Cageman's A body

[Cageman]

I come here once and a while, but I really never showed what I have. It isnt much, basically a discarded old 4 door that I made into a two door. Why, becuase I owned it right after highschool and always wanted to own a 2 door version. Never found one, but I did get my hands on two doors and two posts/1/4 out of a really rusty car with no title. I mated the two with ease and here it is. I put a 273 back into it with magnum heads off of a 96 ram. I used a lakewood bellhousing that mates a t5 5 speed out of an s10 to get a cheap 5 speed. Car originally was a 273 3 speed, on the column. I minitubbed the rear and moved the leafs in too. I got an 8 3/4 out of a wrecked demon. I made my own disc brakes by using 78 monte carlo front discs on the back along with ford explorer rotors. I got a master cylinder out of a junkyard diplomat. I put front discs on it too, along with tubular upper control arms I made. I cut the spare tire hole out of the trunk and welded in flat steel so i could bolt the 27 gallon stainless tank I tig welded up. I used the stock sending unit and pickup tube also. Welded up the marker lights and the gas filler also. I did my own body work, along with paint, and stickers so it isnt a show winner by no means, but I probably have 20,000 miles on it since I have done it, it still looks good to me. I just recently put all autometer gauges into it.
Alot of work, but the car was worth it to me. I drive it all over the place. Nice having a car that will never be worth something to tear around in. Plus insurance is CHEAP. 4 bucks a month.
I am mostly into 61 to 71 Dodge pickups, but I sure love my only a body.

This last picture is the day I rescued it out of the junkyard, the title was still in my name, I still laugh about that, 5 years ago too, my how time flies.

This here is my next A body project, Im putting the body off of this 72 swinger onto a 92 winston cup car chassis I bought a couple years ago. 340 powered it will be, along with a 4 speed, Just picked the body up two weeks ago, car had a good clean title, so that is nice. I make 340's out of 360's with crank spacers, and I just picked up an od 4 speed trans, now all I need is time and money.

Here is the chassis. I tried putting a challenger body on it, but it didnt fit, I think the swinger will fit perfect.

 

[OldVart]

Well, you certainly did a nice 4 dr to 2 dr conversion there. Good work.
It may be a bit of a challenge getting the Swinger on that racer chasis, though. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[memike]

Your 4 to 2 door looks real good :cheers:
Glad to see you have allot of tec skills and the
the truck in first picture looks like a nice ride, Yes I like
the old dodge trucks too.
Keep up the great work and good luck on the NASCAR chassis
and keep us posted Cageman and welcome

 

[70dart]

Your conversion looks good, you definately have ability, looks like you will need it on the next project. Keep us updated on the progress it would be great to see! Good luck!

 

[rumblefish360]

Cageman, Welcome to FABO!

 

[waggin]

That's awesome,I put a dart body on an old late model chassis years ago but it was sold before completion.heres my 2 door,I'll have to post the pic's of my 72 charger pro figure eight car.anyway here are before and after pic's of the "waggin" by plymouth

 

[Burntorange70]

WOW! Nice work Cageman. Good luck on your next project. You are going to have to keep us updated on that one.

 

[Badawg]

Yes very nice work for sure!! Welcome!

 

[Cageman]

I think it will be easy to put the body, just all the sheet metal work wil lbe the hard part. It is a cheap project, so I dont get all fancy with it. I have a coronet I have to finish that is basically the same thing, I have yet to get a title for it, so I havent gotten very far with it in the past few years.
Im into doing oddball stuff, The green truck was thrown in on a deal of another truck for parts, I thought it had potential, and I was given a non running Diplomat, so I took the motor trans, and front stub out of it and welded it into the green trucks front end. The lean burn was all that was bad on that 318, so I wired an hei module in and she runs like a top. I need to lower the backend, but it is now sitting in a snow drift, and Im working on a couple other projects that actually pay money, so my crap has to wait, LOL.
The brown truck in the back ground has a cummins diesel in it, that was a nice project too, alot of work but worth it.

 

[George R]

You're a true craftsman, my friend! NICE work.
Can I ask what you do for a living??

George

 

[67fishfastback]

Sweet machine cageman,looks real nice and clean!!

 

[Twisted72]

Look's Super to me,keep up the good work

 

[Dfnsmn34]

I think it will be easy to put the body, just all the sheet metal work wil lbe the hard part. It is a cheap project, so I dont get all fancy with it. I have a coronet I have to finish that is basically the same thing, I have yet to get a title for it, so I havent gotten very far with it in the past few years.
Im into doing oddball stuff, The green truck was thrown in on a deal of another truck for parts, I thought it had potential, and I was given a non running Diplomat, so I took the motor trans, and front stub out of it and welded it into the green trucks front end. The lean burn was all that was bad on that 318, so I wired an hei module in and she runs like a top. I need to lower the backend, but it is now sitting in a snow drift, and Im working on a couple other projects that actually pay money, so my crap has to wait, LOL.
The brown truck in the back ground has a cummins diesel in it, that was a nice project too, alot of work but worth it.

Thats not a brown truck thats a DUDE! Nice Sweptline's and Utline's. Nice work all around!

Aloha!

 

[70DartMike]

Damn! I'm impressed! Good work Cageman, would love to see progress pics of more projects.

 

[70DartMike]

Double post.

 

[Cageman]

Im a welder, fabricator, race car builder, hence the name cageman.

I also like to race dirt circle track. I race in an IMCA modified, I also race a 71 charger in a street stock division, I also own a hobby stock that my little brother drives, all three 340 powered. I own a neon too that races, my sister drives that, Here is a pic of each. Takes all my free time, so I dont get much else done in the summer.
actually, here is me in my old 68 coronet, this car I am making stret legal again. Havent done much to it recently, but some day Ill finish it.

I cut the body off of it, and the front frame rails, I made my own.

I will paint it like this again, a little less stuff though, probably just blue with a #1

Now my current race cars, My mod...

My charger, Was kind of slow this year(had a 318), but I basically used it to clean the high side of the track off before I got out there in my mod, where I wanted to win. Track gets marbly up on the high side, as everyone runs middle to bottom, so all the loose dirt sits up there, and I love flying around the high side.

Now my brothers ride, a 78 Lebarron, 340 powered of course.

Now the general leon, has the horn too, crowd favorite.

 

[Cageman]

My 70 isnt a dude, it is a clone, I made the stickers, I have always wanted a dude, I made my own, but Im not claiming it is real. It just makes the truck look better.
Here is some of the stuff I did to that.
First it was a truck right out of the tree row. I bought it way back when I sold the valiant to the idiot, I bought a camaor and it blew up the first week of ownership. My buddy loaned me the 400 bucks to buy it. It was my daily driver for a couple years. I was in college, and broke as all heck. I hated that truck, it made me so mad so many times, but basically out of frustration, I had no money, so I had to limp it along. I owned my 70 4 wheel drive too, but it had a dead rear end, I was sticking every spare dime I had into both of these trucks. Fast forward a few years. Financials are way better off and I still had this truck, I basically used it to haul garbage to the dumps and do burnouts down on the bridge once a month. I found a wrecked 93 dodge d350 with a cummins and 5 speed. I bought it and decided to put it into my truck. That was three years ago.

made new floorpans by scratch. both sides.

autometer gauges, nice stuff, homemade panel.

tubular uppers I made, along with 4 piston wilwoods all around.

I have smaller front tires on it now, 20's on back, 18's on the front, but there wasnt much of a selection for weight rated 18's back then, now there is, so a lower profile is on it now, man it looked dumb.

hood center I grafted in from a 70 fury

aluminum work, and it was a tight fit.

then when I bought the winston cup car in Sacramento, I took it out there to cali. Here it is along the ocean sotuh of san fran

Here it is at the grand canyon

I have been to california with it, been to arizona twice, and went to Pittsburgh PA too, I have put 30,000 miles on it already. gets 24 mpg, and 18 pulling my race car. Love it. Lot of work, but the only way I could afford a diesel pickup, I like to turn junk into treasure, only way I can afford it.
Truck usually has a trailer hooked to it, always dragging something home. sometimes tow at a time. The most I have pulled was 24,000 pounds.
Here is back from PA, another ebay buy

a wagon I traded some stuff for, had a limted slip too, and clutch pedals.

a trip that was long, 240 miles of 25 mph, but I did it in one trip, whoo hoo. White four door is getting a cummins transplant too, I bought a wrecked 94 ram, would like to get to it one of these days, but I have customers cars in the shop, got to make money, but I want to sell the truck when I get it done too, so if it slows down like I think it will, I will have to get to it.

 

[Cageman]

I got to thinking on the green stepside pickup I got recently, so I drug it in the shop and since I was given a diplomat for free, I took that motor, tranny and front stub and grafted it in, Now it drives like a car, sweet. I have maybe three hundred dollars into the whole truck. 160 for exhaust and 140 for steering u joints, thats all the cash I had to spend. How I roll. I sold the three cats on the diplomat, truck had a 391 limited slip, so Iactually will have made money off of this truck. And I still drive it.

Robbed the power brakes and motor trans runs good, shifts good, it had 3.91, I took them out and put highway friendly 2.76 gears I had, now it purrs down the road. 3 inch exhaust, no mufflers right out the side of the truck, sweet. It isnt loud at all, purrs like a kitten.

 

[mshred]

dude your stuff is awesome....you seem to be an amazing fabricator and you race as well, with a massive stable of cars too....thats like my dream, to just have tons of projects to work on and build on the cheap and then drive the wheels off of....cool stuff man

 

[Bill Dedman]

Cageman, is there ANYTHING you can't do???

I am soooooo impressed, especially with your 2-door Valiant!!!

If I had 1/10th of your talent and abilities, I'd be a rich man...

You go, guy... and, keep us informed on the "Caged" Dart!!!


Bill, in Conway, Arkansas