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

[njsteve]

Got everything installed and the bracketry routed correctly. Even have a reproduction fan belt installed to match the cracked and frayed original one.

[njsteve]

Oh, and before I did anything greasy this morning, I got the passenger side seat installed. Which was after I got the seat tracks lubricated and reassembled last night. The key to seat track rebuilding seems to be soaking them for a week in purple stuff degreaser, scrubbing them with a wire bristle brush, then washing them in really hot water with dishwashing detergent, scrubbing some more and then soaking them for a few days in the evaporust to get rid of the rustiness. Then more hot water, then paint and reassembly with chassis grease. They work nicely now.

I'll try and get some photos of the driver's side seat track parts when I start assembling them in the next day or two.

[CTBob]

Lookin' great 'n better by the day, Steve! Nice progress!

Potential cautionary tale on the repro belts, though. Now, granted, this occurred about 15 years ago, but I bought a couple of new (at the time), beautiful & correct-looking repro belts for the hemi (including 1 for a spare). Properly adjusted, at any significant rpm, it would just throw it (much to my surprise & that of Al Cocchiaro). Reinstalled & readjusted = same result.Tried the second one = same result (again).

I replaced it with the new-from-Chrysler (non-correct-looking) equivalent, and, have never, subsequently had a problem. Perhaps, "these days" they've scienced 'em out better, or, perhaps, what I had was just the proverbial "bad batch," but if you're on a shakedown run, be sure to bring yer tools, just in case you're on the receiving end of a less-than-desirable occurrence. (At least, the current weather up our way isn't so overheating-potential friendly!)

…And, if, perchance, it/they do prove problematic, you can always install it for a show (which is why I kept mine)!

[njsteve]

It's a Quanta brand repro belt. Dave has a spare one still in the package. We shall see if this one ejects once the roads clear up in a month or two. From the interwebs, it looks like you're right about them not staying put under actual operating conditions. Just for show I guess.

The two plastic bushings finally arrived for the shifter/ignition lock linkage. It only took three weeks for the post office to get here.

I may try to get that installed tomorrow. But it means lying down on the cold concrete. Ugh.

[njsteve]

OK, where's Dave? We need to start on Purple Part Deux:

I found this one on facebook (I posted more info in the ebay sales section of this site). https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthre...46#post1528346

A very rare: 334 built - 440 4bbl, 4-speed FC-7 purple cuda down in Florida. Looks like a really neat car and it was built one day before, and 4,000 or so VINs away from my purple cuda.

Somebody buy this!

[njsteve]

I finally got the other seat track assembled and installed on the driver's seat. I then carefully walked the entire seat up fromt the basement, through the house, and out the front door into the garage. And into the car it went!

I then spent an hour vacuuming up the several hundred hog ring remnants (old and new ones) and assorted mouse crap, acorns, and rotten old upholstery residue from my wife's basement work area, which I had transformed into my temporary upholstery shop. She was quite pleased with the early Christmas gift.

So the interior is all done now. Just waiting on the 1970 turn signal switch from my friend down the street, who is having a couple of them restored at the moment. As you may recall, the 1970 E-bodies used a one-year-only turn signal switch that had the emergency flasher button that pulled out to activate instead of pushing in to activate like the 1971-up units.

Next is the shifter/steering column lockout mechanism, since the last bushing finally arrived a couple days ago.