Windows 4.0

Installed the door windows on both sides. Now all four side windows are in place. I had help from my fourteen year old daughter Miriam who preferred working on the Cuda over our initial plan of going ice skating on sunday afternoon...now how good does that sound!



Passenger side window. The final adjustments will have to be made when the roof rail trim and seal are in place but the windows already fit really tight and roll up and down well.

The door gap also lined up well after the weight of the glass and the lock was added.

Door details

I started working on the doors. The new seals were easy to install and they fit really well. I've heard many bad things about aftermarket seals (enough not to throw away the old ones) but these pieces are realy great. All the little pegs line up with the holes in the doors perfectly. The lock mechanism is also installed.

The inside door handle bolts on to the hinge with the big spring, the small rod to the left ist for the door lock.

The next step is to install the side glass.

Door installation

Ernst the expert helping me with the doors. Those things are really heavy and it's sheer impossible to bolt them on by yourself....I know, somebody out there has probably done it but I certainly couldn't.

Working togerter it is a fairly easy job, passenger side door is installed , for the time being, without any of the internals.

We installed the door just a fraction too high, figuring it will sag a little after the heavy glass, the lock and everything else is in place.

And yes, they open really fine! Now all that's missig is a hood and some front fenders and it will finally look the part of a 'Cuda again.

door hinges

Started working on putting the doors back on the 'Cuda. I can't recall when I took them off, seems like a lifetime ago. First step was to clean out the threads because some paint and filler had gotten into them at the paint shop. I had to hunt down the special tool, metric ones are available everywhere but an 3/8 unc bit....

Fastend the hinges on the doors loosly.

Finished driver side door with both hinges installed. The door is painted on the inside, not yet on the outside.
Of course all the screws were cleaned and zink plated.

Manifolds

Got the exhaust manifolds mounted on the engine. Kind of a complicated affair, with some of the studs poking into the water jacket and all. Some other odds and ends like the distributor and the coil also went on.

Both manifolds on the engine. Did a mock up of the water pump. The alternator bracket is not painted yet, as it seems to be a misfit from a 440. The mounting hole on the bracket is not flush with the hole in the head, putting the alternator at an angle, which is not a good thing. The waterpump housing will have to come off again, I will also paint it orange.

Parts

Got some parts I've been chasing for quite a while.
This piece of trim fits inside, above the rear window .
After mediablasting it showed some ugly holes, and due to the structure I was not able to fix it. Another look at the holes the rust left on the original trim piece.

I bought a good piece on ebay , ot of a blue interior car obviously, so I can complete the interior. The different color doesn't matter, since all of these parts will have to be painted red anyway.

Hanging up the pieces for a first coat of rm paint. All metal interior parts will also be treated to a coat of flat clear, hopefully making them more durable.






Passenger side splash shield... This was one of the few pieces missing when I bought the 'Cuda. Obviously due to antenna installation there was no original splash guard installed on this side of the car, instead there was a hand crafted aluminum shield that personally threw in the trashbin. The plastic shield was also found on ebay.

Off topic

No news on the 'Cuda as I took off to go skiing. I spent a whole week in Sölden in Tyrol and enjoyed wonderful condidtions in the alps. Skiing is one of the select things in life that are just as fun as blasting over the backroads in a sportscar or your favorite classic.

This particular pic was shot on the same slope the alpine worldcup series starts off every season.