The Crusty Cuda: Whole lotta Shakin' (N96) Goin' on!

[njsteve]

My birthday present arrived a couple days early!

Thanks to my undercover operative LYNN down in Oklahoma, who just happened to have the perfect alibi for being in Dallas, for an alleged wedding, he was able to circumvent the ebay crazy who blocked my bids because I asked too many logical questions about the set of wheels.

Lynn purchased the wheels and then had another sub-operative pick them up and transport them to his villainous lair in Oklahoma.

It took a few days since there was a early storm and power outage in town but he was able to get them packed up and after paying a fortune to the UPS store on his town, they arrived safely up here in Jersey this afternoon.

A beautiful set of 14x6 1969 dated Motor Wheel Spyders. They were complete with a set of original center caps and 20 right hand lug nuts. With the brand new set of center caps and 10 lefties and 10 righty lug nuts I got from the guy in Wisconsin, I now have a new pair of shoes for the Cuda.

Here's what they look like after I washed and scrubbed them in my front yard. Next step is cleaning the aluminum with some chemical stuff I have coming soon. The chrome is amazing! - must have been installed on a central Texas car for the past half century.

THANK YOU LYNN!!!

[southernfriedcj]

Originally Posted by njsteve

...ebay crazy who blocked my bids because I asked too many logical questions about the set of wheels.

I'd send the schmuck a pic of the wheels and tell him thanks.

[njsteve]

I tried, but since he blocked me, I couldn't get through! :-)

[njsteve]

I started on the rear differential. It is a 3.23 open and I wanted to at least put in Sure-Grip unit and replace the half-century-old bearings. I was considering upping the ratio to a 3.55 but after discussing it with Cass at DoctorDiff.com he said to stick with the 3.23's. The amount of change would be negligable. The reasoning was that a 3.23 running relatively short 26.45" tall F70x14 tires will be running almost the same rpms as a set of 3.55's with a set of 28" 275/60x15 tires. A real gear change like a 3.73 or 3.90 would result in some actual seat of the pants gains but I am looking for a crusier not a quarter miler with this build.

So essentially I already have the actual performance of a 3.55 with the shorter 14" tires.

So I am ordering a new Sure-Grip "Powr-Lok" unit and the install kit and axle bearings as well. https://www.doctordiff.com/8-3-4-clu...-powr-lok.html

Here's the smelly parts after I got eveything out today. The gear lube was dark but smooth. I had a piquant bouquet with thankfully, no metallic notes. The pattern looked nice.

Looks like the gear set is dated 5/21/1970 and a 1971 casting date on the housing. It appears to be a 29 spline pinion - it takes a 1-1/4 socket on the pinion nut.