Hello all!.. and a 69 Cuda question

-
RSie

RSie

Idiot In Training
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
1,776
Reaction score
2,850
Location
Wisconsin
Hello all,
Well, after sitting for 10 years gathering dust in the far corner of my garage, I've started tinkering with the 69 notchback. It's been on the back burner, as raising a hockey player isn't cheap! I knew the drivers side frame rail had issues, as well as the torsion crossmember when I bought it. I started looking at it more, and realized it needs: drivers side frame rail, torsion crossmember, inner fenders, rockers, and front floor pans (there was a good new pan on the drivers side, just laying in there not welded in or anything). The rear looks good. I know I'm probably better off finding one without so much rot, but I've been looking for years... 50 yr old cars without much rust are hard to find in Wisconsin. It's 99% complete, missing 1 piece of back window trim, and the drivers door sill plate, glass is all good, emblems taillights, etc are all there. Seats are beautiful (buckets). American Racing slotted mags. The other day I found a 75 Dart 4 dr. Custom for cheap that looks good as far as rust goes. Will the front clip from that fit on my Cuda? I plan on pulling the 318 and k-frame out of the Cuda, throwing it into the Dart just to have some fun wheeling around in it for a summer or two while I work on the Cuda, then pulling the front off the Dart (leaving the torsion crossmember, frame rails, inner fenders all together as a unit) and welding it up to the Cuda. I'm not a welder, but my next door neighbor is.. has been a welder and fabricator for the last 30 years or so, and he's willing to help me with it. Any holes in my plan?
 
Figured I'd throw a couple pics of the Cuda on here.

IMGP5881.jpg


IMGP5883.jpg
 
Well it reminds me of “teeth and tires “ car. That is not a 69 nose or grilles and hood. Obviously not original mirrors. fenders, quarters seem to be on par. That is far from original 69 but easily fixed if you choose. It looks just fine as is but a bit of a mix between 67 and 69. Fix it and enjoy it!
 
Last edited:
No 69's ever came with a 68 clip. It can be done as seen above. Lots do it as certain pieces are more available than others. I prefer the 67 and 68 hoods. They missed the boat in 69 without installing hood inserts.
Nice car by the way!
AdaBada said:
looks like a 68 to me, but some 69s had the 68 front clip? this is such a beautiful car, you need to take the dart and chop off whatever metal you from it to make that cuda solid.
Click to expand...
 
Very nice! I am taking on a similar project with my Wisconsin 69 fastback that has plenty of rust issues. I'm in the process of making it drive able and will tackle the rust issues one at a time. Good luck with the restoration and welcome! This place is full of great people willing to share their Mopar knowledge.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys! I hadn't realized the hood grill, etc are not '69. The car was originally green, whoever changed it to red did a good job, under hood, trunk, door jams, dash, etc are all painted red to match. Interior is all done in red/white, with nice buckets that I think are correct for the car (but not original). The fender tag had it as a 904 trans, and it has a 727. Not sure if the engine matches.. it has a holley high rise manifold on it. If it was close to being all original, I'd think about finding the correct year parts, but seeing as it's so far from that, I'm not worried about it. I picked up the Dart donor last week, time to start cutting welds, lol. Not worried about having a show car; it looks nice, and 99% of the people that see it won't have any idea it's not 'correct'. Daily summer driver I can have some fun in :)
 
Matrick69 said:
Very nice! I am taking on a similar project with my Wisconsin 69 fastback that has plenty of rust issues. I'm in the process of making it drive able and will tackle the rust issues one at a time. Good luck with the restoration and welcome! This place is full of great people willing to share their Mopar knowledge.
Click to expand...
Where are you at, fellow Cheesehead?
 
As far as I can recall, the front clip from a 75 will fit on a 69, but the front bumper mounting style is different between the years. 75 cars had the energy bumpers, and 69 cars were just bolted to the side of the frame rails, so that would have to be addressed. There may be some other holes missing or added depending on the year, but overall, with a fabricator neighbor, all of this can be overcome. I believe there is a thread somewhere on here chronicling the Bumper mount modifications needed to change the bumper mounts!

Welcome to fabo by the way, glad to have you with us!
 
cosgig said:
As far as I can recall, the front clip from a 75 will fit on a 69, but the front bumper mounting style is different between the years. 75 cars had the energy bumpers, and 69 cars were just bolted to the side of the frame rails, so that would have to be addressed. There may be some other holes missing or added depending on the year, but overall, with a fabricator neighbor, all of this can be overcome. I believe there is a thread somewhere on here chronicling the Bumper mount modifications needed to change the bumper mounts!

Welcome to fabo by the way, glad to have you with us!
Click to expand...
I knew the bumper mount would be an issue, but as you said, I have a good neighbor :) FABO is awesome! The knowledge on here, and people willing to help out, is an incredible resource!
 
It looks like a 68 to me with 69 front fenders, no biggie. My 68 has one 69 fender with a grafted in 68 side marker, and 69 tailights and 67 back-ups, a 70 dash,a 73 dashpad, a go-wing, and a big ol' hole in the hood for fresh air. It has a72 K-member,73 steering, with 70-Duster KH-brakes, a 1971 Monaco 360, a 65 Commando manual trans, and unknown year 8.75. The rods are from a 69 318, the bellhouse is a 71, the flywheel is 69 or 70. The passenger mirror is a 73 I think, as is the inside day-night mirror. The thumbwheel radio has not been plugged in since maybe 1975, the antenna-hole was welded closed in 1999. There are no speakers in this car, just dual 3" full-length cannons, blasting out spent hydrocarbons and steam, in concert with screaming tires. There is no rear seat installed and the fronts are out of an RX7 (year unknown, perhaps mid 80s). I just throw stuff at her to see what sticks.

I wish you years of strength and energy to finish your project whatever way you go
 
AJ/FormS said:
It looks like a 68 to me with 69 front fenders, no biggie. My 68 has one 69 fender with a grafted in 68 side marker, and 69 tailights and 67 back-ups, a 70 dash,a 73 dashpad, a go-wing, and a big ol' hole in the hood for fresh air. It has a72 K-member,73 steering, with 70-Duster KH-brakes, a 1971 Monaco 360, a 65 Commando manual trans, and unknown year 8.75. The rods are from a 69 318, the bellhouse is a 71, the flywheel is 69 or 70. The passenger mirror is a 73 I think, as is the inside day-night mirror. The thumbwheel radio has not been plugged in since maybe 1975, the antenna-hole was welded closed in 1999. There are no speakers in this car, just dual 3" full-length cannons, blasting out spent hydrocarbons and steam, in concert with screaming tires. There is no rear seat installed and the fronts are out of an RX7 (year unknown, perhaps mid 80s). I just throw stuff at her to see what sticks.

I wish you years of strength and energy to finish your project whatever way you go
Click to expand...
This is an awesome comment! We all are dealing with 50 year old cars.. sometimes there's been way too many things done to them to worry about restoring to assembly line condition. If I find a 67 Cuda, 6 cyl. 3 spd that's never been touched, 1 owner... yeah, I'll think twice about throwing a small block in it... or I'll make damn sure I keep everything so I can turn it back to original, and no extra holes for this or that. If it's not that car though, have fun, do what you like, and keep that Mopar on the road :)
 
Welcome! Nice to see another WI FABO member joining up. Very nice car.
 
RSie said:
Not worried about having a show car; it looks nice, and 99% of the people that see it won't have any idea it's not 'correct'. Daily summer driver I can have some fun in :)
Click to expand...

I think it's more fun to have different stuff.
Because when the 99 see it and say "Nice car" , you can start explaining differences and watch their eyes glaze over.



That new old car feeling.
peg-new-car-feeling-jpg.jpg
 
RSie said:
Hello all,
Well, after sitting for 10 years gathering dust in the far corner of my garage, I've started tinkering with the 69 notchback. It's been on the back burner, as raising a hockey player isn't cheap! I knew the drivers side frame rail had issues, as well as the torsion crossmember when I bought it. I started looking at it more, and realized it needs: drivers side frame rail, torsion crossmember, inner fenders, rockers, and front floor pans (there was a good new pan on the drivers side, just laying in there not welded in or anything). The rear looks good. I know I'm probably better off finding one without so much rot, but I've been looking for years... 50 yr old cars without much rust are hard to find in Wisconsin. It's 99% complete, missing 1 piece of back window trim, and the drivers door sill plate, glass is all good, emblems taillights, etc are all there. Seats are beautiful (buckets). American Racing slotted mags. The other day I found a 75 Dart 4 dr. Custom for cheap that looks good as far as rust goes. Will the front clip from that fit on my Cuda? I plan on pulling the 318 and k-frame out of the Cuda, throwing it into the Dart just to have some fun wheeling around in it for a summer or two while I work on the Cuda, then pulling the front off the Dart (leaving the torsion crossmember, frame rails, inner fenders all together as a unit) and welding it up to the Cuda. I'm not a welder, but my next door neighbor is.. has been a welder and fabricator for the last 30 years or so, and he's willing to help me with it. Any holes in my plan?
Click to expand...

Welcome to FABO from the southwest burbs of Chicago.... :welcome:

AJ/FormS said:
It looks like a 68 to me with 69 front fenders, no biggie.
Click to expand...


Yes it does...

It looks like the rear quarter panels have the round 68 side marker lights and the front fenders have the 69 rectangular side marker lights....

It's definitely the 68 front grille and header panel and hood...
 
krazykuda said:
Welcome to FABO from the southwest burbs of Chicago.... :welcome:




Yes it does...

It looks like the rear quarter panels have the round 68 side marker lights and the front fenders have the 69 rectangular side marker lights....

It's definitely the 68 front grille and header panel and hood...
Click to expand...
The lights in the quarters are the '69 rectangle lights.
 
krazykuda said:
It's hard to tell from the first picture, can barely see it..
Click to expand...
I do see from that pic, it looks like a circle. I'll get a better pic tomorrow, but they are the rectangle lights.
 
RSie said:
I do see from that pic, it looks like a circle. I'll get a better pic tomorrow, but they are the rectangle lights.
Click to expand...

Get a picture of the tail end with lights and valence panel as well...
 
krazykuda said:
Get a picture of the tail end with lights and valence panel as well...
Click to expand...
Good Lord...I've run into the Mopar Police Squad. I can't pull it out far enough to give you a good shot of rear. I guess this means I'll have to strip the whole car down, repaint to the original green, rip out the interior and find a bench seat and back seat to put back in in the original green, find the original 318/904, get the right hood and grill, and the original A/C to put back in as well. Thank god it still has the right '69 radio, I won't have to find one of those. I'm pretty sure it has the backup lights in the valance.. would that get me close enough to drive the car? Might just have to junk it as it's so far away from the assembly line condition.
 
RSie said:
Good Lord...I've run into the Mopar Police Squad. I can't pull it out far enough to give you a good shot of rear. I guess this means I'll have to strip the whole car down, repaint to the original green, rip out the interior and find a bench seat and back seat to put back in in the original green, find the original 318/904, get the right hood and grill, and the original A/C to put back in as well. Thank god it still has the right '69 radio, I won't have to find one of those. I'm pretty sure it has the backup lights in the valance.. would that get me close enough to drive the car? Might just have to junk it as it's so far away from the assembly line condition.
Click to expand...

No, we're not nit picking, we're just letting you know what has been changed in case you were interested in finding out...

 
Who is 'We'? Is it the whole Mopar Police Squad round table? Crap, I'm in trouble now. The vid really makes me feel better. You could have just said in your first reply "I'm curious to see the rest of the car, so I can let you know if other stuff is not year correct, just to let ya know". That might have gone a little better.
 
Sorry for getting snarky... I'm in a snarky mood with reasons. I'm in the midst of a month long run of cluster headaches, lucky if I get 3 hours sleep a night. Yesterday, the kitchen faucet decided to spring a leak just before leaving for work, shut off the supply valves. Come home, break out the household toolbox, set it on a chair. The new 4 month old kitty decides to jump on it, scattering sockets all over..then he has to play with those..chasing sockets down under the couch, and other places. Worked on the Dart parts car in 85 degree weather with humidity that chokes ya, for 12 hours with nothing but beer to keep me going. Grilled some Angus steaks for the wife, kid, and father in law that were helping me, and fried up some rice with mushrooms. My head hurts, I'm tired... but I still wanna go back out and get the exhaust off the Dart...my wife wants me to snuggle, as the boy went over to the in-laws for the night. Decisions... lol :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top