AAR Cuda resto starting......Update!! 7-13-2011 PICS!!!

[Silver R/T]

It's gonna turn out very nice

[ZSmithersCharges]

last ones...

This is probably an old photo by now but the first thought that came to my mind with this one was... That would be a sweet dune buggy  Anyways, carry on 

[Hemidog]

An AAR cuda is definitely worth this resto! 

[aone415]

SWEET!

[69 OUR/TEA]

Heres an update on the AAR resto,been busy working on the 3x9 R/T SE ,but since getting the cuda back from the blasters did manage to get it in epoxy and get  all the AMD sheetmetal fitted,trunk floor,extensions,roof,1/4's,A-pillars,and the upper cowl.Gotta say I am having a good experience with it,very good fit,straight,thickness,etc.Of course it just does'nt just jump out of the box and on the car,but way better quality from years past repo panels,with very minimal tweeking and such.Waiting on one piece though(rear valance) for 3 months now.

[69 OUR/TEA]

pics.....

[69 OUR/TEA]

one more...

[69bronzeT5]

Amazing metal work!

[BB1]

  superduper!

[rav440]

lookngood  that is a ton of work  i wish i was able to to that 

[tan top]

 nice 

[RD]

dumbfounded is an understatement.  OMG, this is just unreal.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Very impressive! Can't wait to see the finished product...

[turbobitt]

Awsome,
I've been patiently waiting to see how this will come out. Good Work...
From what I here your hourly rates are, I will have to start bringing my stuff over there.
AG.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Awesome work!

I think I am pretty good at fixing my own stuff and then I look at some of the work coming from you  guys and think I SUCK. But hey, you guys give me something to strive for!

Again, great job and reference for us hobbyist car restorers!!

[JohnZepka]

A buddy of mine just finished a project on a 70 aar cuda that looked like yours when you started.  340 6-pack, 4 speed, burnt orange.  He did it in his spare time and it took him 5 years but he finally got it done and it is awesome.  That is definitely a special car.  JZ.

[1969chargerrtse]

Awesome work!

I think I am pretty good at fixing my own stuff and then I look at some of the work coming from you  guys and think I SUCK. But hey, you guys give me something to strive for!

Again, great job and reference for us hobbyist car restorers!!

I have to laugh because I have felt the same way when I view the work some of these guys do. Paul is one of those guys that does an A+ job.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Forgot that I had this topic going,so I'll bring it back up with some more work done on it.I work on this in between other stuff just to keep it moving,and ntm I'm working on another car for the owner that owns this AAR,so he knows where I'm at and what I'm doing with it.We were basically at a stand still from last July as I had the entire cars sheetmetal on,opening and closing doors,hood,trunk lid on the latches and all,before you dare do any welding or bodywork.The right front fender was an NOS one that will be saved and reused,but the drivers side was junk,and as of last Julys Carlisle,from the AMD tent speaking with Alan,the front fenders for the barracuda/cuda will be 2-3 months.Right!!!!!All year calling every month or two,same answer ,another month or so.
So here and there working on it,got the trunk floor welded in,frnt windshield A-pillars,painted inside and the underside of the new cowl and welded that all on along with the braces.Did the body work on the doors,trunk lid,front header panel.And finally,a week before Carlisle we got the fender,so yesterday mounted up all the front end to se how it fits,along with another AAR hood I picked up at Carlisle this year because of the first one not meeting the header panel to good.Well,the one I picked up at Carlisle you can see was another manufacturer when comparing the two,and did not fit any better on other areas.I even mounted up the orig,and beleive it or not,that one fits the best,but will be requiring way to much glass work on the inside as it is all broken up on the frame work.After mounting 3 AAR hoods yesterday,we are back to the one we orig had.
As far as the new AMD tooling on the fender,it fits dam nice,even their front valance meets the orig fender great and their repo one great.Very happy with it.
Now with that I can start back on the 1/4 panels and get them painted up on the inside with the correct undercoating and move on to get everything welded and start the bodywork on the back half.

[69 OUR/TEA]

some pics....

[69 OUR/TEA]

more...

[69 OUR/TEA]

last one...

[Charger-Bodie]

Looking good Paul!

[RallyeMike]

So about all that was saved was the inner frame of the unit-body?  It looks like every scrap of sheet metal except the cowl, firewall, and inner fenders has been replaced? (waiting for the "Is it a re-body?" crowd to chime in).

That's a ton of work, but looks like a lot of fun and quite bootiful. 

[69 OUR/TEA]

No,you see the first pic from the first page.I have made this car look worse than it was because of so much sheetmetal skins I took off.It was a vinyl top car,so there was rust creeping around under the roof skin,and did'nt want to risk trying to geuss if I got it all,so off the roof came with intentions of poss reusing it.When you weigh the options fix or get a new roof skin,we went with the new skin,and if it did'nt fit good,would be returned and fix the orig.It fit like a glove,to say the least.The rad support,inner front fenders,lower firewall,frame rails,floors,rear inner and outer ww's all were extremely nice,as well as the rear tail panel and orig trunk gutters,trunk lid,doors and header panel.Had at one point an NOS right front fender put on,which is what you see there now.
With all the skins off it allowed me to get all of that blasted and epoxied and paint everywhere you normally would never get to.When the car is done,alot of people are going to wonder how I got all that area inside the trunk,quarter panels,ww's so nicely covered with paint. Will be getting done in stages as parts go back on to get welded.Example,like the factory undercoating on the inside of quarter panel before it goes on,duplicated off  the originals which I still have for reference, then painted then put on the car.
Gonna take some time though,as I only work on this car 4 or 5 times a month.

[maxwellwedge]

Looking good Paul!!  Cant wait to see it with a slick coat of Dupont fe5 Red !!