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Thanks! I checked it out and it was very helpful on figuring out shocks.
Most people think your gonna sell a cherished muscle car for $1500. Those days are over. This isn’t the 80s
Ya, I've learned over the past 11 years of driving old school cars is that people who ask if something is for sale while out and about driving arent very car savvy and think everything is a $2500 car... So, I don't entertain people when they ask. Aside from just not wanting to sell it anyways.
Some minor stuff got done. I put in a new idler arm. Not sure why I skipped over it when I did tie rod arms but I did. Pretty easy job and it was definitely much needed. Just another 50yr old part replaced. Still need to do major suspension upgrades but thats going to be quite a while. I want to buy the good stuff so now its just down to $$$.
I also put down some spray in sound deadener. Funny how it made the horribly done trunk pan look 100x better lol. I chose spray because obviously at some point the trunk needs to be redone and id rather just be able to take a sand disc to the spray on stuff rather than trying to pull off regular sound deadener.
I threw some left over sound deadener I had over the transmission tunnel the I put down some spray on sound deadener to the firewall (inside) and the floor board. Ill finish it off this weekend. Then I bought some heat insulator padding that you have to spray adhesive on and put down. Then I came across some heat padding on eBay that already has the glue on it and its supposed to also be a sound deadener. So once I spray everything I want with spray sound deadener, Ill put that heat barrier/sound deadener over it. Dont mind the floor, its just dirty from my feet.
I got some stuff done today. I ordered a cheap set of hood pins off amazon so I could get rid of the meat hook. Got those on today. Of course to install hood pins on a Cuda, you have to have an extra mount for them to line up correctly. The only good thing is the hoods bottom side comes with pre cut holes from the factory for hood pins. But, you have to get the bracket piece which ties together the fender and core support together that has the extra tab on the end for hood pins. Of course mine didn't have that, so I got on eBay and ordered a set that did for $50. Then I went outside and was working on the sound deadener/heat shield when a piece of metal with 2 holes in it ( the silver piece in the pics) caught my eye in my junk box of random stuff I've accumulated over the past 11 years. I have no idea what its from but I popped the hood, bolted one side down and the other hole stuck out the exact amount needed for the hood pin to be directly under the pre cut hole in the hood! But of course I could only find one. So, I had to cut up a piece of the driveshaft loop which to install it, needed to be cut anyways. So, that gave me my 2nd mount for the hood pin. I may swing by home depot or Lowes to find another piece like the silver piece but probably not anytime soon. The miss match colors just fit the theme of this **** box. I used the hex head screws on the plate for the hood pins as to me, it looks better than the little screws they come with.
Earlier in the day i put down the heat shield sound deadener stuff. I got it off Ebay for $40. I had already bought some off amazon but I figured Id give this one a try because it has the sticky stuff already on it as the amazon stuff ill have to apply adhesive. WHAT A PAIN THE EBAY STUFF WAS! The paper you peel off the sticky side would NOT come off in one solid piece. It kept coming off in small pieces so it took FOREVER to get all of the paper off so I could put it on the floor. Not sure if ill ever use it again. Also, this is my first time taking an interior this far with sound deadener and heat shield. Definitely do it before putting in seats, any wiring running on the floor board or installing a shifter lol. But given anyone reading this already knew that, don't worry, you can laugh at me. But anyways, I used all of the ebay heat shield so tomorrow ill put down the amazon one and hopefully cover the rest of the cabin. Unsure on if I want to put any in the trunk. I want to block off the trunk from the cab but unsure if i should put up a sheet of metal or just put up the heat shield stuff across the X brace where the top part of the back seat mounts and blocks off the trunk and cabin? Or maybe just put the back seat back in it even though they're in horrible shape? lol
Found out earlier today how much this car likes to leak lol. Didn't know it was supposed to rain today. Of course the weather stripping around the windows in non existent given how old it is and the front and rear windows leak. For the windows I just need to pull the trim off and go around them with windshield glue. That should fix that, then obviously invest in some weather stripping. That little spot of water turned in to a whole pond while I was in the gym. I didn't snap a pic though.
I got some more of that heat shield/sound deadener stuff I said I wouldn't mess with again. This time I got it from a different company and thankfully I didn't have any trouble peeling off the paper. I thought I could just cut large sections out and cover the floor all nice and neat but that quickly turned in to having to cut a bunch of pieces to fit the floor. Next, for the first time in my 11 years of having old school cars, I will actually put down carpet. Im going to add the same heat shield/ sound deadener stuff to the doors, and to the rear inner quarter section under the quarter windows. Also going to put it where the headliner typically covers the upper corners of the roof? not sure what that area is specifically called. Then Ill throw some on the roof itself.
I added windshield glue all around the back window and to the area of the front window that I showed leaked in my last post. Hopefully that keeps a good amount of the rain out. But, it won't do much good if I don't get new weather stripping around the door glass and doors. I have some people contacting me about doing LS swaps on their vehicles so maybe I can make some money and get to do some good upgrades to the car relatively soon.
Finished off the heat shield/sound deadener in the car. I put it absolutely everywhere including behind the door panels. I threw the back seat in just for looks since no ones bought it yet. Its trash but makes the inside look better. I also put the trash rear panels on, also for looks and to cover up the glaring shield. Now it looks like a complete car on the inside. Just need carpet to finish it off. Hope it doesn't leak as much as it did when it rains lol.
Also, painted the intake tube wrinkle black. I will be painting the radiator too.
Cant express, even with the car needing major suspension upgrades. This thing is the absolute best to drive. Love it.
Definitely a power upgrade even though its stock. Still need to tune it so I can get the most out of it but when i press the pedal halfway down, she roars and moves like a freight train. Surprised me and scared me one day when I put the pedal down to beat a yellow light lol. Obviously not a 10 sec car but no longer a 17 second car lol
My favorite part and the whole reason for doing the swap is the reliability. I forget to look at the gauges on my tablet almost every time I drive it and it doesn't bother me. As compared to all the other old school cars i've had, my eyes would be glued to the temp and oil pressure gauges. And to think, Im only around $2000-$2500 into the swap, if that.
Love this build. I'm all for building cheap, some considerations, the car is a unibody and the floor is basically part of the frame, get some solid floors in it even if you make the patches from sheetmetal, the furnace duct trans tunnel needs to be stronger.
Consider what color you want the car, if keeping black, choose a single stage quality paint and edge in all the stuff as you go, prep and paint the area behind the weather stripping, then install weather stripping. A harbor freight purple gun is just fine for jamming in a car.
Ive chased rear window leaks before, if you access to a welder its not too bad to fix, ive done it as cheaply as bending flat sheet ( from a filing cabinet) over a steel table edge to make a channel with a lip on the top and welding it all in.
Ever consider using CLR on the panels, takes the rust off and leaves what paint is still there. CLR
Keep the updates coming, really enjoying the build.
Love this build. I'm all for building cheap, some considerations, the car is a unibody and the floor is basically part of the frame, get some solid floors in it even if you make the patches from sheetmetal, the furnace duct trans tunnel needs to be stronger.
Consider what color you want the car, if keeping black, choose a single stage quality paint and edge in all the stuff as you go, prep and paint the area behind the weather stripping, then install weather stripping. A harbor freight purple gun is just fine for jamming in a car.
Ive chased rear window leaks before, if you access to a welder its not too bad to fix, ive done it as cheaply as bending flat sheet ( from a filing cabinet) over a steel table edge to make a channel with a lip on the top and welding it all in.
Ever consider using CLR on the panels, takes the rust off and leaves what paint is still there. CLR
Keep the updates coming, really enjoying the build.
I agree. Its just as far as structure theres really not any worry. Its just a bone stock 4.8. Rated at 295hp to the crank so probably a whopping 250hp at the tire? But, when the time comes to put a built motor in it I will go back and do a proper sheet metal transmission tunnel thats welded together. As far as the rust I have no plans on welding any sheet metal to anything anytime soon. I need to upgrade suspension front to back, get a new center section for the rear end and possibly upgrade brakes. At some point down the line ill get to where I start replacing metal because yes, itd be nice to have it air tight but for now and the foreseeable future shes just gonna leak lol.
04-21-2022, 03:59 PM
what is close to me
