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Green with envy

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polycounter lvl 18
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flaagan polycounter lvl 18
Just figured I'd share some progress we've managed with the Barracuda. For those of you that don't know, I've been spending my "free time" over the past... nearly a decade... working on restoring my dad's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda convertible. It's finaly at the point where the body's getting finished up and painted, and getting ready to be a rolling chassis again *real* soon. We got the call from the body shop yesterday that they'd gotten the initial coats of Sub-Lime green on the car (it's original color), so mom, dad, and I took a trip there this morning to check out the work so far. Here's what we saw....

body_paint1.jpg
body_paint2.jpg
body_paint3.jpg
body_paint4.jpg

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  • Josh_Singh
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    Josh_Singh polycounter lvl 18
    so the car is green with envy?
  • aesir
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    aesir polycounter lvl 18
    you planning on leaving it straight green, or are you gonna add some white racing stripes or anything else? Racing stripes would look good.
  • ChaosEidolon
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    ChaosEidolon polycounter lvl 17
    Holy crap that color is amazing. I want to eat it.
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    you planning on leaving it straight green, or are you gonna add some white racing stripes or anything else? Racing stripes would look good.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Racing stripes on a 'cuda? I don't think so. I've seen 'cudas with a black stripes down the side of the rear quarter panels, or along the entire side of the car, but I don't think racing stripes would look right on a 'cuda.
  • Mark Dygert
    I'm green with envy poly128.gif
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    I love the colour James, good job. Too bad it's completely fucking ugly looking because of the Crapvette!


    MUWHAHAHA!!!
  • sledgy
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    sledgy polycounter lvl 18
    That's looking nice, man! So are you going to restore it to drive or restore it to every-nut-has-mirror-finish show quality?
  • eXpendabLe
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    eXpendabLe polycounter lvl 18
    schweeet.. remember I called shotgun in the cuda first!
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    you planning on leaving it straight green, or are you gonna add some white racing stripes or anything else? Racing stripes would look good.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Racing stripes on a 'cuda? I don't think so. I've seen 'cudas with a black stripes down the side of the rear quarter panels, or along the entire side of the car, but I don't think racing stripes would look right on a 'cuda.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    "Billboards" and "Hockey Sticks" is what they were called. We considered those, but decided against it, since the car didn't come with them. My dad does want to do some rather off-the-wall airbrushing on the fiberglass hood I got for the car, but I'm fighting it the whole way (REALLY don't like the idea).

    [ QUOTE ]
    That's looking nice, man! So are you going to restore it to drive or restore it to every-nut-has-mirror-finish show quality?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    It's gonna be a daily driver, but a secondary one.
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    Which engine? I'm guessing the 440?
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Which engine? I'm guessing the 440?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Nope, 318 2 barrel bored out to a 340 4 barrel setup (automatic tranny), the Hemis / big blocks were murder on the drivability for the muscle cars, made them ridiculously front heavy. There is a all-aluminum big block available from Mopar that weighs about the same as the 318, so we're considering that as an option down the road.
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    That's not Polycount green. Back to the drawing board with you.
  • The3DGuy
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    The3DGuy polycounter lvl 18
    wow thats actually pretty freaking cool. hopefully you get to finish it soon!
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    oh yah, just as a point of reference... and this was after the car body had already been through an (ineffective) acid bath... it would take a side trip from the body shop to the powdercoating shop to get the rust blasted off and a special coating put on.
    dropoff.jpg

    (oh yah, and this photo is from about a year ago...)
  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    Nice color.
    Too bad its convertable tho, coupe looks so much better.

    And for god's sake get atleast 360 in it, to be honest i didnt know they made 'Cudas with 318's :S
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Nice to see a muscle car restored. It seems to be becoming a lost art. Great color choice btw smile.gif You make the motor city happy wink.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Nice color.
    Too bad its convertable tho, coupe looks so much better.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I would have to disagree with that wholeheartedly. tongue.gif

    [ QUOTE ]
    And for god's sake get atleast 360 in it, to be honest i didnt know they made 'Cudas with 318's :S

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Because the Chrysler 318 small block, much like the Torqueflight transmission it's hooked up to, is pretty much bulletproof, it provides plenty of power, and unlike with the big blocks, the car is still drivable. tongue.gif
  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    If you like it then its all cool, its just that i dont like most 4 seat convertables and convertables that have been coupes first, because they look like the roof has been cut off, which is the case ofcourse.

    And just for the record 360 is a small block and should weigh as much as 318. Smallest classic Mopar big block is 383.
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Ah, well then, paint me misinformed. laugh.gif

    But yah, like I said in an earlier post, considerations have been made for that Mopar all-aluminum big block, with the option to convert it to a hydrogen-fueled powerplant (with just as much compression).
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Interesting choice of colour. If I might so bold as to critique it, it seems rather more Mountain Dew than muscle car...
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    What can I say, man, Chrysler in the 60's and 70's... laugh.gif

    ... and the best part is, when I roll this bad boy up next to some ricer in a day-glo pink import, I can brag my car came this color stock. laugh.gif
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    lol, well the thing people need to remember is, it won't be so shocking once you decal it and add your other contrasting items... like tires, the top, and the seats, etc...
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    The only 'decals' will be the model names, which are small chromed pieces. Besides that, it'll have the black interior / roof / tires. The black and green goes together real well.
  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    What kind of rims?
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    What kind of rims?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    spinnas150.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Toomas - plans are to get a larger set of Chrysler Rallyes (larger both in diameter and depth than what was available back in the day) in order to run some of the newer, nicer, low profile sport tires. Currently we just took the stock wheels, had the powdercoated black, and tossed a set of goodyears on them so we had something to drive / roll the vehicle around on.

    Keyser laugh.gif
  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    Magnums look better than the Rallyes but then again i dont know if they look good on 'Cuda.
    But in MCO all my big Mopars ran Magnums (tm) laugh.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    MCO... Motor City Online? The doomed driving "mmo" that I still hate EA for shutting down (and doing an absolute half-assed marketing deal to begin with).

    In other cuda news, front steering / suspension's about halfways put together (rear axle's been together for a month or two now), couple of stubborn bushing sleeves that made it in with the powdercoating are being an absolute pain to get out now. Fortunately the body shop (as expected) didn't get anything done this past week, so I've got the weekend to work with. There's times I'm *really* glad the body shop guy is taking his time (AND keeping himself busy with other projects)... this is definitely one of those times. laugh.gif
  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    MCO... Motor City Online? The doomed driving "mmo" that I still hate EA for shutting down (and doing an absolute half-assed marketing deal to begin with).

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Yes the same thing.
    I wanna play it so bad but nooo... fuck EA!
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Just a little update or two on the ol' cuda. Owner of the body shop had a heart attack about a week or so ago, recovered and is already back to workin on the car. Currently the car body's been wet sanded and is waiting for repairs to the paint booth so it can be clear coated. Then it'll get the underbody protection material put on (kind of like that "Rhino liner" truck bed stuff) and we can go over to bolt on the front clip and rear axle. Speaking of which, just finished putting those two together today. Took the following photos of them as we rolled them out of the spare garage / workshop and into the tent where a lot of the other parts are stored. Welded up a custom framework with casters for the front clip so it wouldn't be falling all over itself or dragging the powdercoat off onto our driveway.
    cuda_axle_clip.jpg
  • nealb4me
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    nealb4me polycounter lvl 18
    What non-IRS craziness is this? :P Good stuff man, can't wait to see the final package even though that's not really the interesting part is it smile.gif
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    plymouth-cuda-1970a.jpg

    Those black stripes look cool wink.gif

    Seriously that is a dream car you got there, count me in on the envy club wink.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    What a morning!

    We loaded up the Barracuda's front and rear end on the trailer last night:
    rollin1.jpg

    Early this morning we drove over to the body shop, where the cuda's body had gotten the rubberized coating on the underbody and was sitting up on a lift. My dad and I proceeded to bolt the front end in place, bolting in the A arms, shocks, and front K-member were all bolted in:

    rollin2.jpg
    rollin3.jpg

    , We then moved on to the back of the car and bolted up the rear end's leaf springs and shocks:
    rollin4.jpg
    rollin5.jpg

    When all was said and done, it was a proper rolling chassis, but the body shop owner decided to leave the car on the lift so he could do some other work on it:

    rollin6.jpg

    The photos cannot convey just how much that paint color (Chrysler's Sub-Lime) reaches out, grabs your eyeballs out of their sockets, sets them on golfball tees, and drives a 500 yard hit down-range with them. The paint supplier for the body shop happened to stop by just as we were leaving, and as he put it "the car just stands out in this shop".... and trust me when I say there are some top-notch cars in that body shop, both old school and new top of the line.

    A very productive saturday morning indeed! smile.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Just figured I'd share a little update for you guys....

    cuda_topshop.jpg

    This was taken today at the shop next to the body shop (they specialize in auto interiors / convertible roofs and the like).

    At this point all four windows are in (one in each door and one in the space to the rear of each door). The floor has some dynomat down in it, as per our request. The front windshield was in up until a few days ago, but had to be removed because of the order in which the chrome / black trim around it has to be installed.

    This photo was very special and kind of eerie for me to take... the shop owner and I were talking over some of the things I need to bring him so he can get underway... he brought out a battery, hooked it up to the new roof motor, and got that thing pumping and pushing the roof up into the position it's at in that photo.

    You have to realize, it's been ten years since that roof's been on the car and moving... ooo.gif
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    It's been a long time since the last update. What's slowing it down? wink.gif Getting the top to work correctly is a huge step though... especially after all the work that may have adjusted the body
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
  • PfhorRunner
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    PfhorRunner polycounter lvl 18
  • Mark Dygert
    I don't think I could sleep seeing it that put together and knowing it is still has a long way to go.
  • chinups
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    chinups polycounter lvl 17
    Wow, love the cuda Flaagan ,IM GREEN WITH ENVEY, nice nice!! Definitaly keep us updated and if you need any help just PM me, i dont mind getting my hands dirty lol
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Vig.. considering how far it's come along to reach this point, it really doesn't have that much farther to go. wink.gif

    chinups.. the help offer's appreciated, but we really don't want any dirty hands on this thing now. laugh.gif
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    flooj - where are you going to put the PC green smiley? TELL ME THAT MISTER.

    Yah, uh huh.
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    It's been home for a while now. We got the engine back from the body shop painted Chrysler Engine Blue; with any luck I'll get the engine / transmission together and in this weekend. Plenty of parts on order at the moment, and they'll be going in as they arrive.

    cuda_01.jpg
    cuda_02.jpg
    engine_01.jpg
    engine_02.jpg

    Just a side note; that intake manifold and valve covers aren't the ones that are going in with the engine. Got an eldebrock manifold powdercoated black, and we're looking for a set of black valve covers and air cleaner to go on it. We just got the original stuff painted so it would be in good condition when we store it away.
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    That is one blue engine... did they originally come like that, with EVERYTHING painted? With old Chevys at least, I thought they only painted the engine block and cylinder heads, and maybe the oil pan, but not EVERYTHING. I'm glad you're going with a black manifold and valve covers, that'll look much better. Although, that color clashes horribly with he color of the car frown.gif.
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Yes, it came this way. Keep in mind that the belt driven stuff on the front is powdercoated black as well. I don't think it clashes at all; seen more than a few like this at the Mopar shows, looks perfectly fine. smile.gif
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    things are lookin good man
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    More eye candy.

    cuda_03.jpg

    ... and see.. more black parts.. smile.gif

    engine_03.jpg
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Looking good, though I favor Edelbrock's default aluminum color over black. In your case it looks better with the black valve covers.
    What kind of trans are you going to run btw?
  • Asmuel
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    Asmuel polycounter lvl 17
    Fuck man, rad cuda! Doesnt get much cooler than that as far as american muscle goes, you'll be getting constantly hassled by fanboys when your cruisin wink.gif
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Notman.. it's got an A-904 Torqueflite transmission. We had it media blasted, had the casting seams smoothed off, and then had it painted silver and cleated coated. The cast aluminum casing sucked up any oils and grime around it, so we did this so it's always clean and easily cleanable.
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    Hey flaagan, if you don't mind my asking... how much money goes into rebuilding a car like this?
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