1970 Cuda V code barn/garage find project

[johnshotrods]

Well,  with the New year here its time to start in on my 1970 Cuda 440 numbers matching V code car. I'll apologize right now as this may take me some time as its my first Mopar project and I will have A LOT OF DOCUMENTAION along the way .
I'll be asking some questions along the way so many thanks in advance .
First off as of now this will not be a full restoration . ( at least as of now LOL)
I'm starting out with the complete engine/transmission rebuild so i can get it up and running again .
1st up will be getting in line at the machine shop and sourcing out all the parts . The carbs im hoping can be brought back to ( like new again ) and are missing some parts so i,m searching for a Holley guru that can restore them .

[cuda hunter]

Can't wait to see some pics! 
Love barn finds.
What shape is it in?
What options does it have?

[johnshotrods]

Hi @cuda hunter , so yeah i,m starting in on the Cuda I bought in may of 2022 . I'm not the greatest with computers but will try and post progress reports an pictures as I go . I spent this afternoon researching carb restoration shops and it looks like i,m gonna give Harms a call tomorrow morning and get something setup .
I'm hoping the carbs I got with the car are the correct ones , from what i can tell by the numbers they do seem to match up .
At some point they have been slightly modified and the vacuum parts were removed and they had mechanical linkage out on them opening them all at the same time . I'll see if i can post photos .

[cuda hunter]

The photo came through just fine.
Harms will do you right.  Great product and workmanship. 

[Cuda Cody]

    Scott at Harms does nice work.

[R/T's 4 R/P]

Looking forward to the pictures.
Depending on what your idea of a 'full' restoration is, and if this is your first foray into that activity, keep in mind that many restoration parts or sub-contractors are many months or years away from completing parts (Scott At Harms is backlogged, Legendary is 9-10 months for interior and...I have been waiting almost 3 years for seat belts from Bill Edwards, etc)
So, sending parts out and keeping track of what is away is critical.

[johnshotrods]

@R/T's4r/p

Looking forward to the pictures.
Depending on what your idea of a 'full' restoration is, and if this is your first foray into that activity, keep in mind that many restoration parts or sub-contractors are many months or years away from completing parts (Scott At Harms is backlogged, Legendary is 9-10 months for interior and...I have been waiting almost 3 years for seat belts from Bill Edwards, etc)
So, sending parts out and keeping track of what is away is critical.

yeah I'll explain my plans here a little bit for this car . My plans right now are to get the engine and trans rebuilt and go thru the brakes and suspension so I can drive and enjoy the car . I had it at MCACN in 2022 and overwhelmingly 90% of the people thought it should be left as is because the car tells its life story as is and it can always be restored to shiny and new again . So thats the plan right now is to leave the body alone . yeah i,m well aware of the back log as far as getting parts or machine work done . All 3 of the machine shops I use are backed up almost a year . I'm restoring 2 65 Buick skylark GS,s right now and it took me 13 months to get my interior from Legendary interiors  . This car has its numbers matching 440 so i gonna try and find correct parts for it as i am or was missing some stuff . ( mainly radiator, exhaust and misc oem parts under the hood . I did buy a new radiator from Glen Ray and it is VERY NICE  .
So thats the plan in a nut shell .

[johnshotrods]

Well back to the drawing board ! Emailed Scott at Harms the other day and got a message back today saying he's not even accepting any more work temporarily as he's so back logged since covid . So looks like ill be searching some more unless anyone here knows of another carb shop that does really good work .

[cuda hunter]

Is that original paint on the cuda?

All original body panels?

Any cool options on the car?  Other than N96?

[cuda hunter]

Well back to the drawing board ! Emailed Scott at Harms the other day and got a message back today saying he's not even accepting any more work temporarily as he's so back logged since covid . So looks like ill be searching some more unless anyone here knows of another carb shop that does really good work .

That's rough. 
I would assume that he will never make more M46 scoops since he is so backed up with work as it is.  No time for side projects. 

[johnshotrods]

Is that original paint on the cuda?

All original body panels?

Any cool options on the car?  Other than N96?

@cuda hunter it has had a repaint sometime in the eighties but not a very good one at that .
But yeah all the sheet metal is original . I would say its not a heavily optioned car but looks like it was ordered to get the job done on the streets .   
Heres the fender tag .

[cuda hunter]

Wow!  That is an awesome car!  Doesn't get much better than that!
Thanks for sharing.  I'd leave it alone as well if it presents well enough. 

[anlauto]

Well back to the drawing board ! Emailed Scott at Harms the other day and got a message back today saying he's not even accepting any more work temporarily as he's so back logged since covid . So looks like ill be searching some more unless anyone here knows of another carb shop that does really good work .

You could contact these guys, I haven't tried them yet ... https://www.thecarbguys.ca/

[Mr Cuda]

 Sometimes,  the coolest options are no options. 
 I know I need to get my own thread going with my v code,  but it's down the list, so I'm following along.
 I've been watching other builds and using their difficulties in getting parts and materials as a warning,  and have been jumping here and there making sure I have everything I need.
 I've been working on interior parts and needed to spray all the door panels white so they match. The standard white interior color needs a toner that SEM has on backorder, for a year. So I had to substitute polyester basecoat toner.
 The well respected chrome shop shut down the automotive division.  Don't know if it's permanent or just not doing pot metal anymore.  Not that a $700 rechrome makes sense against a new AMD for $249-300. Oh, but the rears don't fit well I've heard.
 My radiator guy will only recore, no repair.  So glenray. 
Try a simple tire dismount, that used to be easy, then get the wheels sandblasted.  Now a minimum charge,  so find out ahead of time to make sure that you have 10 wheels or a parts pile big enough to justify the minimum.  And wait for the call when done.
 It's not like the old days.
 

[johnshotrods]

Well here's a little update on the 440 tear down . Needless to say I was kinda disappointed but things should be ok after its all cleaned up and machine work done .
It looks like this thing was raced/driven harder than i thought . I was expecting a stock bore stock pistons and maybe just a camshaft upgrade but NOPE ! Its already been bored .030 over with 12.5 TRW pistons and the rods have been ground on like they more than likely balanced the rotating assembly . Luckily the cylinders look really good so I'm hoping we can just rigid hone it out to .040 over , I am really gonna try and avoid going .060 over . So this friday it goes to the first machine shop to get the block and heads thermal cleaned , blasted and magnafluxed . I'm also gonna start looking for some misc. hard parts like the correct 440 6bbl balancer ( they had the wrong one one it ) a single groove crank pulley ( some of the bolt holes are oblonged ) and a correct oil pan .
I,ll try and get a few photos