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

[A12pilot]

Bueno-Riffic, Steve-o!!

This was the part thst I was thinking I'd be curled up in a ball in the fetal positon after envisioning this train wreck starting to unfold! Aftermarket grille... factory fenders and hood...uh-boy

Glad it all came together!! Fantasmatic!!

Nice work! I know'd she was in good hands!

Cheers
Dave

[njsteve]

Been out in the garage all weekend.

Well, most of it except for the 4 hours spend replacing the PTO clutch on my 1989 John Deere 185 riding mower. I had to replace the PTO because it was 31 years old and when you would engage the blades, it would trip the 25 amp circuit breaker and kill the engine. When I checked the ohm reading on the clutch, it read 8.7 ohms. Anything over 3 ohms is bad. It was pulling so much amperage, that the wires were getting red hot.

And the biggest fun part is that it seems that the aftermarket PTO manufacturers decided to make all of their units with a built-in wooddruff key inside the bearing sleeve. That means you have to pull the main drive pulley above the clutch unit out, and then try to hammer/pry/visegrip/chisel out the two-inch long woodruff key that both the drive pulley and PTO are supposed to align onto. You then have to cut the woodruff key in half and reinsert it into to crank so only the upper pulley engages it and the lower portion of the channel is clear for the aftermarket PTO to slide on the shaft. YAY FUN! Once I got that done I mowed the yard to make sure everything was working again.

After all that I was able to assemble and install all four side marker assemblies (in their correct positions). After that I disassembled the rear tail lights and put all the parts into giant bucket of soapy water to soak for a day. They were packed full of a ton of grey silt, like the car spent years driving down dirt roads. So that was Saturday.

Sunday I spent all day trying to get the road lamps installed in a straight forward configuration and not looking like Marty Feldman appreciation day. The original road lamp brackets are slightly tweeked after years of use and after spending five hours installing/checking/removing/bending/hammering/prying I finally gave up and ordered a nice new repro set for $50.

So I spent the rest of my time installing the front valance. I taped all the edges up and fed one side in (it has to slip under the lower portion of the elastomeric bumper) and then gently persuaded the other side in as well. It worked out OK. No scratches!

[Lee Stewart]

[R68GTO]

A12 Dave would have had this thing all put together and half-wore out by now Steve....why are you dragging your feet so much? It's looking great, can't wait to see the finished product!

[A12pilot]

Hahaha! I don’t know about that!

Looking good Steve-O! So glad no collateral damage done!!

Cheers
Dave

[njsteve]

Those original brackets seem to all be that way. I remember going through the same kind of insanity back in the day my other 'cudas. I think people believed the way to adjust the aim was to grab the bulb pod with both hands and bend it around, instead of simply loosening the retaining nut and moving the ball and socket mount on the back of the light.

[njsteve]

Spent a few days filing, and sanding some of the stainless pieces - the tail panel trim (4 pieces), the passenger side drip rail molding (3 pieces) and the two hood pin bezels. I had to use my trim hammer and little anvil to get the dings out of the drip rails and tail panel trim. That was rather time-consuming. Then you use a file to get it flat again followed by 220, then 320, then 400, then 600, the 800, then 1000, then 1500 wet sanding. Then the buffing wheel - sisal with stainless compound first, then a sewn pad with stainless compound, then loose pad with the white rouge.

Trying not to get the very thin and long tail panel pieces caught and either wrapped around the wheel or flung across the room was rather nerve wracking, but in the end it all worked out.

Here's the results on the original stainless hood pin bezel with the original hair pin clip all polished up.

I didn't polish the driver's side drip rail as I am looking for a replacement piece for the front A-pillar section which is too bent up to repair.

[big gear head]

Nice. I've got a scar about 1 1/4 inches long on the right side of my face from trying to polish a headlight ring.

[scuncio]

Looking good! Nice polish job.

[njsteve]

Just got the original 2998874 radiator back from Finger's Radiator in North Brunswick NJ. They did a great job and even got the dent out of the top tank. It was recored as a three-core instead of the original two-core style. Took about a week and cost $450. They also did the radiator on my Grampa's Lincoln a couple years ago for the same price. It's a good, old fashioned shop that has been in business for 92 years. https://www.fingersradiator.com/