1970 AAR Cuda

[Jantrix]

3 minutes ago, W-31 said:

Didn't know that AAR cudas came with Dana 60's?

Lets not start that again.

[Jhedir6]

Well I've tried 4 times now to update my thread and each time I'm getting 404 Error messages with any post with pics.

Will have to try again later.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Jhedir6

[Jhedir6]

Attempt #5...

Chassis update...

The holes in the underside for the rear exhaust from the Hemi' Cuda kit need to be filled in (the ones beside the gas tank)

My preferred method is to heat a length of kit sprue with a lighter and stretch it. 

Once stretched I snip it in half and insert it into the hole along with some Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. 

After it has cured I snip off the remaining sprue as flush as possible and add a bit more cement and sand ( the wet cement and sanding dust create its own filler)

Lastly I'll paint it with some Tamiya liquid primer and then sand and repeat the above step if necessary.

With it being a holiday weekend (Happy Canada Day) I'm hoping to get more work done on this over the weekend.

Thanks for the replies, keep 'em coming.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Jhedir6

[Rider]

Great method David. I'll be using that in the future. Good luck with the rest of the build. Btw, you're about 30min from my place. Ever make it to the HAMILTON club meetings?

Edited June 29, 2019 by Rider

[Jhedir6]

6 minutes ago, Rider said:

Great method David. I'll be using that in the future. Good luck with the rest of the build. Btw, you're about 30min from my place. Ever make it to the HAMILTON club meetings?

Thanks Curtis. No, didn't know about the Hamilton club meetings, got a link to their site?

And yep, about 45mins from Brantford, my hometown actually. 

[Rider]

Just now, Jhedir6 said:

Thanks Curtis. No, didn't know about the Hamilton club meetings, got a link to their site?

And yep, about 45mins from Brantford, my hometown actually. 

Here ya go.

http://www.ipmshamilton.ca/

IIRC, the meetings are the last Wed each month, however there isn't one in August. 

[Kmb0319]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:41 AM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I would really love to see someone build a 'Cuda in some other color rather than the "usual" "In Violet", "Limelight" or "Lemon Twist".

Haven't these "High Impact" colors been done to death?

It's about time to see something a little different.

How about "Burnt Orange", "Burnt Tan" "Sunfire Yellow" or "Yellow Gold".

It would sure make these "Cudas and Challengers a little more interesting to look at.

You could swear by looking at the majority of the models built that these cars only came in a half dozen colors!

Just my opinion.

 

 

 

Couldn't even find a photo of a '70 in "Sunfire Yellow".

That should tell you how unusual that one would be!

 

 

Steve

 

 

 

Funny you mention that, Steve.  Burnt Orange Metallic has been my plan for the AAR since I heard it was coming out.  Haven’t picked it up yet, but I will soon.

[Classicgas]

I don't think that's a AAR. The badge says 426. The AAR had a 340 6 barrell. The rest of the stripe is AAR but I doubt the car is. Even the exhaust is wrong.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Classicgas

[MrObsessive]

Lee, Bill explained the origins of the car and why it looks the way it does.

[drodg]

Thanks for the update on the kit and showing all of the parts.  One item when building if you notice that the AAR Cudas have a  chrome or stainless outline to the grill which is not really on the regular Cudas.  It is set back on the inside of the grill.   I am not sure how I might do that.   Anyhow thanks for the write up.   You can see it on the two brown colored Cudas above 

Edited July 2, 2019 by drodg
wrong wording

[Jhedir6]

1 minute ago, drodg said:

Thanks for the update on the kit and showing all of the parts.  One item when building if you notice that the AAR Cudas have a  chrome or stainless outline to the grill which is not really on the regular Cudas.  It is set back on the inside of the grill.   I am not sure how I might do that.   Anyhow thanks for the write up.   

David, 

The grill insert is a separate piece so you can paint it black or matte black (which I plan on to match the hood) and then using a Motolo chrome pen you can trim the outside edge before pushing the grill into the body (again exactly what I'm planning to do)

I'm behind on my build up for this, had some issues at the house that needed fixing, hoping to get some bench time today with rain in the forecast.

[Jhedir6]

On 6/27/2019 at 12:48 PM, Rob Hall said:

I'd like to do one of my kits in this green... 'Rallye Green' or 'lime green poly' from that chart above, I think? 

Found a pic of the Tamiya kit the Metallic Green paint I'm going to use was original made for. Kit is from 1994, I think I even have a built one in a box somewhere still, and I think I've had the paint since I bought the kit. Hopefully it's ok. But as you can see from the pic, it's pretty similar to the Dodge green.

Fingers crossed, I might actually get to paint late this afternoon.

[drodg]

7 hours ago, Jhedir6 said:

David, 

The grill insert is a separate piece so you can paint it black or matte black (which I plan on to match the hood) and then using a Motolo chrome pen you can trim the outside edge before pushing the grill into the body (again exactly what I'm planning to do)

I'm behind on my build up for this, had some issues at the house that needed fixing, hoping to get some bench time today with rain in the forecast.

Thanks David I forgot that was an insert.  I built this as a Hemi Cuda when it came out a few years ago.   I had an AAR in bright red many years ago.  Fast but not the smoothest driving car I have owned lol!   It was gorgeous though 

[Jhedir6]

Paint is on. Everything was primed with Gravity's 2K white primer. I've got most of the parts painted and will be able to start assembly tomorrow.

For now, a couple crappy pics of the body. I'll do decals and clear coat tomorrow, then let it set up for a week or so before masking and painting the matte black.

The colour is a bit lighter than the Dodge Ivy green but still looks nice (pics aren't very good). I did knock down the fender flares some so they are no where near as big as they were.

More tomorrow.

[Rider]

Looks great David. Man the humidity was crazy high today, I never would have painted that today, love the colour. 

 

[Snake45]

Great color, and looks like a good match for the pics above. Drive on! 

[Jhedir6]

1 hour ago, Rider said:

Looks great David. Man the humidity was crazy high today, I never would have painted that today, love the colour. 

 

Thanks Curtis,

I have central air, so it wasnt too bad. Also I have a dedicated room for painting with a homemade paintbooth that vents outside so the humidity was not really an issue in there. I was cold tho since its a small bedroom with its own air vent pumping in cold AC air.

53 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Great color, and looks like a good match for the pics above. Drive on! 

Thanks Snake, I thought it turned out to be a pretty nice match. You can see the metallic a bit more in person. I snapped and uploaded the pics quick before I headed out to work. After the clear is on tomorrow and cured up I think the colour will come more into its own, but still look a lot like the Dodge green. But there'll be no driving......I ordered some aftermarket wheels and tires so I'll have to wait a week or two for the caster to get my order done and shipped. Which is fine since I want to leave the clear to cure for a week or so anyways before masking for the matte. The last time I masked over a clear I didn't leave it long enough to set up and I pulled it up along with some decals. Hopefully a week will be a long enough cure time.

[drodg]

Looking good.  Anxious to watch this build

[Can-Con]

On 7/2/2019 at 10:44 AM, drodg said:

Thanks for the update on the kit and showing all of the parts.  One item when building if you notice that the AAR Cudas have a  chrome or stainless outline to the grill which is not really on the regular Cudas.  It is set back on the inside of the grill.   I am not sure how I might do that.   Anyhow thanks for the write up.   You can see it on the two brown colored Cudas above 

Most of the '70 'Cudas I see do have that chrome. I think maybe it just shows up better on the black grilles. Kinda disappears  on the argent ones.

 

[drodg]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

Most of the '70 'Cudas I see do have that chrome. I think maybe it just shows up better on the black grilles. Kinda disappears  on the argent ones.

 

Yes I think you are correct

 

[Superbird McMonte]

On 6/27/2019 at 8:16 PM, gtx6970 said:

they are.

the coating is made to make the bumper appear to fit closer to the body. The coating also wraps around the ends and fit real snug to the body on the sides

this is a car I built for a client / friend of mine a few years back.

 

notice it does NOT say AAR on the rear decal.

The man has owned it since late 70s early 80s time frame.

And yes, its an original Plum Crazy purple  AAR , 

But he decided from the beginning of the resto to build what HE wanted and purists be damned,,,,,And btw,,,, this particular  car has a Dana in it. LOL

 

On 6/30/2019 at 11:34 AM, Classicgas said:

I don't think that's a AAR. The badge says 426. The AAR had a 340 6 barrell. The rest of the stripe is AAR but I doubt the car is. Even the exhaust is wrong.

Classicgas, Re-read the post. He states that it was an original Plum Crazy AAR. The guy who restored it, wanted it done his way. IE: 426, Different exhaust, custom decals and such. 

[Fish_65]

Great color choice David. Looks great. I just got mine in the mail today and can't wait to start on it.

 

Just an observation, not knit-picking the kit any more because I'm glad we have it.

I'm pretty sure that AARs did not come with a front skid plate. I couldn't find any reference to one anyway. Pretty sure it was a Hemi only thing...maybe I'm wrong.

 

[gtx6970]

On 6/30/2019 at 8:34 AM, Classicgas said:

I don't think that's a AAR. The badge says 426. The AAR had a 340 6 barrell. The rest of the stripe is AAR but I doubt the car is. Even the exhaust is wrong.

I can assure you its very much an original BS23JOB . AAR, 340 six barrel auto. Plum Crazy Purple, no vinyl top.

He has owned this car for ages and will die with this car. I personally restored this car about 8 years ago,,,, and Before the restoration even began and he  decided to build the car HIS way.

 

Powered by a Tim Banning / FHO (at For hemis only ) built 484 cu in iron block, aluminum head street Hemi. John Cope built 727 auto. Strange Dana 3.54 . Full 2.5" TTI exhaust. AND we added Vintage air A/C system to keep the occupants nice and comfortable. . This is probably one of the best running/driving street HEMI I've ever been in

Edited July 4, 2019 by gtx6970

[gtx6970]

On 7/2/2019 at 6:44 AM, drodg said:

Thanks for the update on the kit and showing all of the parts.  One item when building if you notice that the AAR Cudas have a  chrome or stainless outline to the grill which is not really on the regular Cudas.  It is set back on the inside of the grill.   I am not sure how I might do that.   Anyhow thanks for the write up.   You can see it on the two brown colored Cudas above 

Actually all 1970 ( and 71 ) Barracuda and Cudas  have the stainless trim on the outer perimeter of the grill.

 All other 1970 Barracuda / Cuds the grill is argent silver

Exact same colors apply to the lower grill insert in the lower valance

Edited July 3, 2019 by gtx6970

[gtx6970]

AAR grill

 

all other 1970 Barracuda/Cuda

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by gtx6970