The red on red 1970 Cuda project

[Wayne]

I agree the grill looks fantastic 
Is that the front bumper that was on the car ? I notice the jack slots 

Thanks Alan!
Yes, that is the bumper the car came with.  I can only assume from your response it should not have jack slots   its too nice in my opinion to be the original.

If that is the case I will have to keep an eye out for one locally, but its not a big concern.

[anlauto]

There's always something right....

Car is coming along great...

[Wayne]

There's always something right....

Car is coming along great...

thanks again!  I appreciate it.  Yes there are plenty of those.  I have a list of things mentally I know I wan't to fix but aren't pressing right now.  But the positive is those I see as little projects and will be fun to do down the road and aren't holding anything up right now. 

[Wayne]

Decided to tackle the rocker moldings next.  One is a repro. and one is original.  Decided to paint them both and needed to do a small repair on the orignal.  The repro's have a lot of texture molded into them vs. the original one I had.  Took about an hour to mask off each one.  Wasn't too bad...i have had much less enjoyable projects thats for sure.  I am pretty happy with them. 

Also made another video.  This video is a little different.  I wanted to show more detail and go over all the steps I did.  Let me know what you think if you watch it.

[RUNCHARGER]

I remember doing that once, even after I knew the factory supplier just did it by gun angle.

[anlauto]

That would look way better then the factory ever did 

[usraptor]

Did the same with my OEM gills. Remember masking off each of those little gills.  Like you said, lots of worse jobs but still time consuming and they came out nice.  I get several comments at car shows asking me if those were original factory equipment.

[Wayne]

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

  I am going to run a MSD ignition and distributor in the car but didn't want' to mount it in the engine compartment.  A few factors drove me to the MSD brand.  The engine builder highly suggested the distributor.  Its fairly common if I ever need replacement parts.  They are all designed to work together as well.  I have seen a few pictures online of guys getting creative with hiding it.  After a lot of time looking at every possible spot I decided on under the dash behind/above the vent cables.  There was enough room with a creative yet simple bracket.

  I wanted a pretty solid mount so i chose .080 aluminum sourced from Amazon actually.  I was also able to use existing holes in the dash for mounting.  This was another place I could use the Rivnut tool and use those to secure the ignition box to the bracket and the bracket to the dash.  This would allow easy installation and not fight with nuts and washers when mounting lying on my back.  I don't have any special tools but I am pretty happy with it.  Started with a simple cardboard template flat pattern. 
 
  I will do the wiring later once the engine is in the car.  I have a  couple existing holes in the firewall I could use.  One being by the master cylinder for the washer pump that is not being used and has a plug. 

[Wayne]

The Project is really ramping up now with the arrival of......her heart is home!!

Picked it up last Friday.   Was great to hear it run finally.  Best machine have been great to work with.  They always answer the phone, up front and honest people.  Very impressed with their knowledge and attention to detail. 

The block was in epoxy primer so I had to
Clean it with wax and grease remover
Scuff it with scotch brute pad
Spray the dipstick and oil pan with etching primer
Clean the engine again
Then spray single stage enamel

Did I say I m excited!   

Plan is to install it this weekend 

[nsmall]

Looking good.  I love your passion.

[Wayne]

Looking good.  I love your passion.

Thank you, I appreciate it.  Although family members think i'm nuts.  i'm sure most can relate!

[Wayne]

I have two big updates! 

  My friend had Friday off work so I proposed I take the day off so we could focus on the getting the clutch, trans and engine together and put in.

  I ended up going with the McLeod RST twin clutch.  I had a twin in another car and loved it. I like the fact that it has a lot of grip and light pedal pressure.   Going this route I shouldn't need a hyd. throw out bearing.  I also used the McLeod flywheel. 

  It was a long day had a few obstacles but got through them.  We tried to bolt the trans up after the bellhousing was bolted to the motor.  It just wasn't working.  So we unbolted the bellhousing and bolted it to the trans and was able to get it all assembled in that order. It was a tight fit with the trans but we were able to get it in and didn't scratch up any of the fresh paint...on the engine or engine bay!  It feels so good to get to this stage and I love how the engine is looking in the bay.  Although the orange engine in a red engine bay is still growing on me lol

  The next big update is on the trans side.  I have always wanted to have an overdrive but my motor would be too close to the torque limit of the 5speed by Tremec  and the 6 speed required cutting the floor which I wouldn't do.  Plus I really wanted to keep my original trans. After talking to Gear Vendors I decided to give them a try.  They have a tail shaft housing that bolts to the 4 speed and only required some clearancing but no cutting of the tunnel.  Plus they have a very high hp limit so I won't ever have to worry about reaching its limitations.  It is activated by a switch that is on their custom pistol grips that go on the stock shifter.  Pretty slick.  Whenever I want my o.d. I hit the button. Or...I can use it to split any gear I want for a clutchless shift.


  With my 28" tires, 3.73 and the .78 od in 4th/over I can cruise @ 70 mph at 2450 rpm.  I plan to drive the car and this will give me great acceleration and easy cruising. 

  The whole assembly is about 13" longer so I just got off the phone with Dynotech and am going to have a driveshaft made that is shorter than my existing and fits that package. 

[YellowThumper]

Does that allow for the same shifter mounting points and is there any interference with factory shift linkage?

[Wayne]

Does that allow for the same shifter mounting points and is there any interference with factory shift linkage?

The GV tailshaft housing/adapter has provisions for the the ebody shifter location as well as the more forward shifter location.  The GV unit is behind the shifter mounting point so no interference with the linkage.  I will take another picture of it in the car today.  Actually thought I did, but alas no.  I do not have the shifter in yet though. 

[Wayne]

Had to put the car on the ground and double check the length for the drive shaft and took a couple pictures of the GV installed