Manifold fixed

Good News!

I got my passenger side Exhaust Manifold back . Repaired, no more crack!

Since the cast iron was beyond any chance of welding, I took it to Terolab, a company that specializes in advanced surface engeneering technology. As far as I know they do special coatings for things like turbine blades and biomedical implants. Anyway, the people at Terolab were kind enough to squeeze the 'Cuda manifold in so that ugly crack was bonded up with some space age technology. I was promised it will be just as good as welded or even more durable. And once it's painted it will look the part again as well.

Rear axle

I took this baby to doc stingers moparshop last week to get it worked over.

Doc is this countrys leading expert when it comes to mopar muscle and he will overhaul the rear axle inside and out. It already has sure grip and 3:23 gears, and with the way Doc does business, it will probably be finished long before the 'Cuda ...

More welding

Halftime at the bodyshop.

The trunkfloor is in the car, along with the rear upper valance, all of the inner fenders and a lot of little bits and pieces that had to be made from scratch. the quarters are hanging on for size, before they go on the rear window cranks will have to be installed. Most of the pieces are a pretty good fit, only the trunk extensions are of miserable quality.

Rear Bumper

I started on the rear bumper today. I haven't done the braces yet but the new rear bumper is needed urgently at the body shop, so the sheetmetal at the rear of the 'Cuda can be adjusted correctly.
The two small bumbergards will have to be rechromed as they are not part of the package when buying a new rear bumper...

Gatorgrain

This is the brand new gatorgrain vinyl top roof! Accordnig to various different sources between o,8 and 2 percent of the 1970 Barracudas were fitted with this option. Ledgendary Interiors has started to reproduce this vinyl only a couple of months ago. Can't wait to see it on the car...

Paint on the mainfolds

I put some new life on the old manifolds. The special paint claims to withstand tempereatures of up to 760 degrees Celcius! They were still shiny when I took the "after" pic, but have dried up well since then. The flat grey is supposed to be just like the original look. They will need a second coat after 24 hours. Of course painting will not solve the other manifold problem. I hope to have found a shop that will cure the crack on one of the manifolds, if that dosen't work out, I will have to finde anoter one.

More Metalwork

Some more progress on the metalwork of the Cuda!The rear end of the car requires a lot of work , not much to show off but very necessary. The top of the rear window frame has been patched, some of the framework around the driver side rear wheel well has been replaced with new parts made from scratch. The panel between the rear window and the deck lid is new and fits quite well.