Wanna see my Taiwan Cuda ?????

[lilwendal]

Knowing how you guys like pics I thoght I'd throw some out of the Cuda I'm working.  This thing could be an add for AMD.  If its black EDP then its fresh off the boat replacement metal.  Almost wrapped up.  Just waiting on the roof drip edges so I can tack the roof skin in. I sure do like metal work   3 other cars here that need very minimal metal work and I pick this one.  The next will be the 68 RT.
I'll post more pics when I get some paint thrown on.

[lilwendal]

Couple more.  Notice the high tech jigs

[lilwendal]

And a few others

[tan top]

      your doing some real nice work there    ....        who would ever imagined  5 years ago sheet metal like that would be repoped ... no  matter where its made ...........

[lilwendal]

Couple more

[suntech]

Looks great!!! Happy with quality and fit??

[lilwendal]

And last the cowl.  Tip... Notice I painted the top of the lower cowl before placing the top cowl on. This area is always a pain to paint and usually is dry overspray looking on even the nicest cars.  Of course this only works if your pulling the cowl.

[HKCharger]

what is taiwan?

[hemi-hampton]

Looks like some Major Surgery, Nice work LEON.

[twenty mike mike]

So THAT is how you do a frame-off restoration on a unibody! 

[Charger1973]

Nice work man...

[lilwendal]

I've been very happy with the fit so far.  The fenders and doors have been on and off a hundred times during the assy of the metal and everything looks really  good. My only remark would be to stay  with the same distributer of metal all the way. The dutchman is from company X and the quarters from comapny Z and there is a noticable difference in were they meet.  They are physically shapped differently at the window lip. I would suspect if they were both from the same company there would be better allignment.
The deck lid lines up nicely. There will be less allignment issues to work then I've had with original metal cars.   Over all I give the repop stuff

[lilwendal]

what is taiwan?

A repuplic of China.  Where 90% of all your repop parts are made by 9 and 10 year olds working 16 hour days 7 days a week for .35 cents an hour.

[The70RT]

Nice work 

[hotrod98]

Very nice work.
I sold a slightly rusty barracuda convertible a few years agao because I truly believed that we would never see this stuff repro'd. 

[1969chargerrtse]

Those kids do great work.  Fantastic job.  You are an amazing metal worker.  Wow.

[Finn]

 

[dpm68]

lord god almighty...nice work!

[keepat]

I have a good friend who is doing the same thing to his 70 Cuda, panel for panel. Please post some before pictures.
Great job on your Cuda!
Pat

[NMike]

what is taiwan?

A repuplic of China.  Where 90% of all your repop parts are made by 9 and 10 year olds working 16 hour days 7 days a week for .35 cents an hour.

can those kids get work Visa's to work on my car for that much?

[69*F5*SE]

Very nice work indeed. 

[KMPX2]

How long have you been working on it?

[Back N Black]

Top notch work!  I wish i had that skill. 

[moparstuart]

new car when he's done

[Mike DC]

Our hobby considers this more appropriate & original than swapping a VIN tag. 

[moparstuart]

Our hobby considers this more appropriate & original than swapping a VIN tag. 

well at least you can aprreciate all the work he has done , and he didnt take the easy way out and just  swap a vin

[Charger_Fan]

Holy crap, I had no idea they were repopping that many 'Cuda pieces!

Great looking work.

[HKCharger]

damn fine work.

[Old Moparz]

I should have bought that welder instead of the bigger camping trailer.   


Very nice work lilwendal.   

[LilRedDave]

That is looking great. So what are the spec's on the Cuda? And how hard was it to get the one piece floor in?

[4cruzin]

WOW looking great!!   

[lilwendal]

Thanks everyone!!  I've been working on it for a couple months.  Been slower than I like but a new job has kept me away from the car more than usual. Now that I've got a grasp on the new position I'm back on the Cuda.
Its a real Cuda 383 4 speed car FC7 In Violet with alot of nice extras.  The car really was not in that bad of shape and retains all its original rust free frames, rockers and crossmembers.  It was just the outer sheetmetal.  I couple small holes in the floorboards that could have been patched. This is a keeper for me so I wanted no splices and the new metal they have out now permits me to go that route.  Later it became more of an obssesion...Changing metal that could have been salvaged for new metal just to have the new metal on.  So Now I'm at unless the original metal is 100% rust free it got new metal.
Body work will be a breeze.  No welded seams to dress on the quarters.  Clean floor boards.
The one piece floor boards for floor and trunk are the only way to go now.  If I could have all those hours back spent stich welding floor pans to the trans hump seams.... And joining the two piece trunk floors.  Not to mention the overall appearance of the one piece.  Great stuff
Even at the added time required to pull the tail panel is less than it takes to join the two piece trunk floor seam and results in a better job.
The fenders.  The originals are fairly solid but have been beat up pretty good.  So at this point I'll spend the 1000.00 for 2 fenders that are ready to shoot then 40 hours it would take me to get these original fenders straight.
I know alot of people gripe about repop metal on these cars but I can definetly say the stuff they are reproducing now is 200% better then the stuff a couple years ago.  Quality, Correctness, Metal thickness/composition, and fit.

[hemi-hampton]

Did all this sheet metal come from AMD?  LEON.

[lilwendal]

Mixed.  AMD and some Goodmark.  The AMD is a better product on all pieces I've seen.  Unfortunately some of their metal was not available when I was ready so I went with Goodmark.  AMD is better with the correctness and complete factor.  Like the floor panels having all the correct brackets and tabs.    On the Goodmark pieces I had to transfer everything over.The quarters are Goodmark and there are some small differences from original that I had to address.
The AMD cowl is stamped for the later model cuda and has some stampings that would not have been on the 70 cowl.
But overall small issues with a complex part

[69 OUR/TEA]

Looks like you are doing a great job lilwendal !!!!!! After the car that I am doing right now is finished I have to do a friends AAR,and the way it is looking I might have to do full 1/4's,roof skin,and possibly fenders,so I am very interested in watching this thread.Keep up the good work and keep us posted on progress!!!!

[Charger_Fan]

Don't want this thread to sink down too far...

[CHRGR SE]

More pics! 

[68RRFlyer]

Excellent job wendal!~~!!!!    You did exactly, and I mean EXACTLY what I just got done doing to my 68 Road Runner.  We should go to an import show after we're both done!!  Nice work!!

Cheers 

[71RT4ME]

Any new updates on the Cuda progress ?
I am a metalwork junkie. I love replacing rusty metal with fresh stuff !

[BlueSS454]

Very nice work  .  I wish they had those panels available when we were doing the one sitting in my garage.

[Mike DC]

We're gonna get our long-wished-for reproduction Chargers, they're just gonna come one piece at a time.


The Cuda looks great overall. 
It'll end up being a nice item when it's done.  And you sure as heck won't have to worry about rust starting to bubble up under the paint later on. 


It's not like these cars had great quality control from the factory to begin with either.  The repro panels are always gonna pose a few issues, but there aren't many NOS pieces that go on 100% clean either.  Even most of the bolt-on pieces need block sanding & shimming to fit right. 

 

[PocketThunder]

Holy Crap!!!!!! 

I sold a 70 barracuda that needed all of the work you're doing and then some.. 

[WingCharger]

I wonder if the demand for mopars will every reach the point they start restamping bodies like they are doing with Camaro's and Mustang's? That is just crazy.

[Harlow]

I wonder if the demand for mopars will every reach the point they start restamping bodies like they are doing with Camaro's and Mustang's? That is just crazy.

I don't see anything wrong with the reproduction bodies. Eventually all the original/salvageable bodies are going to be either too far gone or all bought/restored. I think the reproduction bodies get titled as kit cars? As long as its not misrepresented as a true original camaro, mustang etc.. I think its a great idea.

[charger01]

YOU SIR ARE MY HERO   That is incredible.  Nice to see someone take the time to fix a car that by any other means is just a junk parts car.

[CB]

  that is just awesome work!!! 
CB

[timmy]

look good

[Mike DC]

I'm not gonna be 100% sold on the repro bodies until they make the metal right.


AMD is admittedly sounding better than Goodmark.  But if they're gonna make an entire shell including the subframe rails & rocker structures, playtime is over for metal quality IMHO.  (I mean, some original stick-shifted 440 or Hemi cars are capable of buckling their own quarters with NEARLY STOCK tire sizes.)

No cutting corners down any farther than stock metal when we're talking whole shells.  It needs to be as stiff and strong (not only just as thick) as the O.E. stuff.  No more asterisks.   

 

[lilwendal]

I'm not gonna be 100% sold on the repro bodies until they make the metal right.


AMD is admittedly sounding better than Goodmark.  But if they're gonna make an entire shell including the subframe rails & rocker structures, playtime is over for metal quality IMHO.  (I mean, some original stick-shifted 440 or Hemi cars are capable of buckling their own quarters with NEARLY STOCK tire sizes.)

No cutting corners down any farther than stock metal when we're talking whole shells.  It needs to be as stiff and strong (not only just as thick) as the O.E. stuff.  No more asterisks.   

 

Mike....I'm with  you on that statement there.  Its nice to know there are replacement frames and crossmembers available out there but as long as the original structural parts continue to be readibly available thats the way I go.
Desert Valley...Texas  Acres.... Have a huge supply of these items priced at or below the repop  pieces.
True these are unibodies with floorpans and quarters also playing into the structural rigidity of the car.....But their role not as great as the frames,rockers, and cross members.

I've been metal working these old cars for a while now and there is a noticable difference in the quality of the metal with AMD now the the stuff just a couple of years ago.  Knowing this metal is originating overseas I'd bet the Cuda the metal composition is inferior to 40 year old detriot. But there has been an improvemet.
Any resto welder can agree to that.

[Lowprofile]

Top notch work!  I wish i had that skill. 

I second that! Really nice job bro! Can't wait to see the finished car. 

[JerseyJoe]

WOW, LIL...

Just awsome. You have inspired me. I'll be diving into my own metal work shortly, thanks.

[T16]

Wow.. Better than new..

[CornDogsCharger]

Hey Lilwendal, Great work!!  That car will handle like new once you are finished!  No more body twist    I agree with you 110%... AMD has really pulled through for us Mopar guys.  It's about time someone produces more than just two-piece floors and lower quarters.  I have been using all AMD metal on the Superbird that I am restoring.  IF you want to check it out, I have been posting pictures on the Aero page http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,43102.0.html 

Justin
"CornDog"

[Mike DC]

 
Man Justin, your work on that Superbird looks GREAT.

Lots of beautiful hand-patchwork.  The inside surfaces on the door, the hood under-bracing . . . impressive to see it being fixed that carefully on such inconspicuous areas.  Butt-welding all that stuff like that, those areas probably won't need more than a medium-build primer layer over any of them.

   

 

[six-tee-nine]

Hey Mike,

Glad to see you can get some work done to your car with all of the parts your crating for us over here......

After your topic about the gauge cluster resto, this shows us again that you are a very skilled man. The paint detail about the cowl is just awesome to think of....

[Hansson]

Nice work, looks real good
How flimsy/wobbly does the car get when you cut out that much floor and Q-panels?
I´m going to do a similar operation on my -68 Charger, do i need a "framejig" of some sort.

/Hansson

[HemiTom]

that car will look like a new unrestored car when all done.....nice job!!!

[jerry]

  nice taiwan cuda. they have a name for these cars, 99%er

[speedfreak68]

Do u have any update for us on this car lilwendal? I would live to see more!!

[The70RT]

I bet he's not gonna show us till it's done. Maybe it's an Angry thing 

[lilwendal]

Do u have any update for us on this car lilwendal? I would live to see more!!

Sorry guys...Its still here but not much progress lately. Flipped over to the Charger while I was waiting for the drip rails to show. They did about 3 months ago. but I havn't flipped back over to the cuda yet.  I'm also wrapping up a 65 mustang vert for the wife.  I know...She has bad taste in cars.... But excellent taste in men
Plus the clusters have been killing me.  You guys that live up north must all pull your cars apart in the winter.  As soon as December hit I have at leats 2 or 3 clusters show a week for resto.  There are 11 here now just for clients.
No complaints about all the business though.  I blow all the funds buying more car stuff

Promise to start up the thread again when I jump back on it.  Hopefully after Feb.

[69charger2002]

a mustang?!?! mike no offense but that's a lot of good talent going to waste on a ford!! kidding bud, gotta keep the wife happy or it's all irrelevant, trust me i know lol. get that thing finished and get back to the charger/cuda!
trav

[speedfreak68]

I'm sure we all will be anxiously waiting for more pics   O, don't give her too much shit about the ford cuz i got one too...but mine is a different kind of horse.

[b5blue]

Amazing work!!! That Cuda is going to be better than new! How do you find time to do this and the dashes? (and the wife's rag top and work!)

[69bronzeT5]

Wow, I gotta give you a lot of credit! I wish I had those kind of skills.

[Tilar]

a mustang?!?! mike no offense but that's a lot of good talent going to waste on a ford!!

You know what FORD spelled backwards stands for dont ya? DROF... Driver Returns On Foot.


That Cuda is looking good!

[captnsim]

Wow...nice work  Ford stands for F'n owner really dumb...

[squeakfinder]

Found on reservation dump.

[bull]

You guys that live up north must all pull your cars apart in the winter.  As soon as December hit I have at leats 2 or 3 clusters show a week for resto.  There are 11 here now just for clients.
No complaints about all the business though.  I blow all the funds buying more car stuff

Well it's good to know our money went for a good cause.

[Ponch ®]

what is taiwan?

A repuplic of China.  Where 90% of all your repop parts are made by 9 and 10 year olds working 16 hour days 7 days a week for .35 cents an hour.

it's not a republic of China. it's THE Republic of China. Of course, the mainland People's Republic of China would disagree...