind noise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKrmvFAUJo
Quote from: Tony 73 on June 05, 2022, 06:29:44 PM
Tried making a GoPro clip, sorry about the wind noise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKrmvFAUJo
Must be a great feeling driving it for the first time after all that hard work :clapping: :worship: :twothumbsup: :drinkingbud:
I also got my 73 Challenger out, did a resto thread on the CudaChallenger forum, finished it in 2012. Stroker engine 383/438, 727.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX_u3o7BPLg
Thanks Alan, :bigthumb:, a lot of fun and very rewarding getting the Cuda out on the open road. Hard work pays off.