microwheel

A couple with her hat on

Here are a few more, I bumped up the image quality a little to see if it would help.

Here is a few better detail shots of the engine after the install.. the engine bay still has a few things that need to be finished up with. The battery and battery cable detail and radiator and heater hoses, and a little clean up. But hopefully these pics are easier to see than the blurry ones from yesterday.

Hey Fred got the lower radiator hose in this morning and it went without a hitch.. Just FYI, the lower hose actually has a long section from the bend and a shorter section from the bend.. Not very noticeable either, but there is a difference and it matters when installing it.. The longer end should be to the block side. If you get that right the other end drops right into the radiator hole for it. I had made one with aftermarket radiator hose material just in case there was a issue with it, but ended up not needing it.

Hi Fred, I sure will. I have a plan for that though if it does give me any issues. Hi Michael, thanks. I very seldom do box stock builds anymore. I was building back in the 80s and 90s when a lot of the aftermarket industry was coming into its own and really took a shine to detailing. I like detailing model because I always find something new and more I can do with them.

Hi Guys sorry about the focus on some of the pics, the problem wasnt the camera, I have a pretty good camera, its a Fuji finepix S1500. I had the model in a box lid outside and it was windy, so I was trying to hold the camera with one hand and the box lid I had the model in with the other hand to keep the wind from blowing it. This caused me to not be able to hold the camera steady as I was snapping pics. Then at some point my finger must have moved the setting on the camera I normally have it set at. I didnt notice this till this morning. So I will try to get a few better pics up today for you all of the engine bay with the engine installed. I'm just waiting for the weather to clear up a little this morning.

Finally the radiator was gently and carefully slid into place between the fan and core support and gently pushed down into the mounting holes for it on the frame A couple of drops of CA glue was applies with a tooth pick to each side edge of the shroud and it was mated to the radiator. Then the car was turned upside down and a drop of CA glue was apply to each hole for the radiator mounting pins. And thats pretty much how I had planned it out. I still have the radiator and heater hoses to work on and the battery and battery detail to do in the engine bay. As well as a lot of other things left to finish up on the car. So stay tuned and thanks for checking my build out so far...............

Now its time to get the fan assemble installed. Once again a toothpick and tweezers come in handy. A drop of CA glue was applied to the lower pulley mounting pin andThe fan belt assembly was lowered into place with the tweezers. A toothpick was slid through the grill opening and through the fan pulley into the engine block to line it all up as the cement dried. The fan clutch was slid into the fan but not cemented into it.. I needed this loose to maneuver the fan into place in the engine. Leaving the fan out away from the pully a little bit, a drop of CA cement was place on the clutch pin and then the fan was slid into place with the tweezers Next the fan shroud was carefully slid down between the fan and core support with the mounting locator for the shroud to radiator facing the drivers side. This is important when it comes time to mate the shroud to the radiator. No glue for this step yet. And sorry about the blurry pic. I was holding the camera with one hand.

The First step in installing the engine is to lay the remaining starter and negative battery wires out on the engine in a way that will allow me to slip the engine into the car and still route the starter cable the way I want it. So to start with I faced the started wire toward the bottom if the engine to allow it to slip through the bottom of the engine bay, and the negative wire facing upward to toward the top of the engine bay. This is important so that everything goes smooth without fighting with these wires later. Next is to slip the engine into the engine bay by tilting it slightly with the tranny sliding over the tranny mount. I did not cement it into place yet at this point. and I left it slightly forward off the tranny mounting pin to allow for setting the drive shaft into place. Notice the starter wire below the bottom of the car. Next is to slip the drive shaft into the trans first then carefully into the rear axle. (remember the engine is still loose at this point. Next I bowed the starter wire up and slipped it between the steering shaft and fender wall. Then turning the car over, carefully, because everything is still loose at this point and I need it to stay in the location I have it so the drive shaft doesnt fall out, I pulled the started wire up into the engine bay. once the starter wire is plulled all the way up where I need it to be, I turned the car over and gently nudged the engine backward and cemented it into place with a drop of CA glue on the tranny mounting pin and a drop on each of the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipes. This is all thats needed to hold the engine in the car. Sorry about the pic quality at times.. Next I went head and tied the brake booster vacuum line into the intake manifold where I had pre-planned for it to mount.

Getting ready for the cuda engine install. I try to prep ahead with what I'll need so the install process would go as smooth as It can. To start with, since I will be handling the cuda alot during the engine install, I always where a good pair of cotton gloves so I dont get the paint to messy with finger prints. And because I did alot of test fitting as I was building and detailing the cuda and engine, I know the tools I'll need. A good pair of tweezers to help me hold and install parts, and tooth picks to help align a few parts and apply small dabs if adhesive. And of course some adhesive that will bond strong but give me a few seconds of time to move things around if I need too. This is the adhesive I elected to use for this process, because it holds strong, and though you need to hold the parts for a second or two, it still dries slow enough to allow you to adjust things as you go if needed. It's also a favorite of mine as far as instant CA glues go, because it doesnt craze white when it dries like some instant CA glues do. This is going to be a multi part post and maybe a little long winded at times.. LOL

The next couple of pics show the starter installed and the starter cable from the underside Here she is with her hat on dressed for the weather.. Her hat with be removable for displaying.. There is a reason why the fan assembly isn't installed yet.. It will make sense during the process of installing the engine in the car And very soon it will be time to stuff all this...................................... Into This.... Can you say FUN?!!!!!!!!! Actually, it has all be pre-test fitted to make sure the assembly process will work and that everything lines up like it should. Soooooooo..... It shouldn't be a issue, other than it's a little tight.

I finally finished up the detail on the engine the past few days. Attached the valve covers- made and installed the plug wires and boots- tied in the vacuum lines from the intake and carbs to the valve covers- painted and installed the starter and exhaust manifolds- paint detailed the radiator, shroud, fan, fan clutch, fan belt and pulleys, and drive shaft. Yes I know..... I'm a slow builder and detailer lol. But assembling and detailing the engine and planing out to make sure it will still fit in the car takes time when you step away from the order in which the kit recommends building and installing it. You'll understand what I'm talking about when it's time to install it in the cuda. Sorry the pics are a little dark. I took them outside and its cloudy today. I have to do this in multi posts since there is a photo limit.

Thanks Carl. I hope to have the engine complete and ready to install in a few days.. Stay tuned lol

Hi Shawn and thanks. But no I dont have any finished chassis shots yet because It's still under construction. The engine is still being built and hasnt been installed yet. However if you go back through the thread you will find some chassis shots as the chassis was being built and detailed.

Hey Fred dont know if this will help ya or not, but Im sure your figuring it out. But just in case, here ya go. A pair of tweezers like these comes in handy for me with problems like this. And Just some info in case you need it.

Hey Fred, when I get ready to drop the hemi in I will try to get a few shots with the camera durning the process, so you can see what I mean about how I planned it out to tie everything together and how I planned for the engine to drop in and still get the fan assembly and radiator and shroud to drop in.

Outstanding build!

I like the old lead sleds. your doing a great job on this build

This is one interesting build. I try to take time to keep up with what your doing. I love the fact that your scratch building every peice of this project. And it really is starting to take shape.

I actually love this car. But then I am a fan of british autos in general. I happen to own a real 76 mg midget that I restored a couple of years ago and the wife and I love to take out for drives on the weekends whenever we have the chance.

Great start so far. I like the spear also.

I always loved the 69 novas. I had a couple of them back in the late 70's. Opps am I telling my age? lol. I plan to follow your build and cant wait to see how it comes along. Great start.

Here is a couple of sneak peaks of the cuda setting on her feet. The rear wing is just tacked on for now. But I thought you all would like to get an idea of the look I am after with her. Pay no attention to my messy crowded workbench LOL

Thanks, Although I did end up removing the black strips and applying the silver ones that came in the kit instead. The reason for this is that I am going for more of a replica stock look and the black strips were hardly visable with the body color I chose. The silver strips look much better on it, I think. I will be posting more updated pics in a few days of the overall car as I get closer to finishing it and you will see the look I'm after. I also found a rear wing from my parts box, that I just had to tweek a little to make it look like a cuda wing and will be using on the car. I think it gives it a little better look as well.

Hi Fred, Your cuda is really coming along nicely. I like the stance and the over all theme your going with. Your color combo really works. And your paint job looks glass smooth from the pics.