Finally Restoring My 1970 ‘Cuda

[70 Challenger Lover]

Definitely don't allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. Everything is available. Much of it you can handle yourself. Lots of people here can guide you through it and provide info, pictures, advice.

I have a Challenger that I took a break on. The entire car was so rusty that looking back, I was an idiot to try and save it. But I've since rebuilt the entire front end, patched up many areas in the midsection, and it's waiting for me to rebuild the entire rear end. It will get done.

You will be surprised by how much can be saved. The TV shows always replace so much metal that it gives the impression that it's always necessary when most of the time, an area cat be cut away and fresh metal spliced in. I think entire panel replacement is done simply because it's faster.

[nsmall]

@cashmoneyerick on a positive note there are currently so many replacement pieces and this is a recent trend, so you lucked out on the timing vs cutting up old cars

[cashmoneyerick]

Okay here are some examples of the panels that seem to need to be replaced.



These are some that I just took. I will take more detailed ones when I have more light. But as you can see. Some of it looks unpatch able, at least to me.


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[nsmall]

Okay those photos are going to help a lot so keep them coming.  You did the right thing media blasting the car to figure out what's going on.

[aussiemark]

Definitely don't allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. Everything is available. Much of it you can handle yourself. Lots of people here can guide you through it and provide info, pictures, advice.

I have a Challenger that I took a break on. The entire car was so rusty that looking back, I was an idiot to try and save it. But I've since rebuilt the entire front end, patched up many areas in the midsection, and it's waiting for me to rebuild the entire rear end. It will get done.

You will be surprised by how much can be saved. The TV shows always replace so much metal that it gives the impression that it's always necessary when most of the time, an area cat be cut away and fresh metal spliced in. I think entire panel replacement is done simply because it's faster.

I find it both quicker and easier to replace the entire panel and if you can't do your own panel prep and paint (like me) it works out cheaper because you don't need to pay to have the bondo work done to get the panel ready to paint. The end result is better with less bondo and zero chance of the rust returning and some panels hide structure that could be rusted take the roof skin for example if you remove it all the structure is exposed and can be repaired if needed but you will never know what it is like till the skin comes off.

[RUNCHARGER]

Will you be attempting this yourself and if so have you done anything like this before?

[cashmoneyerick]

Will you be attempting this yourself and if so have you done anything like this before?

I will be attempting this by myself and with a friend who for a living does body work. He has a lot of experience with Chevys, but never worked on a unibody.

But I personally don't have any experience with this before.


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[cashmoneyerick]

If you haven't restored a car before they all look bad after blasting. You really have to make a few good decisions going forward though to make the end result a better product. Lots of eastern guys have done major jobs before. Perhaps post a few photos and we can help steer you a bit.
If the rear is in real bad shape and needing everything just buy the Dynacorn prewelded frame rails and trunkfloor unit. Even then you need to know how to jig everything up and how to weld it as well as knowing how to cut it apart initially.
I looked at it again and it does look more like a coastal car. Not huge holes but small holes everywhere.

I've been trying to find the Dynacorn unit your referring but I can't find it on google. Can you send me the link?


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[RUNCHARGER]

Here's a link to the trunk floor/rail assembly. It's for a Challenger but a lot less work to modify for a Cuda than welding all the stuff together piece by piece. I have been thinking about picking one up just for future consideration myself.

http://dynacorndepot.com/trunk-floor-pan-70-challenger-6000wt-challenger-70-70

[cashmoneyerick]

Here's a link to the trunk floor/rail assembly. It's for a Challenger but a lot less work to modify for a Cuda than welding all the stuff together piece by piece. I have been thinking about picking one up just for future consideration myself.

http://dynacorndepot.com/trunk-floor-pan-70-challenger-6000wt-challenger-70-70

Being that it is for a challenger; what are the main differences between that and the cuda panels ?


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[aussiemark]

The gas tank fill neck hole location would be the only difference, Sheldon would you need a proper body frame jig to get that section in as one?

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: You would have to carefully measure, cut and splice. You're only welding in one piece though, not 10 or 12. I think if I was doing this particular car that this is the first part I would replace.

[anlauto]

I would want to see what the rear frame rails look like before jumping on this one large piece.
I agree with Sheldon that this saves time and money, however you should have a jig or frame table at least.

[varunner]

I just finished a challenger, having never restored a car before. I have a good background in metal working skills so that probably saved me.  Mine was probably worse shape that yours. What I did was totally un-bolted everything and put what was left on a cart. I then cut out what was 100% rust, then had it sand-blasted. I then sprayed etch primer and removed every piece of sheetmetal that  I wanted to replace. That didn't leave much at all to work with. I wouldn't do that again because when I started installing new sheetmetal, I didn't have anything to attach it to. Imagine having just frame rails on a jig and a pile of new sheetmetal, where do you start ??  Anyway when you're ready to install a new panel, remove just the old one so you have something to attach it to, even if what you attach it to will be replaced later. Other than that, you should read as much as you can in books and this and other forums and work on your metal working skills.  Good luck my friend, you can do it, just plan it all out before you start.

[RUNCHARGER]

Exactly Van. It will need to be in a jig or cart for sure and once it is set in there that's why I would do the rear section first. You need reference points to build upon. Hopefully the rockers are fairly intact to support and work from.