My 73 Cuda BS23 4spd. car journey back.

[LinceCuda]

So I've decided to restore this Cuda back to a very nice driver, the show car thing just takes way to long I just don't want to go through all that again. Most of you know the story on this Cuda so I'll just hit the high points. The car had a engine issue and the teenager didn't have the money to fix it so it was parked in his parents garage and sat from 1987 to 2017 when I bought it for $3000.00 The original 318 and pistol grip 4speed are long gone it now has a 71 340 and a 73 A833  with a ram rod shifter 4 speed and a broke 741 rear end. So it's really a open canvas car because of the original stuff missing. The Cuda will have a color change to Lemon Twist yellow black hockey stripe no vinyl top Magnum 500 8x15 wheels with  BFG WL radial T/A's. The interior will go back white with black carpet and dash no console. I'm going to rebuild the 71 340 and go back with pistol grip shifter and buy a 742 or 489 rear end to replace the 741. The Cuda will look stock inside outside and under the hood except for headers. The 340 now is 30 over 12.1 forged rotating system that's how it will be rebuilt. It also came with a nice scatter shield I'll use that as well. The car has some rust issues more than though but now I've removed the interior and been all over the Cuda I think I found most of it. It has a big hole in the trunk, driver side previous floor patch, pin holes pass. side floor. one rocker end cap needs to be replaced, hole in upper trunk gutter, one small hole under the back seat, and the 4 speed hump was destroyed installing the ram rod shifter. I've ordered all the new sheet metal to repair the Cuda once it's all here I'll begin the resto. Her are some pics

[jimynick]

Nice project and you surely got the good price, too! Those pistons look pretty heavy duty for a street car. Where will you get 110 octane gas to run them? 

[LinceCuda]

Nice project and you surely got the good price, too! Those pistons look pretty heavy duty for a street car. Where will you get 110 octane gas to run them? 

Thanks jimy I have a drag strip less than 5 miles from me and there are 2 stores by the strip with 100 octane and another store about 2 miles from my house with 100 octane. The reality is I might need to rethink the 12.1 and tone it down a little.

[Chryco Psycho]

You might want to think about curious yellow , kind of a neat color & overlooked

[LinceCuda]

You might want to think about curious yellow , kind of a neat color & overlooked

Is that the one that is a greenish yellow if so the black stripe would still work but might have to go all black inside. I got almost 2 full interiors of parts with the car I can go black or white.

[73440]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Curious+Yellow+1971+Plymouth&tbm=isch

[LinceCuda]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Curious+Yellow+1971+Plymouth&tbm=isch

Yeah I did the google thing a few minutes ago thanks anyway 73

[Cuda Cody]

I think Lemon Twist / Top Banana was the longest running high impact color offered on E-Bodies for a reason!  Great color and looks good on E-Bodies.  The 12:1 engine worries me a bit as that's going to be a little much for the normal street car.  Unless you plan to race it a bunch, I think you'll be happier with a lower / more street driving friendly compression.   

[LinceCuda]

I think Lemon Twist / Top Banana was the longest running high impact color offered on E-Bodies for a reason!  Great color and looks good on E-Bodies.  The 12:1 engine worries me a bit as that's going to be a little much for the normal street car.  Unless you plan to race it a bunch, I think you'll be happier with a lower / more street driving friendly compression.   

I do like the color my 72 Rally Challenger was Top Banana so Lemon Twist on the Cuda will take me back to 1978 my HS graduation year. As far as the 12.1 I'm really rethinking that for sure . I do have the drag strip right down the road, but I really like cruising alot so I think it should be toned down a bit. If we need bread or milk I'm driving one of my classics to the store as long if it's not raining lol.

[Chryco Psycho]

 
the Curious Yellow is a different color for sure & not often seen but yes under different lighting it can completely change color & would work well with black stripe & Black or white interior
With the engine it will detonate even at light throttle , my friend had a 12:1 440 & even on pure 100 ll av gas it would ping so the car sat a lot as it was a pain to drive anywhere & get decent fuel all the time ,
It will really come down to head choice , with good alum heads you could get a away with 11:1 & you might be able to mill the domes down on the existing pistons & still use them , , A W5 head would be killer on that engine but you would have to be very careful on fitting the pistons into the chamber without interference , Airwolf may be a better choice but again the piston may not match / fit the combustion chamber . Flat top pistons do promote flame travel in the chamber

[LinceCuda]

the Curious Yellow is a diffwerent color for sure & not often seen but yes under different lighting it can completely change color & would work well with black stripe & Black or white interior
With the engine it will detonate even at light throttle , my friend had a 12:1 440 & even on pure 100 ll av gas it would ping so the car sat a lot as it was a pain to drive anywhere & get decent fuel all the time ,
It really come down to head choice , with good alum heads you could get a away with 11:1 & you might be able to mill the domes down on the existing pistons & still use them , , A W5 head would be killer on that engine but you would have to be very careful on fitting the pistons into the chamber without interference , Airwolf may be a better choice but again the piston may not match / fit the combustion chamber . Flat top pistons do promote flame travel in the chamber

Thanks for the input Psycho gives me something to think about.

[LinceCuda]

Well finally it's time to get going on the Cuda. I've been buying parts and the boxes are stacking up. So AJ and I pulled the engine and transmission today, removed all the pistons,cam and crank and off to the machine shop it went. Now I'll get the rearend out and start removing body parts and jump on the metal work.

[Chryco Psycho]

Step by step !!

[LinceCuda]

Picked up my block and crank yesterday from the machine shop. So I had it cleaned, tested, and bored another .010 bringing it to .040 total. The $75 forged 457 crank cleaned up nice at .010 m & .010 r. The also put in cam bearings distributor bushing all the freeze plugs and supplied me with clevite main and rod bearings. My total bill for parts and labor was $763.66 I feel they treated me right. I also bought a new set of Eagle forged I - beam rods for $242 and I bought a set of Speed Pro
.040 forged pistons $350 and they are on the way.

[Chryco Psycho]

I only buy forged pistons in case you want more power later , the new rods are a good call too , seems the machine shop looked after you well