1971 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible
This project could possibly be considered as the best resurrected restoration project we've done to date. We started with a pickup truck bed full of parts and a donor car, and ended up with a complete bare roller, ready for final body work and paint.
As you can see, we didn't have much to work with until...
the customer brought us the donor car, which was not a complete car.
We started at the rear of the donor car by media blasting the trunk floor structure...
then prepping the bare metal with a rust-proof coating so we could install the new trunk floor.
Once the trunk floor, trunk extensions and rear tail panel were final welded and ground, the suspension was removed and the body was placed on a rotisserie.
Next, Fred media blasted the bottom and other areas of the body...
so the new aftermarket subframe connectors and torque boxes could be installed.
We welded support bars inside the car so nothing would move before we cut the roof...
and removed it.
Here's Fred holding the convertible windshield frame from the original '71 Cuda.
We media blasted the area that is to be used before we cut the ends off...
prepped the ends on the donor car by welding inserts inside for extra strength...
carefully measured the windshield opening for proper placement...
and welded the windshield frame in.
The convertible wheelhouse caps and inner structure were repaired and then installed in the donor car.
The convertible top frame was media blasted, primed and painted before fitting to the car.
Once the car was checked by fitting the top and trunk lid...
we moved it over to our blasting booth to clean up the welds as well as unveil the many rusted areas that were still needing repair...
like this area on the forward end of the driver side door opening/rocker panel...
which we cut out...
treated the inner structure with a rust encapsulator, welded in a new patch and ground down smooth.
We altered the transmission tunnel...
with on OEM 4-speed transmission tunnel hump.
Convertibles were equipped with a door wedge in both door jambs to help prevent the doors from hitting the quarter panels if the body flexed, like hitting a pot hole in the road. The donor car was a hardtop, so this area had to be converted. Here's Fred cutting out the top of the hardtop door jamb...
holding the piece to be used from the original car...
and this photo shows the completed task. This was done on both sides.
The cowl is a common area for rust damage, mostly due to its design...two pieces layered together where moisture collects. So, we removed the top piece...
to reveal the damage to the bottom piece.
We repaired the damaged areas...
media blasted and coated with rust encapsulator...
and installed the new aftermarket piece.
Once all areas that had rust damage were repaired and all convertible-specific modifications were made, we did a final media blast on the body shell...
cleaned it and shot primer on it.
Once the front and rear suspension was cleaned up and installed, the temporary inside bracing was removed.
The doors had the typical rust damaged areas...
that were cut out and repaired with new metal.
Once the doors were repaired, cleaned and sealed with primer, we hung them on the car along with the front fenders...
and front valance to check for fit.
Once we were satisfied with the fit of the doors, fenders, valance panels, trunk lid, hood, etc., the parts were cleaned and primed...
and reinstalled for the final time. We went over every area of this car that we could to make it as close to new as possible. This is what the car looked like just before the customer took it into his possession.