Kitbashed 1970 'cuda 340 factory resto

[tim boyd]

2 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

The effect certainly works . It's not very often that someone goes through the added effort to replicate the undercoating ( or , "blackout" in some instances ) in those areas , especially on the radiator core support .

 

John...You sound like a guy that reads Mopar Action.magazine ...(smile)....thanks for noticing.  

For those of you who didn't follow this exchange between two confirmed old Mopar fanatics, Mopar Action magazine has been on a 20+  year campaign to get Chrysler muscle car restorers to properly black out the outward facing surfaces of the radiator core support, so that you don't see a paint color when you look through the grille... .just as Mother Mopar did in all her assembly plants back in the day. 

You might be surprised how many "expert" restorers get this wrong....

Cheers...TIm '

[Deuces ll]

Wow!...... ??

[drodg]

Great job Tim, no surprise  there.  So did you use the custom front suspension for the lowered front?  I built mine in B5 a few years ago and followed your recommendations on your sight and maybe in the magazine too.  I just remember how these cars seem to sit too low in back and or too high in front.  

Edited July 13, 2020 by drodg

[CapSat 6]

Tim- I love this build. It’s right there with my tastes as well. The 340 would have been a great engine choice- I owned a slightly modified ‘74 360 ‘Cuda and I can tell you that it didn’t take much to make that car into a beast! 
 

Here’s a pic of a car that I shot back in the very early ‘90’s. Your build really reminds me of this car. I found it on the street in Philadelphia that day. I was very excited to see something like this on the street and in decent condition at the time, and I just happened to have a 35mm camera with some film in it in my car (which was a ‘71 Satellite Sebring Plus) that day. 
 

 

[tim boyd]

10 hours ago, drodg said:

Great job Tim, no surprise  there.  So did you use the custom front suspension for the lowered front?  I built mine in B5 a few years ago and followed your recommendations on your sight and maybe in the magazine too.  I just remember how these cars seem to sit too low in back and or too high in front.  

David....yep....just as you've surmised, l used the optional lowered suspension in the front from the Hemi 'cuda kit.  As for the back, I used the suspension as in the kit,  Using the rear axle as a fulcrum and with the reduced ride height in front, this raised the rear bumper/tail panel just enough beyond the original Hemi 'cuda kit configuration so as to deliver what I believe to have been the original Plymouth Studio "Design Intent" as designers call it.  And your memory of the stock kit stance in the Hemi 'cuda kit is spot on...

Thanks for the comments and questions....TIM 

[tim boyd]

10 hours ago, CapSat 6 said:

Tim- I love this build. It’s right there with my tastes as well. The 340 would have been a great engine choice- I owned a slightly modified ‘74 360 ‘Cuda and I can tell you that it didn’t take much to make that car into a beast! 
 

Here’s a pic of a car that I shot back in the very early ‘90’s. Your build really reminds me of this car. I found it on the street in Philadelphia that day. I was very excited to see something like this on the street and in decent condition at the time, and I just happened to have a 35mm camera with some film in it in my car (which was a ‘71 Satellite Sebring Plus) that day. 
 

 

Bill....lotsa cool memories in your post.   The factory bodyside molding in your pic above is, as you probably know, very rare for a '70 'cuda.  And I had a brand new, factory ordered '74 Road Runner with the E58 360, so I can certainly identify with your comments on that subject.  Finally, I thought the Satellite Sebring Plus, for '71 and again for '73/'74 was a way cool car.  In fact, i would have probably ordered my '74 as a Sebring Plus had the E58 360 been available in that car, and had the net price difference vs. the Road Runner been a little smaller....TIM  

[Bills72sj]

Very tasty 'Cuda. Well done!

[drodg]

12 hours ago, tim boyd said:

David....yep....just as you've surmised, l used the optional lowered suspension in the front from the Hemi 'cuda kit.  As for the back, I used the suspension as in the kit,  Using the rear axle as a fulcrum and with the reduced ride height in front, this raised the rear bumper/tail panel just enough beyond the original Hemi 'cuda kit configuration so as to deliver what I believe to have been the original Plymouth Studio "Design Intent" as designers call it.  And your memory of the stock kit stance in the Hemi 'cuda kit is spot on...

Thanks for the comments and questions....TIM 

Thanks Tim

[slusher]

Outstanding Cuda Tim, your work is always excellent!!

[TooOld]

Beautiful !  I agree that the understated look is much nicer than the '71 'cuda . 

[tim boyd]

Once again, thanks to every one who looked, and thanks to all who commented. 

Now onto my replica of my real 1/1 1974 Plymouth Road Runner E58 360 HiPo.....a project that has been planned for, oh, just 50 years!   

Best Regards All...TIM  

[Slotto]

Nice color, great build. I like your attention to detail

[BeakDoc]

Awesome!

[Nazz]

Great looking  'Cuda Tim !   Very tastefully done .  

 

Jerry

[thatz4u]

Tim, nice work, love the color, here's the one that was ordered in a "less optioned" form except for the Hemi

[Smitty]

A beautiful Cuda Tim. Very restrained and tasteful. I have to believe that many of the '70 Cudas built back in the in the day were along the lines of your clean, classy build.

As a side note, I think you were right in describing the styling of the '71 Cudas as over done. I never really thought about it until you mentioned it - but when you see them with the rear wing, the rear window louvers the big side billboards the front fender gills and that busy grill, they stand in stark contrast to the relative simplicity of the 1970 models. No matter, I still love 'em anyway!

[MeatMan]

Very nicely done!

[tim boyd]

Thanks Steve, Chris, Jerry, Al, Eric, and Dennis!  And Al....I certainly agree that Panther Pink is a great color for a 1970 'cuda!  

Here's another view, showing the rear bumper altered to remove the "sugar scoop" effect along the lower portion, which is totally incorrect for a 1/1 1970 'cuda.  

[mrmike]

Excellent job on the 'Cuda, Tim!  I like it very much!  Now to get back on my '70 440+6 'Cuda!

[vamach1]

Very nice build.  A neighborhood friend back in the mid 70’s had a 1970 440 Sixpack Cuda In a darker blue color.  That was one of the cars that was not a Mustang I wish I bought “used” but with no place to garage it I bought a 69 GTS Dart with a 440 and after breaking a timing chain and the rear main bearing seal expiring I bought a low mileage 72 Mach1 which was more practical as my only car at the time since at least it got over 15 mpg unlike the big block Mopar’s that needed Sunoco 260 and probably got less than 10 mpg.  At least that is the story I guess I told to my mother that signed the loan for the Mustang which I eventually sold back to her to buy a 2nd yellow Mach1 after college.  she even drove “our” first Mach1 a few times to work before realizing it was not the right car for a woman under five feet tall. ?

[tim boyd]

Thanks guys....also great to hear about your Mopar models and real cars....and those '71/'72 Mustangs....which were and remain today my most favorite of the pre-"Mustang II" early Mustangs.  I've got two of those partially built....an AMT 1971 Mach 1 in Grabber Lime with the dark green interior ....and an MPC 1972 Mach 1 in Bright Lime with the white with black interior.   The '71 needs a 429 Cobra Jet (from the Revell 1970 Torino/Cobra Kit) and the '72 needs a 351 Cleveland (from the Revell 1970 Mach 1 kit)....someday I'll get back to those two....TIM  

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Superb build of a superb car Tim, you know your subject for sure!  I love it!  The 70 model year is the nicest one IMHO and your build brings me some great memories.  My very first car was a 70 barracuda with a 318 engine and a flat hood, painted the same blue color.  We could never have suspected at the time that these cars could be so valuable all these years later even for lower end versions!