1970 AAR Cuda

[Superbird McMonte]

19 hours ago, gtx6970 said:

AAR grill

 

 

All of my AAR reference shows these rectangles in the grill too.

I cast this grill in resin if anyone is interested.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Superbird McMonte

[Jhedir6]

Decals are done, clear is on. A bit of trash to wet sand out but I'll leave that a few days. I'll then wait another week before masking and painting the matte black.

The green came out really nice. I'm really liking the metallic in it. And the colour is very close to the Dodge Ivy Green.

Onto the interior and chassis while the clear cures.

[Kmb0319]

Man that color is beautiful!!!!  Loving this build and thanks for posting this on the newly released kit.

[BubbaBrown]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the AAR and TA only was available in 5 different colors only, and no black. Anybody else ?

[Mr mopar]

Those decals worked out just fine ......... Looks real good !!

[Bucky]

24 minutes ago, BubbaBrown said:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the AAR and TA only was available in 5 different colors only, and no black. Anybody else ?

Check this one out:

https://www.transamcuda.com/body-and-interior-colors/

[gtx6970]

1 hour ago, BubbaBrown said:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the AAR and TA only was available in 5 different colors only, and no black. Anybody else ?

Nope, avail in any color a regular Barracuda / Cuda was avail in.

There are lots of black ones out there.

A friend of mine used to own both a black TA and a black AAR.

TA had black interior , the AAR had white interior.  He sold both a few years back and I think he now owns a B7 blue AAR. which is one of the rarest colors known

[gtx6970]

5 hours ago, Superbird McMonte said:

All of my AAR reference shows these rectangles in the grill too.

I cast this grill in resin if anyone is interested.

Now that I think about it, I believe your correct. Same square moldings as in a Gran Coupe Barracuda. They were  NOT avail in a regular Cuda

 

Another side note, I am 99% sure the gilled rocker moldings as shown here were NOT avail on an AAR 

Due to the fact they were plastic , and right above a hot exhaust tip ,,,probably not a good idea. Although I have seen several cars with them ( owner added on the car I did )

Edited July 5, 2019 by gtx6970

[drodg]

13 hours ago, gtx6970 said:

Now that I think about it, I believe your correct. Same square moldings as in a Gran Coupe Barracuda. They were  NOT avail in a regular Cuda

 

Another side note, I am 99% sure the gilled rocker moldings as shown here were NOT avail on an AAR 

Due to the fact they were plastic , and right above a hot exhaust tip ,,,probably not a good idea. Although I have seen several cars with them ( owner added on the car I did )

Well in theory they were not available on the AAR but there is a test report from Car and Driver Magazine from 1970 that their test car had them.  I think they could be ordered as there are cars out there with the M25 option code or so I have read!    There is also a picture of a car show from 1970 showing them.  These could be preproduction cars.   I think this has been discussed on just a few Cuda forums.   I like them on the AAR's! though.  Btw I love the way this green build is coming together it  looks great.  

[Superbird McMonte]

16 hours ago, gtx6970 said:

Now that I think about it, I believe your correct. Same square moldings as in a Gran Coupe Barracuda. They were  NOT avail in a regular Cuda

 

Another side note, I am 99% sure the gilled rocker moldings as shown here were NOT avail on an AAR 

Due to the fact they were plastic , and right above a hot exhaust tip ,,,probably not a good idea. Although I have seen several cars with them ( owner added on the car I did )

I didn’t know they existed until SAE did the AAR conversion article in the early 90’s. I believe he added them. I’m not sure what is correct. I had pictures of an unrestored completely original car from the local MOPAR show but can’t find them.... yet

[1972coronet]

Considering that the AAR and the T/A Challenger were built on the regular production line with  'regular' Barracuda and Challenger models in the Hamtramck Plant (e.g. , they weren't "batch-built" like the 440 Dart , etc.) , there were mistakes made ( antenna placement ; trim mix-ups ; etc. , etc. ) . The only way to tell whether or not an AAR received the bright embellishments is by finding an original , untouched example , or by finding vintage photographic evidence that supports the presence (or lack thereof ) of the grille's brightwork .

In the end , we're building scale replicas of fill-in-the-blank vehicles --- build your kit your way . 

[Superbird McMonte]

19 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Considering that the AAR and the T/A Challenger were built on the regular production line with  'regular' Barracuda and Challenger models in the Hamtramck Plant (e.g. , they weren't "batch-built" like the 440 Dart , etc.) , there were mistakes made ( antenna placement ; trim mix-ups ; etc. , etc. ) . The only way to tell whether or not an AAR received the bright embellishments is by finding an original , untouched example , or by finding vintage photographic evidence that supports the presence (or lack thereof ) of the grille's brightwork .

In the end , we're building scale replicas of fill-in-the-blank vehicles --- build your kit your way . 

That is what it all comes down to!?

[Jhedir6]

Finally, an update....kind of...

The clear has cured and was wet sanded (still needs a polish) but I did mask and get the matte black on (pics tomorrow). I've started work on the chassis but stopped at the wheels as I was waiting for the following to arrive.

Some big and little BF Goodrich T/A's (225/60/15's for the front and 275/60/15's for the rear) from Mr. Joseph@Fireball. As well as some big and little Mopar steelies ( I'm not a fan of the rally wheels and I figure most will be done with them)

So with the wheels/tires in I can get the chassis dialed in before starting final assembly this week.

Thanks for looking in.

P.S. I also picked up a set of Minilite's for a Dan Gurney Trans Am AAR build later this winter. The plan is to build the Cuda and Mustang side by side over the winter.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Jhedir6

[zakdoggi]

Looking good! I'll be watching it come together.