Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
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  • #9174
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    This very clean 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda arrived at the V8 Speed & Resto Shop in need of an underhood makeover. The car is wearing its original color, a nice shade of B5 blue capped with a white vinyl top and blue interior. The exterior presents well, and the silver rally wheels and polished trim rings offer nice contrast, but once you open the hood the magic goes away.

    No we are not saying that the 340 in.³ V8 isn’t magical, it has just seen better days. This customer liked taking this car to local car shows, but he and his wife (it’s actually her car) found themselves leaving the hood down out of embarrassment.

    It’s not a terrible looking engine bay, but many parts were rusty, the 340 had some leaks, and the surrounding sheet metal had some corrosion issues as well. It was time for the V8 Speed and Resto Shop crew to get to work making the under hood compartment and engine look as nice as the outside of the car.

    Follow along as the V8 crew breathes some new life into the nose of this ‘Cuda!

    Kevin Oeste

    #9175
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The first step in a job like this is to photo document the car. In this case, we are going for a 100 percent correct restoration, so we noted every night, old, faster, and existing color so that they could be restored properly.

    A few items were removed from the engine, with yellow tape tags used for notes.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9176
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    We found some burnt up wiring and connectors, and knew there would be some part replacement in addition to restoration.

    Once the engine bay had been thoroughly documented, we measured the fitment of the hood in relation to the fenders, because the hood would be removed. Too many times body panels are reinstalled differently than how they were when the car came into the shop, so we started a practice of measuring and documenting cars so that they would go back together the same way they were when they arrived in the shop. In some cases, we reassemble them nicer than they were, but in this case the customer was happy with the original hood fit.

    The white mask paper protects the finish, and the yellow tape provides areas for notes and additional protection.

    Once the hood was removed, the disassembly continued. The main goal was to get the engine out so that it could be partially disassembled for cleaning in detail work, as well as repairing some leaks by regasketing the engine. The customer complained about the starting and running performance of this car so we knew we were going to rebuild the Thermoquad carburetor.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9179
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    This car is equipped with air conditioning installed from the factory, and part of the task was to restore the componentry and make sure everything worked again when the car left. Here, the air conditioning compressor is removed and documented.

    Soon, the crew was ready to remove the 340 V8. A lift plate was installed, the motor mount bolts were removed, and the engine was carefully lifted out of the engine bay.

    The engine bay on Chrysler products of this era was painted the same color as the exterior of the car, and that is one of the unique features of these cars. Unfortunately, rust can hide in several areas like behind hood hinges and under stamped panels between resistance spot welds.

    We will soon find out what secrets are hiding in this engine bay!

    Kevin Oeste

    #9180
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The 340 was pulled from the ‘Cuda’s nose and put on a stand for evaluation. It looked OK on the top side, but years of leaks and heat cycling really took a toll on everything below the valve covers.

    The rear plugs were seeping a bit.

    The distributor gasket was leaking as well.

    The exhaust manifolds were correct, but looked pretty rough. The heat shield was surprisingly complete, but also kind of crisp.

    ’’

    Motor mounts were a bit greasy.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9190
    Mike Clarke
    Keymaster

    The 340 was pulled from the ‘Cuda’s nose and put on a stand for evaluation. It looked OK on the top side, but years of leaks and heat cycling really took a toll on everything below the valve covers.

    The rear plugs were seeping a bit.

    The distributor gasket was leaking as well.

    The exhaust manifolds were correct, but looked pretty rough. The heat shield was surprisingly complete, but also kind of crisp.

    ’’

    Motor mounts were a bit greasy.

    Just a bit. 😀

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #9191
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The 340 was pulled from the ‘Cuda’s nose and put on a stand for evaluation. It looked OK on the top side, but years of leaks and heat cycling really took a toll on everything below the valve covers.

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7iavSV9GnFU/WcPQjv52WnI/AAAAAAACkak/3jQurrnN9wc-vHKRa0Ljkp3WmuKbswYhQCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0015.JPG[/IMG]

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u4Vk70uERbY/WcPQjBZlh2I/AAAAAAACkak/XyKBjYsiargg3lkDw_m0We1LdVejeVY9gCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0014.JPG[/IMG]

    The rear plugs were seeping a bit.

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AIxfH6lU_g8/WcPQkyqGGNI/AAAAAAACkak/_gBPtCkQ-fcEBfymX2MWBEQAPeLoJrIdQCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0018.JPG[/IMG]

    The distributor gasket was leaking as well.

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VW0P5d-DaO0/WcPQlVzsqmI/AAAAAAACkak/QZqD1X45ku8xjsfIfVWHu6oLPYbIL2xUACHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0019.JPG[/IMG]

    The exhaust manifolds were correct, but looked pretty rough. The heat shield was surprisingly complete, but also kind of crisp.

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jdJi9En3ZJk/WcPQnfWJkAI/AAAAAAACkak/LVU7hn2f0YwPvav-neanz-9IfstYj6-hQCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0023.JPG[/IMG]’’

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OlBcbnTtVNo/WcPQpQY7uHI/AAAAAAACkak/_1TTn74EbXEr3ZH266KTljAXd-a8Wk8ZgCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0027.JPG[/IMG]

    Motor mounts were a bit greasy.

    [IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r9S7yY4eQM8/WcPQtEAbrjI/AAAAAAACkak/JlwARONpsloAZtWnQCQP5jDKNHtwzex6wCHMYBhgL/s1600/1973_Cuda_JS_09-18-17_0035.JPG[/IMG]

    Just a bit. 😀

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Yes, but it makes the transformation more dramatic!

    Kevin Oeste

    #9192
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    As pieces were removed from the engine, their condition was recorded, along with all the fasteners and clips, etc.     The exhaust manifolds were next to come off.

    These will be media blasted and ceramic coated in a cast iron gray tone.   

    Gotta love original date coded parts!

    We think they came out beautifully.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9210
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    With the engine out of the car, it was time to finish removing all the engine bay accessories and to clean and assess the engine bay.

    The outside of the car was protected so that it wouldn’t get dirty or scratched as the engine bay work progressed. We use 3M weld & spark protection paper as well as traditional 3M masking tape and paper for this purpose.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9211
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Once the bay had been degreased, we noticed some rusty areas and paint bubbling.

    This spot was of particular concern, as it is where the hood hinge attaches to the inner apron.

    You usually find more ugly spots the closer you look, but they all need to be repaired.

    The repair work begins with some careful paint stripping.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9222
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    This car revealed rusty thin spots behind both hood hinges, so the offending areas were cut out and new pieces were made to return the strength to the inner aprons.

    There were several other thin spots in the metal, and more patches were made.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9223
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    We don’t like to leave bare steel open to corrode, so the the underhood area were sanded, cleaned, masked, and sprayed with epoxy primer.

    Once all the metalwork was completed, the bare areas were re-epoxied and prepped for color.

    The original B5 blue color was mixed in 2-stage urethane, and the car was masked again. The underhood area was sprayed in Axalta base coat and clear.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9269
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The ‘Cudas 340 engine was next up for paint preparation. The parts were stripped and cleaned, and new gaskets were used on reassembly. The bottom end was inspected when the pan was removed, and we noted that the engine is in fact numbers matching to the car and is original. Very cool.

    The engine was cleaned and prepped for paint and rolled into the booth.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9270
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Chrysler 340s of this vintage are all painted assembled, and the color is a medium blue.

    The paint flowed out really nicely, this is straight out of the gun.

    The accessories were stripped and painted the appropriate original colors as well, and the reassembly began.

    The front accessory drive was painted low-gloss black, and here, the pulleys, power steering pump, A/C compressor, and alternator are installed.

    Kevin Oeste

    #9281
    Jeff Holthenrichs
    Participant

    Any update/finished pics? After going through all that work I’d have replaced the water pump just out of precaution. It would have been a snap with the engine on the stand.

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