70 Cuda Project

[Turbo224]

Not TM related, but thought some of you may be interested in my 70 Cuda project. A little history, 10 years ago my dad got a stripped 70 Barracuda Gran Coupe in a trade deal that he he ended up giving to me to restore. It was so much of a project that I never got around to it as my interests were on my more affordable TMs. About 3 years ago my dad got a call from a friend getting a divorce and desperate to sell his cars so his ex wife didn't get them. One car was an unrestored factory yellow 70 Cuda 440-6pk car with a four speed and a shaker hood. The other car was a 70 Barracuda Gran Coupe 318 car that was restored in the 80s but missing a motor. Long story short, my dad bought the Cuda and I bought the Gran Coupe and sold my old project. Basically I ended up with a complete restored Barracuda with no motor or trans for a very reasonable price. The down side is that the car is missing the fender tags and the build sheet, so I have no idea how the car was originally equipped. The pictures below show what the car looks like now. I believe the car was originally black, but it is now painted white. The paint is a cheap acrylic single stage job that doesn't look great up close, so I've been stripping the car down to get ready for paint. My paint guy is going to be ready for it at the end of January, I'm just having a difficult time deciding how I want to put the car back together, and what color to paint it. The car is going to be a driver, and I plan to have it on the road this summer.

[spyder]

Car looks to be in nice shape, plenty of potential, curious what direction you'll go with it (restore,resto mod, turbo car, copy, etc.) Can't tell much by the pics, but it appears as though the paint under the brake plate & wiper motor are light in color (white?), what makes you think it's originally a black car?? Can you tell if those are the original white leather buckets?? Is that a G next to it??

[Johnny]

White and pink!
(kidding)

Pick your favorite Cuda color and go with it.

[turismolover22]

Take the door panels off, should still have overspray from the old color. Or worst case, scrape a chip off from an inconspicuous spot inside that may have not gotten hit with the new paint. Its all coming off anyway lol.Great looking car, the title should tell the "standard" color the car had when issued.

[Turbo224]

I thought the car was originally white as well until I kept digging. The previous owner had an aftermarket brake booster on the car, so I assume he did that during the restoration which may explain the white under the booster. And I'm not sure about the seat covers, but they seem too perfect to be originals. The seats are getting recovered to be black regardless.

As for my plans for the car, I'd consider keeping it a Gran Coupe if I had any documentation as to how it was originally built. Seeing that I don't, I'll probably restore it into a Cuda clone. I have a 440 I'm in the process of assembling, so that will go in the car when it's ready. Right now I'm just really struggling deciding on a paint scheme. I've toyed with the idea of a modern color, but will probably end up painting it one of the original high impact colors available in 1970. Here are a few more pictures of black paint I've uncovered and the interior as it sits right now. Yes, that's shaggy black headliner material.

[unclemike]

Paint and trim codes should be on the builder plate. A Mopar specific site should have the needed infor to decode it.

[Turbo224]

By builder plate I assume you mean fender tag? The fender tags are missing from the car.

[Turbo224]

Off to the paint shop

[banger68]

Copper w/billboards

[Turbo224]

Copper w/billboards

You're half way right.

[Turbo224]

I'm removing most the trim and emblems to give it a more modern look. Now that the car is in the paint shop, I've been trying to prep everything I can so the assembly goes quicker when I get her home. I've been spending an hour every morning before I head to work blasting and painting parts. If I were rich I'd have most of this powder coated, but this will have to do for now. And one shot of the 440 partially assembled.

[86Shelby]

Will there be any issues with attaching the weather stripping without the trim pieces present?

[Turbo224]

No, the drip rail trim is staying.

[T1 woodywagon]

Don't forget to switch those two front carbs around! I ran a 440 six barrel in my e body cuda for years.

[Turbo224]

My body guy is finding all sorts of surprises under the paint. The worst issue is the passenger side quarter. It was replaced in the 80's and they used a lot of brass to fill the gaps. They also filled the body seems with brass and absurd amounts of filler to give the car a smoother look. Prying the valences off the car was a really treat.

[86Shelby]

Dang, that's a chuck of filler! Hopefully the rest of the body work will go smoother without hiccups.

[Turbo224]

First coat of primer is down.

[Turbo224]

Color will be sprayed this week, hope to have it back in my garage within two weeks. Then comes the long road of assembly. I've been trying to button up the motor while I don't have the car to work on. It's getting close, just gathering the last few odds and ends. The hemi is going in my dads 68 Charger, and the 2.2 is for my 89 CSX.

[Turbo224]

And Vitamin C it is! Door jams, trunk, engine compartment, bumpers, bottom of the trunk and hood, and all of the little incidentals have been painted. We're going to assemble the front end this week and the rest of the exterior should be painted this coming weekend. Unfortunately this car had a lot of hidden nightmares under the previous paint job, so we have spent far more time and money getting this ready for paint than we ever expected.

Here is my biggest problem now. My paint guy retired from painting in a local Mercedes dealership and now teaches auto body and paint at a local high school. He is doing all the work at the high school after hours in his spare time. School gets out in two weeks and he will have limited access to the shop throughout the summer. It's kind of stressing me out because i'm afraid he's going to be cutting corners in order to finish it on time. So far things look pretty good, but I can see that he hasn't taped off some areas that I requested. We'll see how things turn out, keep your fingers crossed for me!

[88ttoppacifica]

Oh no louvers on the fenders! Lol j/k Looks real good! Gotta say the 70 'cuda tail lights are my favorite of all the years. Like the color choice. My father has a factory FM3 pink AAR, its been red since the late 80s though. If you have any leads on a real T/A motor give me a shout! Best of luck with the build, ill certainly be checking back!