71 'Cuda restoration

[Tunis]

Next up was this part over the quarter glass.



So two options to access this area to repair the rust, cut out a piece of the roof or the inner structure. I didn't really want to do either as butt welding a big piece of the roof back would require some skills. On the other hand I didn't really think I could access the damage by going from the inside out. So the roof had to go.

Cutting on the line...



And off it goes. The damage is clearly accessible now. Looks like the drip rail is pretty much rusted away.



First fixing the damaged inner structure. Cutting away the rusted out areas.



Welding some new metal into place.



Finished!



A coat of rust protecting primer.





Onto the drip rail. It is pretty much gone and a new piece is in the making.







I had a bunch more pictures of this on my phone, but they were deleted by mistake. Finally the roof is welded back into place with a perfect fit to the drip rail. I'm really surprised at what I could do 

[Tunis]

Here are a few fresh pictures of the roof and drip rail after some grinding.





Now I found myself once again with two options; replace the quarter panel first so everything is lined up when the rest of the panels are replaced, replace the trunk pan and extensions first then the fenders and tail light panel. I'm sure there are many reasons to go one way or the other. I wanted to go with the first option, but later decided to do the latter  don't know why I switched after a while, but I did..

I cut out the trunk pan to get access to the rails, I wanted them blasted and primed before putting the new trunk pan in. Blasting the rails was done a few weeks ago at the same time as I blasted the inside of the fenders. I then applied a coat of epoxy primer to the rails, fenders and some other parts I had prepared.



After that I blasted the support rails for the trunk pan and welded them to the underside of the pan. Also drilled a million holes in the trunk pan. It's a lot of hard work doing a restoration..



Applied some weld through primer on the rails where I was going to be welding.





This weekend I started to install the trunk pan with extensions.





And now I'm once again up to date with pictures and progress.  :jumping:

[Tunis]

Now all the restoration thread is here. Again, sorry for all the comments that didn't make the transfer.

Per

[turbostang7]

nice progress, at least on this forum I can see the pictures. haven't been able to on the other one.

[Tunis]

Cool, this thread isn't so much without the pictures as I don't really put that many words into what I do.
Anyway, thanks for the comments turbostang7!

[anlauto]

Excellent work Per, I'm glad to see this car is being restored 

I have a slight connection to this car and always hoped I'd be the one restoring it. The gentleman you bought it from out of New York contacted me back around 2005 to restore this car and/or the 70 Cuda convertible that he owns...
We even talked about trade deals where I would restore the convertible and end up owning this 71, that never happened...
Fast forward to 2017....The Convertible is on it's way here and should arrive next month.

Again....great to see this 71 getting done ? 

[soundcontrol]

I see you moved all the posts from cc, nice, lotsa work though. Following! 

[anlauto]

I see you moved all the posts from cc, nice, lotsa work though. Following! 

There's no need for CC.com anymore

[Cuda Cody]

@Tunis  This is super impressive!     Not sure what you do for work, but you are very impressive around metal.     Not very many people could do what you are doing and I'm super happy to see that Cuda getting saved (and saved correctly).  Thank you for taking the time to share with us.     Can't wait to see more photos as you progress through the restoration.  I have no doubt that you will finish the car and it will be outstanding when done.   

[Tunis]

@anlauto Thank you so much for the nice comments! I will do my best to bring this Cuda back. I know you have had your eyes on it before. I'm glad you could get your hands on one of his cars! 

@Cuda Cody Thank you so much for the positive comments! It really means a lot comming from people with more experiance than I have in the business! I do Chemical Engineering research as my day job. I don't use my hands for anything except knocking on keyboards and clicking on mices all day long. This hobby is a nice change from that.

[Cuda Cody]

You're a great addition to the site.  And congratulations on your new home.  How are you liking it?

@anlauto Thank you so much for the nice comments! I will do my best to bring this Cuda back. I know you have had your eyes on it before. I'm glad you could get your hands on one of his cars! 

@Cuda Cody Thank you so much for the positive comments! It really means a lot comming from people with more experiance than I have in the business! I do Chemical Engineering research as my day job. I don't use my hands for anything except knocking on keyboards and clicking on mices all day long. This hobby is a nice change from that.

[usraptor]

@Tunis  This is super impressive!     Not sure what you do for work, but you are very impressive around metal.    :

[RUNCHARGER]

Great job on this car! It was better in spots than I thought it would be. 4 speed with A/C, gotta like that.

[Premix]

Awesome work per     Very impressive metalwork, fancy a job   

[71GranCoupe]

  That is some impressive work on a very rusty Cuda!!! I have one that is similar, but not quite as bad and will be using your pictures for reference. My project has stalled for some time now. Keep up the good work and continue to share your progress.