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New to the car resto world. Going to be starting '70 cuda aar

Started by garrettlmiller, May 11, 2020, 11:07:59 PM

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Montclaire

Oh, and take the hood off if you are trying to get the engine to fire up after sitting for so many years.  It's fiberglass and WILL burn. I'm sure someone here can recommend a good company to restore the original carbs.

headejm

Quote from: Montclaire on March 27, 2021, 09:25:42 AM
Oh, and take the hood off if you are trying to get the engine to fire up after sitting for so many years.  It's fiberglass and WILL burn. I'm sure someone here can recommend a good company to restore the original carbs.

Let me go first...member Scott Smith for the carbs! @ScottSmith_Harms

tparker

I'll add my two cents. I missed this post the first time around. As others have said, what an amazing car. This is one of my dream cars. As others have also said, you have to figure out what you want to do and have a plan. DO you want to "Restore" the car and what does that mean for you. going off the deep end could cost @20k or more if you go crazy. Depending on the state of the car and how much work you do, $5-$10K may be all it needs.

This book is for a Charger, but is a good resource for tips and having a sense of what to do. Obvious the details will be different but it is a great book on the restoration process
https://www.amazon.com/Project-Charger-Step-Step-Restoration/dp/193199322X

I would start with a good assessment.
1 what is missing? physically missing or swapped out (your 6 pack for example)
2 What obviously needs to be replaced? Body panels, exhaust, seats covers, engine parts, tires, etc
3 what is the state of the paint? Does it appear to need paint?
4 What is the state of the body? This can drastically change your resto plans. And it isn't always obvious that there is rust. Check around the front windshield and rear. Check the trunk. Check near the tires and doors. Check around the battery tray.
5 What is the shape of the trim. Is it rusty and bubbly and/or pitted?
6 Windows?

If it was me, I would try to leave the car as is the best I could. I would only replace what needs to be replaced. Others might want to do a complete restore that would include stripping the car down to bare metal and going from there. That is expensive and IMO ruins the originality of the car because it is no longer original. But sometimes they need that depending on the body and paint. If the paint and body are in good shape you will have a much easier job. Also really look at the rust. Is it surface or is it eating through? Are the rusted items pitted or can it be easily sanded off? All these play a major role in how much work it's going to be.

One last resource is this dude I just found on youtube. He goes around buying old cars and has a few days to get them running. He is funny (dry humor). What is cool is you can get a sense of what you might beable to do without major work. It would be great if you could get the car fired up and maybe even driving with little effort. Checkout some of his videos. They are a little long but you will probably learn a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jaymz03ss

Also, Youtube is your friend. I am close to finishing my restoration. Sounds like my motor might be ready to pick up this week. I abused youtube for most of my restorations. Obviously this site was a tremendous help. These guys are great and love to help.

Good luck and keep us up to date


Challenger440RT