pastortom1
Well-Known Member
Just took delivery of the new project car...........Not an A-Body, but subject to lots of the same problems found on our A's.
It's a Cuda, 1974, which my wife wants to fully convert over to a 71 in styling........front end, gills, tail panel.....the works. (she makes me crazy sometimes)...............The thing is that we got the car for a song, since the purchase price was only a few grand over the actual receipts we received with the car.............New plum-crazy paint, very straight panels, 71 date coded 340 installed with a new TTI system (complete, headers back), solid 727, 3:23 posi (shouldn't be too bad on gas), and the motor is all new and ready to rip (about 350 HP). Cragar mags, new T/A's, detailed paint job (under hood, engine bay, hidden areas, etc)..........all in all, a great deal.
BUT, some of the same ol' same ol'............The front grille was done at home by an enthusiast, which is fine and dandy...... that is, IF it was properly repaired before the Argent went on. They left some pretty deep gouges and scratches in the plastic, when it could have been EASILY taken care of before paint.
The hood inserts and grille surrounds were painted orange (proper for the 74), BUT they used a cheap and gaudy fluorescent orange from Ace Hardware or something..............Jeepers.............on your Cuda???
The exhaust tips are brand new, but improperly aligned so that they just barely touch the outside edges of the rear valance cutouts.......Holy Moly...........what a racket! Sounds like a raccoon trapped in a dumpster full o' tin cans when it idles.................Easy fix, but again, it should have been done RIGHT in the first place.
The interior is brand new as well, including new door panels (beautiful white interior guys......yep........Plum Crazy with a white interior).....BUT, when the owner installed the new door panels, he over-tightened EVERY screw on the panel, and CRACKED the panel by each screw hole. We'll install some custom made white plastic washers and cover the errors, but for crying out loud............these things are just plain carelessness.
Shifter too............Previous owner took the slap stick out, and replaced the whole shebang with a crazy Hurst stick that looks like it came out of a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter..........HATE the thing..........he could have installed a BEAUTIFUL Hurst shifter with a pistol, for the same amount of money.
I'll take care of the problems, and then mull over my wifes "mandate"......I'm not worried about the job.......I've done my share of cuttin' and weldin' and paintin'...........but it's a LONG drawn out affair, and expensive too. If she wants it done, she'd better get a raise in salary, and FAST.
With my A-Body in Florida (and now this E-Body), 3 B-Body's and another A-Body in New York (and only ONE of those near completion), I guess I'd better get busy..............or hire one of you guys in NY to help me out up there........Can't stand an unfinished project......wears me down........
Anyway, Just ventin' a little........................
If you're gonna do a project car, whatever you do, DO IT RIGHT. There's PLENTY of help on this site, and there's really NO EXCUSE for takin' cruddy shortcuts........especially when it's a MOPAR......you don't have to spend a lot more money to do it right either........a little research, a little good advice from the guys on the site, and you're on your way to a great car you'll be proud of.
MoPar to ya'........... Doc :thumbup:
It's a Cuda, 1974, which my wife wants to fully convert over to a 71 in styling........front end, gills, tail panel.....the works. (she makes me crazy sometimes)...............The thing is that we got the car for a song, since the purchase price was only a few grand over the actual receipts we received with the car.............New plum-crazy paint, very straight panels, 71 date coded 340 installed with a new TTI system (complete, headers back), solid 727, 3:23 posi (shouldn't be too bad on gas), and the motor is all new and ready to rip (about 350 HP). Cragar mags, new T/A's, detailed paint job (under hood, engine bay, hidden areas, etc)..........all in all, a great deal.
BUT, some of the same ol' same ol'............The front grille was done at home by an enthusiast, which is fine and dandy...... that is, IF it was properly repaired before the Argent went on. They left some pretty deep gouges and scratches in the plastic, when it could have been EASILY taken care of before paint.
The hood inserts and grille surrounds were painted orange (proper for the 74), BUT they used a cheap and gaudy fluorescent orange from Ace Hardware or something..............Jeepers.............on your Cuda???
The exhaust tips are brand new, but improperly aligned so that they just barely touch the outside edges of the rear valance cutouts.......Holy Moly...........what a racket! Sounds like a raccoon trapped in a dumpster full o' tin cans when it idles.................Easy fix, but again, it should have been done RIGHT in the first place.
The interior is brand new as well, including new door panels (beautiful white interior guys......yep........Plum Crazy with a white interior).....BUT, when the owner installed the new door panels, he over-tightened EVERY screw on the panel, and CRACKED the panel by each screw hole. We'll install some custom made white plastic washers and cover the errors, but for crying out loud............these things are just plain carelessness.
Shifter too............Previous owner took the slap stick out, and replaced the whole shebang with a crazy Hurst stick that looks like it came out of a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter..........HATE the thing..........he could have installed a BEAUTIFUL Hurst shifter with a pistol, for the same amount of money.
I'll take care of the problems, and then mull over my wifes "mandate"......I'm not worried about the job.......I've done my share of cuttin' and weldin' and paintin'...........but it's a LONG drawn out affair, and expensive too. If she wants it done, she'd better get a raise in salary, and FAST.
With my A-Body in Florida (and now this E-Body), 3 B-Body's and another A-Body in New York (and only ONE of those near completion), I guess I'd better get busy..............or hire one of you guys in NY to help me out up there........Can't stand an unfinished project......wears me down........
Anyway, Just ventin' a little........................
If you're gonna do a project car, whatever you do, DO IT RIGHT. There's PLENTY of help on this site, and there's really NO EXCUSE for takin' cruddy shortcuts........especially when it's a MOPAR......you don't have to spend a lot more money to do it right either........a little research, a little good advice from the guys on the site, and you're on your way to a great car you'll be proud of.
MoPar to ya'........... Doc :thumbup:
