'73 Cuda Project

[Gaffer]

I bought this car in 1987. It was pretty clean, and really fast. It has a 340 with W2 heads, and a 4-speed transmission with pistol grip shifter. I didn't do anything to the car other than new BF Goodrich Radial TA's and Weld Prostars. The previous owner built the car for the 1/4 mile, so it wasn't freeway friendly. I married a few years later, had kids, and the car sat. Initially I kept it garaged until we moved. I didn't have room for it, and a buddy let me keep it in his yard where it sat and rotted in the sun. I brought it home about years ago and it's been sitting in my garage. My oldest, now 29, rebuilt he Holley 750 double pumper, and got her running, but I wouldn't allow it to be driven without a thorough going through. He's always wanted the car, and some day it will be his. In the meantime, he wants to restore it, so we decided to get started. I figure posting this will keep me from shelving the project, so here goes. I can't find any pictures of the car when I bought it. It was plain black on black, with shaved door panels. In these photo, you can see a little of the black, but the gray is compliments of the sun.

I should note that I am only a shade-tree mechanic, and have only turned wrenches on my cars. I'm fearless, as is my kid, and our intention is do all the work ourselves. Engine block machining will be handled by a professional shop.


We pulled and disassembled the engine. The guts looked very good with the exception of one hydraulic lifter and the associated camshaft lobe. The lifter was dished and the lobe worn. Only the one. I'm not sure what happened. It isn't obvious.



That's it for now. I'm all ears for suggestions, comments and critiques.
Thanks, John

 

[Martin W]

Really nice car! Great father and son project.
I got my first speeding ticket in a 73 Cuda. Wasn’t even my car, it was a buddies car. Cost me 10 bucks Lol.
Cheers
Martin

 

[mmcmdl]

The Cudas were and still are my favorite car ever . My buddy had a black on black back in the HS days , that was a beauty . I hope you can get this one back to it's original shape , will be following along .

 

[Aukai]

The best thing I didn't see was rust, that will help the budget immensely.

 

[Dhal22]

I had a '74(?) Roadrunner with a 340/4 speed transmission. Plenty of power, I could burn rubber through 1st, 2nd and still get spin in 3rd.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

woohoo, this'll be a fun project to watch! As many pictures as possible please

 

[Aukai]

When you replace the cam, and if your going to stay with a flat tappet, especially a solid lifter, specify a P-55 cam core. They are the closest to the original core blanks. The cam cores made now went down hill after OEM went to roller lifters, the P-55s are still limited production items. Just my opinion.

 

[FOMOGO]

If it were mine, I would do a stock block 413 stroker, throttle body injection on a Edel RPM dual plane, hydraulic roller 550ish lift, 235ish duration, Good aftermarket heads, long tube headers, 3" out the back. That would get you a very street-able 500/500 HP/TQ, with nice street manners, reliability, and the prowess to give you an ear to ear smile. I woud pobably sell the 4spd and go with a tremeck TKO 600 5 spd, or a magnum 6 speed. Then I would put some time and money in the suspension, and stiffening up the uni-body. Modern rubber, maybe 18's as wide as will fit, on black steel rims with matching black dog dish hub caps. I would be very inclined to leave the body alone. You can't buy that kind of patina, and you don't have to worry about scratching the 8k paint job. Just makes them more fun to drive. Interior, 6-8 point cage, comfy buckets, 5 point harness, A/C, good tunes. Of course this is just one of many roads you can go down, and my personal preferences for the way I like to drive, and what I enjoy ascetically. In the end, you should do what the two of you like, and enjoy that kind of time with your boy. I did one with my son quite a few years back and it's something we still share. Will look forward to following along. Cheers, Mike

 

[cjtoombs]

That bad cam might be a blessing in disguise, as it was probably far from street freindly. Those W2 heads may not be either, if I remember correctly they require a special intake, and you’re not likely to find one that is good for power below 7000 rpm. 340s are probably getting rare these days as well. I’d find a junkyard 360 and build a nice street engine that makes peak power at about 6000 rpm, something like a 270 comp cam or equivalent, a set of Edelbrock aluminum heads and performer rpm intake. Also check those rear gears, you probably want something between 3.50 to 4.10, if that was a drag car it may be 4.56 or lower. Put the 340 on a stand and cover it up, it will on grow in value. Not as much loss if you chuck a rod on a 360.

 

[larry4406]

Very nice! I have a '72 Cuda and a '71 Barracuda vert that is being cloned into a Cuda. Both projects been too long on the back burner.

Check out https://www.e-bodies.org/ as the site is a wealth of information.