I quit watching GYC a few years back because of the drama. I was pleasantly surprised to see how this episode was about the cars and the craftsmanship and not all about Mark.
I stopped watching after seeing the shit work they did to a Superbird. Damn quarter panels welded on so crooked, the wing bolts snapped while driving down the road
I agree that letting the worm drive the production content was a very bad idea. Less monkey business and more restoration business. I'd also like to see bitchin rides stop going to the shows and stop showcasing that lame carbon fiber corvette kit car they sell.
When the painting started and Will was talking about the process, I swear I could smell the paint! I spent 32+ years in the auto repair industry at all levels..Great memories!
WOW! Awesome video on an awesome car. This man is a wizard. When they were putting parts on the alignment jig, and discussing how it was really important for the frame to be straight and square, I was reminded of my time at the auto factory in Belvidere, IL. We built full size Dodge and Plymouth there. If the body shop made a small change in the jigs, sometimes in final assembly we would try to put on a part and the hole might be off just enough so the part could not be fastened. We had to send a utility man up line drilling a new hole where is should be so we could finish with the interior body trim panels. Sometimes it would involve the fit of the doors and windows. Back then the hardtops did not have metal frame around the window glass. It had to sit straight on the rubber weather strip at the top of the opening or there was no seal. At times we had to loosen the bolts on the door hinges and move the door even 1/4 inch to make the glass seal on the rubber. That was a real trick getting the doors to match the car after jacking them around. But, we got really good at borrowing from Peter to pay Paul so that the overall fit was acceptable to the eye. One time I was installing the cowl panel that covers the metal next to the drivers left foot. I hopped in with panel and screws, but yikes, where is the hole? I fished around and found a hole but when I ran the screw in it puckered up the panel so it looked deformed. The hole was off center. So the utility man spent the whole day up line creating a new hole where it was supposed to be. The night shift had about 6 hours of that before the fix came through with good panels. Somehow the fixture was off in the weld shop. The four door hardtops with power windows were a real tough one to fit correctly. Normally on a two door one guy fit front and rear windows. But when a four door hardtop came by we had one guy on front one on back because they took some real skill to get a good fit. We did a test fit and shut the doors to see what we had. Always needed some further adjustment so they would not leak in the water test booth which was only about three minutes down line from our station. The four us got so good at it one of the supervisors paid us to stay after work and adjust the windows on his older Chrysler that had been built elsewhere. He complained it always had wind noise around the rear windows. We had to move the rear door back which left a gap between the doors so we moved the front door back a little and it looked okay when we got done. With power windows if the glass was too tight the window would not go up with the door shut. So it was a balance between getting a tight seal or the window not going all the way up. We learned to use rubber lube on the parts that touched.
Since most of the car enthusiasts out there are drivers and not collectors who just garage and show their cars , its nice to see that you can build a classic 71 Cuda with all new metal and upgraded modern drive train and suspension. You get so much more from the new creation. They handle better with the new suspension, look nicer with the upgraded paint (all over and under with zero rust) and last longer because the frame and panels are new and dent free. Overall, a better package that can be driven and enjoyed for years to come. Produce more of these type videos! At a certain point there will be less original cars to work with. Keep up the great content. Mark trivia--- "California-Sunday-10:04 A.M."
Good job in this episode exposing many of the parts switching tactics that have followed many of our "classic" vehicles that you see in shows/stree and/or are for sale today. I appreciate the honesty and great insight to identifying original vs. repairs to the body welds and their associated body parts containing the SN and build codes. A lesson from this episode is that the bottom line is there are two terms that are purely subjective. "Original" and "Numbers matching". If you are purchasing one that has either or both of these claims, my recommendation is to throw these terms out the window and buy it based on the condition and quality of workmanship to restore this vehicle. Like this video shows, it is possible to prove this, and unless you have a near zero mile documented one owner that can still attest to it, there are next to zero cars out there that have not had OE or AM parts added to it, and where do you draw the line between "repair" and "fraud"? Not easy to do. Ask 100 different experts and you will likely get 100 different answers. After 40 plus years in the business, I have just about seen it all. Travel back in time to the 60's and 70's when these cars were produced and driven, the economics of driving were of necessity, not of the excesses of the roaring 20's culture we seem to have now. Cars were costly to both purchase and maintain, and technology was making each newer model more comfortable and luxurious (not necessarily faster) than the previous year, and the economics of the time did not favor the pampering and storing of low mile non-molested time capsules for the future. Hence, the majority of all vehicles were driven hard, put away wet, and nobody thought twice about replacing whatever body or drivetrain parts necessary to keep them on the road, whether the parts were OE or numbers matching, or not. Enter the late 90's/2000's when the old muscle cars began increasing in value, and the restoration business started taking off. There are all combinations/levels of originality mixed with quality and not so quality restorations out there. Buyer beware, and don't believe half of what you see and almost none of what you hear. When an individual or shop decides to take more than one vehicle and turn into one, which will every time result in a tag/vin being physically connected to some major body and/or frame part(s) that were not original to that vehicle. When this does happen and an individual or shop changes the tags on a vehicle, did they change the identity of the other vehicle, or did they just change a lot of parts of the decrepit but more desirable vehicle that had the valuable tags? Depends on your point of view. And it depends where you want to draw the line. A person has the right to spend their hard earned money on whatever they want, I just hate to see people end up too far in "originality la la land". Thanks for pointing out a lot of these common practices to your audience.
It grows on me like a wart. When they're just doing the cars straight up it's great. When they start the stupid scripted trash talking and drama it's repetitive, idiotic and, worse, not funny. The schoolyard stuff detracts from the spectacular work they do, IMO.
@@Mudpuppyjunior You forget, tv is entertainment, so if it was strictly boring work, "some" people would lose interest. Even Fab Rats has some slap stick humor in it to keep it fresh. Have a good day!
In June 1971 My father, mother and a 20 year old kid walked into the Dodge dealership in Beirut Lebanon to buy a Dodge Dart. Two hours later we drove out of the underground storage garage with a Dodge Challenger, 383 Four Barrel, 4-Speed manual transmission, 3.23 open rear end, dark green with white vinyl top and white vinyl interior, no A/C.... 5 years later our Challenger was stolen during the 1976 civil war, never to be seen again.
@@davidd.1319 We believe the Phalangists were behind the heist. Different face of the same coin. I never went back since I left 47 years ago! I appreciate your sense of humor!
My bro in law, helped design the Challenger, needless to say my sister own one. Best car sue ever owned. It hurt me deeply when we no longer had this family car.
It's ironic how in one room they are explaining how a car was put together with parts of two cars to make one and pass it off as one of those cars, while in the other room they themselves are building another car doing exactly the same thing, only with lesser quality aftermarket body parts. I'm watching the painter and thinking, "wow, a "real" Cuda that never saw the inside of a Chrysler factory!"
Lesser quality? So it's worse steel, worse paint, worse welds? Is that what you are saying? I would think it would all be better. At least better than something that was sitting outside for 30 years rusting.
@@Orcinus1967 I have yet to hear someone claim that the panel quality is OEM, as most are made on old OEM dies that are, well, old. I’m comparing NOS panels to aftermarket, not to rusty crap sitting outside. Having said that, I know skilled craftsman can take these panels and make a nice looking car.
I saw a rebody for sale as a consignment back east. It was supposed to be a U code 72 Road Runner. But, except for the vin and fender tag and a Road Runner hood were the only parts that were from a Road Runner. The guys didn't even bother to remove or alter the options that didn't match the fender tag. Half vinyl roof, bench seat. That fender tag and vin were taken off a car that had been crushed decades before and put in a drawer. Then the Road Runner hood bought at a swap meet. And a guy bought a Satellite and bought the parts off of an ad.
One of the best episodes to date, As a collision repair tech of 40 years, hanging sheet metal was the preferred part of the build. Single stage for me...
You are amazing man , your knowledge on Mopar is off the charts, your eyes are amazing ! Your attention to TRUE AUTHENTICITY IS INSPIRING ,your daughter could have been dealt far worse cards. I also love the way the guy with the bowl haircut is explaining to the new guy even the minor details as he's working. You're funny as all hell while you do what you do. Perhaps at certain times it may wear on the crew if theyre not feeling as chipper as yourself but I love it
Christ listen to this guy. PMS you make my point better than I could. These sub-70 IQ farmers love this stuff. Graveyard Carz is another sad example of a reality show. Think of what you've got here. You're watching a show written by people that are not writers; performed by people who are not actors. Who are trying to guess what their viewers think they would say if this was a real situation. Which it's not. You are watching an ameuter production of NOTHING. But PMS loves it. He doesn't even think there's a camera in the room he's just watching what he thinks are real people having conversations. LMFAO Like Mark would be surprised to learn there's a camera in the room. lol
I love this show! Mark is a master! I wish I could find my 1970 440 4 speed black on black I had in 1979. I keep watching the show dreaming I will see the car again.
I think you've (your channel at least, I know you've been doing this for a LONG time) come a LONG way - your show at least.. and i'm going to guess your business requests quintupled at least - you do the absolute best work to the T.. but man your show has shown a drastic increase in something over the years. I saw this show a few years ago (a bunch i think) when you first started it -maybe on discover channel or something - anyway It's GREAT to see your daughter picking up all the things you desire her to learn, even though it may be frustrating with your own kids ( i have a few i know ) it's SO nice when they surprise you in their hands on actual real knowledge.. to be able to impart that knowledge, that only SOME VERY FEW have in this world.. that's great man I hope she makes you proud. Great work..
I got to know Graveyard Cars from TV watching. Mark is more like a mate than the myriad of things he does reallly well. Hey Mark, we want to see you back on Channel 9Rush here in Australia!
It's AMAZING how far someone went to fool whoever In believing that Grand Coupe was a Cuda. Can't fool the Mopar master! Mark sniffed that out QUICK. Shows how attentive and knowledgeable about these cars he is and makes for great content to watch!
What I didn't see was. No spraying inside the frame channels or in hidden areas to prevent rust. Kinda bugs me knowing. No matter how the car looks. You have rust forming inside.
Yep, but the thing is that these still will outlive us if not wrecked first. They wont see the years of rain and snow that the originals did. But still, if it can be protected as you build , do it.
Thanks for this one!!! To me it's the BEST EVER definition of a heartfelt tribute collaboration between the innocent well meaning assignee/purchaser and the end expert creator/ 'sub-franchisee' to assign the perfect registered clone to the collective fandom*. That means:. ALL OF US* With GYC Mark Worman et al as the testimonial sanctioner of the restoration/creation. The industry secrets here were ultimately shared unequivocally and generously. So-------> Don't crush 'em folks! Keep us ALL alive! Cheers! --------------------- ps One of these days bucket list: Coronet- 'blue' (TV show)..😉 --We had a 413 wedge in a dump truck-BOY HOWDY 😎😎😎 Thanks guys!
From day one I have enjoyed the genius of Mark by the way he imparts Mopar knowledge to everyone. It’s in the minutiae that this show has no peers. IMHO.
There's a different way that you can look at a barracuda and a Cuda. The same way there's a difference between a Chevelle Malibu and a Chevelle super sport. All barracudas start out as a Cuda. And then they start drilling holes in the Cuda and then it becomes a barracuda
@@fredmaples6630 yes I do however keep in mind that the other one may have also been a known tribute car at some point that somebody did a poor job putting together as opposed to now where they're doing a beautiful job putting it together
About 25 years ago I wanted a Panther Pink 70 Dodge TA. And I wanted it to be fast and handle well. Even then the car was unobtainium or nearly so. I found 1 with tge original engine and trans missing with rust and the owner wanted 40 K for it. No. So I bought a base 318 car with AC stripped out the drive line and started over. I took a 360 took it out to 408 cubic inches put one of the first sets of Edelbrock aluminium heads on it with Harlabd Sharp valve gear and a hot Comp Cam located a tripower set up put a beefed 518 4 speed auto w full lockup and OD updated the clunky OEM ACcompressor with a relocated small rotary compressor installed a 3.55 8.75 posi rear uprated the torsion bars and rear springs and swaybar to 440 6 pak pieces . And replaced the dash with the correct instrumen btation. The engine dynoed at 489 hp. With 506 ft lbs of torque. The car handled well very well for its time and much better than a big block Challenger. And it could consistently beat 440 cars. Of course it was Panther Pink with black interior black graphics and black leather interior. I took it to a major Mopar meet and was directed to park it with the other Challengers. After a couple of hours a couple of young women came by looked at the fender tag and scornfully announced that it wasnt a real TA. I agreed with them but one of the gurls asked why the car was even at the meet. I told her because I wanted to come. She informed ne thst she had a REAL TA and that it was much faster than my POS copy. I smiled and asked her how much money she wanted to lose. She reached in her purse and brought out 200 dollars. Financial arrangements nade we keft the neet for some deserted side road a few miles away trailed by a b out ten of her club friends in their cars. Of course it wasnt even a contest since I had 60 more ci around 100 ft lbs more torque etc. My point is that the pony cars were back in the day CREATED to be driven modified raced etc. If someone wants a trsiler queen numbers match car fine. And if they are worth a lot of money due to rarity fine. And if the numbers match fine. As an aside note I can tell you that a lot of so called matching numbers hypo cars arent. Because early in their life the owners grenaded the engines. There are plenty of fakes out there.
"You can get anything you want, Excluding Alice, at Alice's restaurant." Arlo Guthrie (Woodie Guthrie's son). (Back in the day.) And, I thought I was a motor head (replacing water pumps on 67 Mustang, and then clutch/pressure plate and throw out bearing on 67 Vette) back in the day, but you guys take it to the next level! Great show men!
Tony's just as big of a Mopar dictionary as he's making factory licensed reproduction parts and they're exactly the same on some things he doesn't on others so that they are not able to make fakes and they together all intensive purposes today are the Mopar Brothers and they have made each other's businesses better than ever marks accepted by Mopar as only person who was awarded the global ambassador when they gave him the first generation #3 426 ci hellaphant 1000 hp crate motor in Christine the '58 fury and with 4 digits on tap she's always ready to go for a run and embarrass a few fox body's or anything in the next lane at the stop light with a few tons it's going to hook 🪝 up and get down through there on any street 💯 be a helluva bracket car
The 1967 Plymouth GTX is my favorite mopar. I've never owned a GTX. In 1979 at age 16, my first car was an all black exterior & black interior 1974 Dodge Charger SE 318ci with a 2bbl carter, 3 speed auto. My father purchased the car new at my grandfathers dealership in Alice, TX. My grandfather was the General Manager at the Dodge Chrysler Plymouth dealership and a WW2 Navy veteran. Yawn Motors was the name of the dealership.
Amazing. Now, after all this creative and masterful fittings of aftermarket parts, is it an original car and do people that have contact with it, purchase it in the future, have a 1970 Cuda? Or must it be declared as a remanufacture?
Most cases it’s never a issue the only issue comes from removing or cutting off the vin tags and putting it on another shell but there’s a few rules for that but they vary by state mostly because of truck cabs being swapped but it ultimately depends on how they go about restoring the car and what you do to it
As both a car guy and a Dad I can really appreciate the father daughter time that only comes from being a good parent and keeping her interested by a lifetime of genuine interest in raising her. I can't even get mu Son interested in rebuilding projects with me.. My mistake was buying him an Xbox after his mother and I split up. Only getting him on every other weekend ends and Wednesday...he seemed to be more interested in that damb Xbox!? I thought I was being a cool Dad buying him the neatest toy all kids wanted... Respect to your skills in both craftsmanship and parenting..God Bless !
Don't bash on yourself for trying to please your child. Getting him the XBOX is actually a positive, if you change your perspective and your approach. That XBOX could be a leeway of getting him interested in car projects. Get him a game such as Forza Horizon 5 and join him when playing, it's gonna work wonders for both of you. Might seem unorthodox if you're old school but it could be one of the best and easiest ways of passing on the automotive love, knowledge and history to your boy. Unavoidably he will eventually start looking for his own real life projects and y'all will work on his and yours together!
@@darrellclark9596 my dad was a car guy so I became one too, he and his cars was one reason, the video games I played were the other reason. Instead of getting your son a particular game you'd be better off with a "Xbox Ultimate Game Pass" subscription which includes a bunch of car games (also includes 100+ games of all genres apart from car games) for like 13$ a month, them games would cost 50-60-70$ a pop to buy otherwise and luckily that isn't necessary like back in the day when my dad had to buy actual physical game discs for me all the time
I’ve done some of that kind of work building wrecks we called it, Marry two halves together. Done right it’s a lot of work. It’s more common than one thinks.
How could this NOT be a newly assigned VIN car? I would expect at least 51% of the original car to be there. This thing was about 15% there - being charitable.
@Ben Jones Lots of grey areas!!! Tampering with VINs, whether to alter, or just to restore a car thats legit- still pushes the limits of some laws. Ive collected quite a few nice dashes for Stealths/3000GTs. Before I sell them, Ill record removing and destroying the VIN plate. I dont ever want to be caught up in somthing someone else does down the line. Paranoid?? Yeah probably LOL...
It's the "Ship of Theseus" problem. If you keep repairing a ship with new material, how long does it remain the "same" ship? Your body replaces all of its cell material every few years, so how can you say it's the "same" body? A philosophical problem that goes back to the ancient Greeks.
This car was the subject of a new episode a couple of weeks ago in which it was finally finished. It is now called the Catalog Cuda. Mark said it was getting a VIN and title assigned from the State of Oregon and it does not have a Chrysler original VIN.
1971 Cuda 426 Hemi, 4-spd. Vinyl top, shaker hood, A/C, Center Consol, Today is like a Full loaded 2023 Red eye, or Jailbreak, with all options available.. A 1971 Barracuda is like a 2023 V6 Charger , vinyl seats, Strip down very low options..
After the Vietnam War, I hired into Motor Wheel Corporation in Lansing, Michigan, who made wheels for many manufacturers. GM, Ford, and Chrysler were all customers of ours. Motor Wheel started life as Pruden Wheel, who made wooden caisson , wagon, and field artillery wheels for WWI, and many different wheels and Sherman tank and other parts for WWll including B-17 and B-24 bomber landing gear. We also made Army tank bogie wheels, tank turret bearing races, and even wheels for American and Australian tractor manufacturers. If it was round and made of steel, we made it! I started out in the wheel disc stamping area, where we made the Chrysler deep dished ‘Cuda wheels. We referred to them as the “10 hole coin”. The reason was, that the piercing die that punched the lug and center holes could not accommodate the 10 roughly triangular holes in the disc because of the severe punch angles. After the disc was formed and lug holes punched, each wheel had to have their ten holes punched individually on the machine we called the “ten hole coin”. I loved these wheels, and remember spending many shifts individually punching those ten holes, one at a time. I was a Mopar nut back then, so I took pride in manufacturing these wheels!
@@mikeellis9720 how is that different than taking the firewall and core support, and little else, and instead of using OEM metal from a donor body, using aftermarket re-stampings to replace nearly all rusted or damaged metal? See where I'm going with this? It's just a horse (fish?) of another color. Mark's used panels and clips from donors in his yard. Let's just be thankful people work so hard to keep these cars alive. ...but it's really only original once.
I'm 60yrs+ a couple, and the prices commanded of these vintage cars is ridiculous. Life is too short to get worried about part numbers. If you're buying a museum piece, then buy one from a museum. Put it in the living room and tell friends, "I only paid a million bucks for it." So now it's a coffee table. It's a car. Drive the thing, race it, tear it up, boil it down, and have fun! Investors ran the prices up for the "suckers" that buy these automobiles and real hot rod people pay for it. The old "Muscle Car Club" has no new members. RIP.
Me and my buddies were big into muscle cars back in the 80s when they were all cheap. I can tell you there are alot of fake SSs and cars like this one out there. They're all easy to steal and swap around parts on.
@@Wooley689 yeah we did shady 💩 back then too . Mopars are the only thing we didn't really mess with. For some reason those cars rusted out before GM and Fords ever did.
Dang! This is probably the best show I've seen.. I've seen it on TV before and as a MOPAR guy I'm just very happy .. Great episode. Big fan .. subscribed..
I think they took Boyd Coddington to the woodshed, when he startes building cars with 80% worth of new parts, and just keeping the VIN numbers. They wanted him to start with a new VIN number, which kind of defeats the purpose of restoring.
My grandmother assembled Carter Carbs in St. Louis til they went out of business. They went out of business when fuel injection came out as they couldn't meet the requirements for production. The whole building is gone now with a big chain link fence around the lot .... and it's deemed toxic and hazardous from all the chemicals used.
I used to drive by a vinyl top shop every day in the 70s. They prided themselves in using only OEM trim at the edges, using the oem hole locations. Presence of holes for vinyl roof trim is not absolute proof...because, it might still be authentic paint roof, even with vinyl trim holes present.
How do you totally build a 71 cuda from the ground but yet tell the owner of that challenger Convertible that its not worth fixing up and its better off as a parts car..I betcha you bought that one for yourself.
In 1977 I owned a 1965 Mustang GT that was stolen and totally stripped. The frame was one of the few components that I recovered. I was able to sell the frame for $500 simply because the buyer knew he could "create" a 1965 Mustang GT using available after-market parts if he started with a frame containing a GT serial number.
My late father, a mold engraver, would reproduce G.M. style serial numbers on engine blocks and various numbered components by hand, as the stamps are proprietary and unobtainable. I think he charged about a $100 a part and did this for a few Bloomington Gold winners. He was a better engraver than businessman.
For aeroplanes you see that more and more often that a rebuild - no, recreation - from scratch is easier than a restoration, esp. as all systems must be completely refurbished anyhow. One thing that breaks, and you are dead. You can get complete P-51D Mustangs from scratch - one of the few things you should have is a Packard-Merlin engine block. They built a series of 8 Messerschmitt Me 262 jets, then 5 Flocke-Wulf 190s. In New Zealand they have built the concrete moulds so that you can build the fuselage shells for the DeHavilland DH 98 Mosquito, which is a wood-balsa-wood sandwich.
Interesting that someone went to all the effort, but then made it obvious by adding extra welds, especially on the core support... The floor welds might get overlooked under carpet, but the core support ones are instantly noticeable!! Shady...!!!
AUTHENTICITY IS INSPIRING now TAHT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BODY SHOP KID WITH NO EXPERENCE AND A MAN THAT TACKES PRIDE IN HIS JOB HIS COMPANY AND HIS REPUTATION. AND LIKE A TRUE MAN HE IS PROUND TO PASS HIS TIME AND BRAINS ONTO HIS CHILLDREN. I TOLTALY RESPECT HIM
Its a real car restoration. We took the correct fender tag and ordered every part in the Classic Industries Catalog. Cost was no object. Well...yeah. Any reasonably talented team of body men and mechanics can do that. And the fendertag means its c a real Barracuda? Sorry. The real Barracuda disdolved in the acid dip tank. What you have there is an assem led parts catalog.
QUESTION: Do you think the factory might have run short of Cuda stock and wanted to use some Gran Coupe stock to keep production going by modifying it (i.e., plug up welds, etc.)?
@@Parkhill57 Have to disagree. My Uncle worked the BOP (Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac) division in Texas. I do not suspect Chrysler and GM and Ford were run much differently. Robots? In 1970? Some(stamping machines, etc) , but there was a lot "leading" (rhymes with bedding) done by hand. Yes, actual "lead" (like in car batteries) was used like in fitting car top to rear quarter and other places where the fit was well out of tolerance (i.e., just welding would not be enough). May have even used "lead" to fill holes like shown in this video. Don't think factories were perfect just because it would be nice to believe they were. There can be bolts missing, wrong (by the book) parts, etc. on a "factory" car.
@George "no way a factory did that!" I accept you have a different opinion. Not just my uncle - I have seen the older cars in the junkyard (and yes, seen the lead from the factory) Believe whatever makes you happy though, Life is too short.
I wonder whether it is already so or whether it will come, that 3D printing is the preferred way of restoration. You laser-scan the old parts, clean them up, and then print them in metal. Then even complex stampings or casts can be replaced. Any news about the status of that?
You can do that, but its rather expensive. Price has come down somewhat but its not something your average restorer can afford unless you work with customers that can throw 5-10k out easy just for something like.
When I would replace things like quarters or rockers, I'd plug weld them on with a mig welder, then when I'd prime the panels I'd use a pencil with an eraser and use the eraser to put a mark in the wet primer, making it look like a factory spot weld.
Elaborate tributes are OK as long as they're presented as tributes. Unfortunately there have always been people in the hobby who are happy to capitalize on others' ignorance, and there's no guarantee that this "'Cuda" won't be sold down the line as an original. I'm having a 383 Challenger redone with a 440, but the VINs and fender tag will remain untouched.
I too like the owner of the Grand Coupe shell, I would be thrilled even if it were just a tribute build. Unlike today's cars, the cars of the 50's-70's had special meaning and although I didn't appreciate it back then, now I'm in my late 50's, I now understand how special my uncles two Dodge Chargers from '69-'70 were to him. I personally remember the '70 Charger because my then little hand got caught between the B-pillar and the door when it suddenly closed with no warning. While I didn't sustain any permanent damage from the injury, I never did that ever again. Never saw my mom, aunt, and uncle run that fast before in my life. Next, I cannot imagine what it cost for your shop to build that '71 Cuda from ground up but if I were rich, it would be a dream beyond belief to own and drive such an incredible car. I envy the persons who can afford such luxury today because I was around and raised around these cars, I've worked hard my whole life driving semi-trucks yet I cannot afford one.
When you say the owner wants to ride it out, is there any legal requirements for you to follow or possible legal ramifications down the line for you and/or the owner?
restoration is based on many factors.these dudes are trying to do a full oem build.what is wrong is the price.simple builds over restoration is the issue.finding parts is another.yes people use older parts to save money.some people don`t have money or a tv show to pay for the repairs.if i built a car it would be a daily driver.not a fancy pos.
It's obvious you passed your Mopar genes to your daughter. She obviously loves all of this 'car' stuff and as she said, "this is fascinating" to me. Good job raising your daughter correctly:)
So spot welds are what the industry uses because it is cost effective. Building your own 1:1 Monogram, would something else add to the strength / righty of the unibody?
Great Cuda build! Question: If the only part of the car that's actually original is the roof, how did you title it? Does the roof have numbers? The real question I ask is that I'm considering building a brand new 56 Chevy pickup with all new metal and cab from Premier Street Rod, an aftermarket performance chassis, with an LS engine. I was wondering how much of the truck had to be original to be considered a "restoration" vs a new truck that resembles an original.
I know of a convertible Cuda that was rear ended and another that was hit in the front and they were married together. The cuda is now a hard top with a convertible vin tag and it was not stolen just wrecked and repaired. This car lives in southern Alberta. I personally have not seen it but i know a guy who is aware of it and it came up in a conversation we had about strange things seen. I wish i had more information about it. The grand coup reminds me of this or it was a fraud to up a price when that was coming into itself or was a stolen car that was used to repair a legit one on the cheap. I had a uncle that ran a very large chop shop in Montreal many years ago (60-80's) and seen lots of funny things going on with cars of value. It became a restoration body shop and storage facility. I remember when my cousin his son had his 16th birthday and we went to town and had a fun time and he had a 5 year old about Caddy as his personal car that was supposed to be a wrecked and repaired but was a stolen one with number sections patched in. He never got caught by slipping in stolen ones with legit repairs but when the heat was getting close that is when he became a restored and repair body shop and winter storage only. I never worked for them but was not stupid being family and noticing some things happening too fast for legit repairs of wrecks to rich's. Back then it was possible but now you have a guy come out and wants to examine repairs with photo's and kept garbage part before he signs off on a car or truck. Times have changed.
Had a big local salvage yard in the early 80s that nobody ever expected had a major chopping operation going on, and was considered a reputable business. They got caught when a young kid who was one of the contracted car thieves was caught and outed them. I would have thought they would at least have had middlemen purchasers to break the trace to them. Cops were blown away when they discovered all the numbers on parts from stolen cars there. Times have changed. I was never into that kind of stuff but knew about it from being in the auto business. I knew of 2 tow drivers that were part of the reason for the city starting a program to check yards for titles on everything there. Prior to that time, nobody would check for titles on absolutely thrashed cars in yards. They probably also had something to do with the dual wheel rear axle tow truck requirement, so people couldn't use, buy, or slap together lower dollar trucks to do shady things. Guy got caught when somebody recognized the business name of the truck he was driving, when he stole a junk car to scrap it. Had it have been some low dollar sling boom job with tiny text slapped on it, nobody would have ever noticed who's truck was involved. We knew his boss and he was not thrilled when the police showed up and he learned about what was going on. Story was this car was actually still on the road, although in terrible shape. Guy who took it thought it was a dead vehicle, as it looked so bad he didn't realize it was actually legal, and was parked in an area of the city where you could leave dead cars sit. By the time the police got to the yard where he took it for scrap, they had already chain ripped the powertrain out of it. These guys would steal tow cars that were absolute junk that were not on the road, and get the scrap value. Most people probably thought the city just came and took them, as there technically are ordinances against unregistered junk vehicles that are not garaged in the city. Guy told me one car he was towing had the shot tires come off the rims, and got to the point where he had to hurry up and drop it on a major 4 lane city avenue. Could imagine what the cops thought when they drove past or were called there and saw it. 😆
@@billg7205 lmao. ALOT of these old cars were stolen back then and stripped down. Now I'm seeing some of them pop up on marketplace where I live and ive gotten a couple returned to their owners and the ones trying to sell them were left crying. 🤣🤣
I quit watching GYC a few years back because of the drama. I was pleasantly surprised to see how this episode was about the cars and the craftsmanship and not all about Mark.
The producers of reality shows frequently tell the participants to create drama to make the show interesting. Its all staged!
I used to watch this at my girlfriend's a few years ago because she had cable.
I was getting tired of it, too, and, then, she got tired of me. 😂
I stopped watching after seeing the shit work they did to a Superbird. Damn quarter panels welded on so crooked, the wing bolts snapped while driving down the road
@@jjojo2004 Unlike many other shows Worman owns the show in whole and controls the production.
I agree that letting the worm drive the production content was a very bad idea. Less monkey business and more restoration business. I'd also like to see bitchin rides stop going to the shows and stop showcasing that lame carbon fiber corvette kit car they sell.
When the painting started and Will was talking about the process, I swear I could smell the paint! I spent 32+ years in the auto repair industry at all levels..Great memories!
Yes I have had that happen to me I grew up with my dad painting cars at home over the weekend certainly triggered the senses
Me also !
I actually enjoyed this episode, I love the in depth investigation and few shenanigans.
WOW!
Awesome video on an awesome car.
This man is a wizard.
When they were putting parts on the alignment jig, and discussing how it was really important for the frame to be straight and square, I was reminded of my time at the auto factory in Belvidere, IL.
We built full size Dodge and Plymouth there. If the body shop made a small change in the jigs, sometimes in final assembly we would try to put on a part and the hole might be off just enough so the part could not be fastened. We had to send a utility man up line drilling a new hole where is should be so we could finish with the interior body trim panels.
Sometimes it would involve the fit of the doors and windows. Back then the hardtops did not have metal frame around the window glass. It had to sit straight on the rubber weather strip at the top of the opening or there was no seal. At times we had to loosen the bolts on the door hinges and move the door even 1/4 inch to make the glass seal on the rubber. That was a real trick getting the doors to match the car after jacking them around. But, we got really good at borrowing from Peter to pay Paul so that the overall fit was acceptable to the eye.
One time I was installing the cowl panel that covers the metal next to the drivers left foot. I hopped in with panel and screws, but yikes, where is the hole? I fished around and found a hole but when I ran the screw in it puckered up the panel so it looked deformed. The hole was off center.
So the utility man spent the whole day up line creating a new hole where it was supposed to be. The night shift had about 6 hours of that before the fix came through with good panels. Somehow the fixture was off in the weld shop.
The four door hardtops with power windows were a real tough one to fit correctly. Normally on a two door one guy fit front and rear windows. But when a four door hardtop came by we had one guy on front one on back because they took some real skill to get a good fit. We did a test fit and shut the doors to see what we had. Always needed some further adjustment so they would not leak in the water test booth which was only about three minutes down line from our station. The four us got so good at it one of the supervisors paid us to stay after work and adjust the windows on his older Chrysler that had been built elsewhere. He complained it always had wind noise around the rear windows. We had to move the rear door back which left a gap between the doors so we moved the front door back a little and it looked okay when we got done. With power windows if the glass was too tight the window would not go up with the door shut. So it was a balance between getting a tight seal or the window not going all the way up. We learned to use rubber lube on the parts that touched.
Since most of the car enthusiasts out there are drivers and not collectors who just garage and show their cars , its nice to see that you can build a classic 71 Cuda with all new metal and upgraded modern drive train and suspension. You get so much more from the new creation. They handle better with the new suspension, look nicer with the upgraded paint (all over and under with zero rust) and last longer because the frame and panels are new and dent free. Overall, a better package that can be driven and enjoyed for years to come. Produce more of these type videos! At a certain point there will be less original cars to work with. Keep up the great content.
Mark trivia--- "California-Sunday-10:04 A.M."
Good job in this episode exposing many of the parts switching tactics that have followed many of our "classic" vehicles that you see in shows/stree and/or are for sale today. I appreciate the honesty and great insight to identifying original vs. repairs to the body welds and their associated body parts containing the SN and build codes. A lesson from this episode is that the bottom line is there are two terms that are purely subjective. "Original" and "Numbers matching". If you are purchasing one that has either or both of these claims, my recommendation is to throw these terms out the window and buy it based on the condition and quality of workmanship to restore this vehicle. Like this video shows, it is possible to prove this, and unless you have a near zero mile documented one owner that can still attest to it, there are next to zero cars out there that have not had OE or AM parts added to it, and where do you draw the line between "repair" and "fraud"? Not easy to do. Ask 100 different experts and you will likely get 100 different answers. After 40 plus years in the business, I have just about seen it all. Travel back in time to the 60's and 70's when these cars were produced and driven, the economics of driving were of necessity, not of the excesses of the roaring 20's culture we seem to have now. Cars were costly to both purchase and maintain, and technology was making each newer model more comfortable and luxurious (not necessarily faster) than the previous year, and the economics of the time did not favor the pampering and storing of low mile non-molested time capsules for the future. Hence, the majority of all vehicles were driven hard, put away wet, and nobody thought twice about replacing whatever body or drivetrain parts necessary to keep them on the road, whether the parts were OE or numbers matching, or not. Enter the late 90's/2000's when the old muscle cars began increasing in value, and the restoration business started taking off. There are all combinations/levels of originality mixed with quality and not so quality restorations out there. Buyer beware, and don't believe half of what you see and almost none of what you hear. When an individual or shop decides to take more than one vehicle and turn into one, which will every time result in a tag/vin being physically connected to some major body and/or frame part(s) that were not original to that vehicle. When this does happen and an individual or shop changes the tags on a vehicle, did they change the identity of the other vehicle, or did they just change a lot of parts of the decrepit but more desirable vehicle that had the valuable tags? Depends on your point of view. And it depends where you want to draw the line. A person has the right to spend their hard earned money on whatever they want, I just hate to see people end up too far in "originality la la land". Thanks for pointing out a lot of these common practices to your audience.
I used to repel at Mark's self absorption but after watching a few dozen episodes, his humor grows on you. He is funny as well as quirky!
It grows on me like a wart.
When they're just doing the cars straight up it's great.
When they start the stupid scripted trash talking and drama it's repetitive, idiotic and, worse, not funny.
The schoolyard stuff detracts from the spectacular work they do, IMO.
@@Mudpuppyjunior You forget, tv is entertainment, so if it was strictly boring work, "some" people would lose interest. Even Fab Rats has some slap stick humor in it to keep it fresh. Have a good day!
I wish automotive class was like this in school when I was a kid. Really cool episode.
There were when I was young. I'm now 74, though. I took auto shop in the early 1960s.
In June 1971 My father, mother and a 20 year old kid walked into the Dodge dealership in Beirut Lebanon to buy a Dodge Dart. Two hours later we drove out of the underground storage garage with a Dodge Challenger, 383 Four Barrel, 4-Speed manual transmission, 3.23 open rear end, dark green with white vinyl top and white vinyl interior, no A/C.... 5 years later our Challenger was stolen during the 1976 civil war, never to be seen again.
Sorry the A-team took it when they made their escape. later on it it was found turned into the fastest tank in the world.
Mark and none of the GYC folks follows this channel, so dont expect hearing from them.
@@davidd.1319 We believe the Phalangists were behind the heist. Different face of the same coin. I never went back since I left 47 years ago! I appreciate your sense of humor!
Oh. Man that would be so great to have it now. Sorry, man 😢
My bro in law, helped design the Challenger, needless to say my sister own one. Best car sue ever owned.
It hurt me deeply when we no longer had this family car.
It's ironic how in one room they are explaining how a car was put together with parts of two cars to make one and pass it off as one of those cars, while in the other room they themselves are building another car doing exactly the same thing, only with lesser quality aftermarket body parts. I'm watching the painter and thinking, "wow, a "real" Cuda that never saw the inside of a Chrysler factory!"
Rules for me, not for thee...
Had the same thought, if Graveyard cars gets paid to do it then its ok.
Lesser quality? So it's worse steel, worse paint, worse welds? Is that what you are saying? I would think it would all be better. At least better than something that was sitting outside for 30 years rusting.
@@Orcinus1967 Thinner gauge steel, lower quality paint (we can't make or use thebpaints from the 50s or 60s or 70s anymore).
@@Orcinus1967 I have yet to hear someone claim that the panel quality is OEM, as most are made on old OEM dies that are, well, old. I’m comparing NOS panels to aftermarket, not to rusty crap sitting outside. Having said that, I know skilled craftsman can take these panels and make a nice looking car.
I saw a rebody for sale as a consignment back east. It was supposed to be a U code 72 Road Runner. But, except for the vin and fender tag and a Road Runner hood were the only parts that were from a Road Runner. The guys didn't even bother to remove or alter the options that didn't match the fender tag. Half vinyl roof, bench seat.
That fender tag and vin were taken off a car that had been crushed decades before and put in a drawer. Then the Road Runner hood bought at a swap meet. And a guy bought a Satellite and bought the parts off of an ad.
One of the best episodes to date, As a collision repair tech of 40 years, hanging sheet metal was the preferred part of the build. Single stage for me...
You are amazing man , your knowledge on Mopar is off the charts, your eyes are amazing !
Your attention to TRUE AUTHENTICITY IS INSPIRING ,your daughter could have been dealt far worse cards.
I also love the way the guy with the bowl haircut is explaining to the new guy even the minor details as he's working.
You're funny as all hell while you do what you do.
Perhaps at certain times it may wear on the crew if theyre not feeling as chipper as yourself but I love it
Christ listen to this guy. PMS you make my point better than I could. These sub-70 IQ farmers love this stuff. Graveyard Carz is another sad example of a reality show. Think of what you've got here. You're watching a show written by people that are not writers; performed by people who are not actors. Who are trying to guess what their viewers think they would say if this was a real situation. Which it's not. You are watching an ameuter production of NOTHING. But PMS loves it. He doesn't even think there's a camera in the room he's just watching what he thinks are real people having conversations. LMFAO Like Mark would be surprised to learn there's a camera in the room. lol
I love this show! Mark is a master! I wish I could find my 1970 440 4 speed black on black I had in 1979. I keep watching the show dreaming I will see the car again.
challenger
Don't a lot of us wish we could go back & save a few or keep the great cars we had. Hindsight is 20\20
I think you've (your channel at least, I know you've been doing this for a LONG time) come a LONG way - your show at least.. and i'm going to guess your business requests quintupled at least - you do the absolute best work to the T.. but man your show has shown a drastic increase in something over the years. I saw this show a few years ago (a bunch i think) when you first started it -maybe on discover channel or something - anyway It's GREAT to see your daughter picking up all the things you desire her to learn, even though it may be frustrating with your own kids ( i have a few i know ) it's SO nice when they surprise you in their hands on actual real knowledge.. to be able to impart that knowledge, that only SOME VERY FEW have in this world.. that's great man I hope she makes you proud. Great work..
I got to know Graveyard Cars from TV watching. Mark is more like a mate than the myriad of things he does reallly well. Hey Mark, we want to see you back on Channel 9Rush here in Australia!
It's AMAZING how far someone went to fool whoever In believing that Grand Coupe was a Cuda. Can't fool the Mopar master! Mark sniffed that out QUICK. Shows how attentive and knowledgeable about these cars he is and makes for great content to watch!
What I didn't see was. No spraying inside the frame channels or in hidden areas to prevent rust. Kinda bugs me knowing. No matter how the car looks. You have rust forming inside.
Yep, but the thing is that these still will outlive us if not wrecked first. They wont see the years of rain and snow that the originals did. But still, if it can be protected as you build , do it.
Shane looks like Jared from Subway.
Mark puts Me in mind of Reuben Kincaid from The Partridge Family.
Thanks for this one!!!
To me it's the BEST EVER definition of a heartfelt tribute collaboration between the innocent well meaning assignee/purchaser and the end expert creator/ 'sub-franchisee' to assign the perfect registered clone to the collective fandom*.
That means:. ALL OF US*
With GYC Mark Worman et al as the testimonial sanctioner of the restoration/creation.
The industry secrets here were ultimately shared unequivocally and generously.
So------->
Don't crush 'em folks!
Keep us ALL alive!
Cheers!
---------------------
ps
One of these days bucket list: Coronet- 'blue' (TV show)..😉
--We had a 413 wedge in a dump truck-BOY HOWDY 😎😎😎
Thanks guys!
Mark is a walking encyclopedia who also knows how to do the work
Finally... no more "slap stick," and all Verbal B.S. that use to take up "A Whole Lot" of video time! Great show, Thank you, J
From day one I have enjoyed the genius of Mark by the way he imparts Mopar knowledge to everyone. It’s in the minutiae that this show has no peers. IMHO.
There's a different way that you can look at a barracuda and a Cuda. The same way there's a difference between a Chevelle Malibu and a Chevelle super sport. All barracudas start out as a Cuda. And then they start drilling holes in the Cuda and then it becomes a barracuda
the "fake cuda" is no more fake than the "cuda" they are building from all new sheet metal AND the original roof during this episode
The difference is it was a known tribute car and the other is a fake that was rebodied to make it look original. But you knew that.
@@fredmaples6630 yes I do however keep in mind that the other one may have also been a known tribute car at some point that somebody did a poor job putting together as opposed to now where they're doing a beautiful job putting it together
The six pack car has 99% mopar metal while the black shaker car has a 5% original metal roof and 95% recycled Subaru metal.
It's the Cuda of Theseus.
Really nice to know your teaching the younger ones about all this. My hat of to you . upper shelf work for sure.
*You’re
*Off
@@jumpinjojo Wow, Thanks!!! We had know idea what he ment! Why didn't you mention that the "u" in "upper" , should have bin capitalized?
@@jumpinjojo
*Piss
*Off
This is very good video Mark . It was like a tutorial. I learned a lot . Really appreciate the knowledge thanks graveyard
The most entertaining show on the Internet!!
This was an impressive episode!
That Challenger that Kowalski crashed into those dozer blades was actually a Camaro.
Although Kowalski was not actually in the Camaro that was substituted for the Mopar in that scene.
@@hotwheelsbob2000 He was there in my head.
I am in awe of these guys. Amazing work and knowledge...
About 25 years ago I wanted a Panther Pink 70 Dodge TA.
And I wanted it to be fast and handle well.
Even then the car was unobtainium or nearly so.
I found 1 with tge original engine and trans missing with rust and the owner wanted 40 K for it.
No.
So I bought a base 318 car with AC stripped out the drive line and started over.
I took a 360 took it out to 408 cubic inches put one of the first sets of Edelbrock aluminium heads on it with Harlabd Sharp valve gear and a hot Comp Cam located a tripower set up put a beefed 518 4 speed auto w full lockup and OD updated the clunky OEM ACcompressor with a relocated small rotary compressor installed a 3.55 8.75 posi rear uprated the torsion bars and rear springs and swaybar to 440 6 pak pieces .
And replaced the dash with the correct instrumen
btation.
The engine dynoed at 489 hp. With 506 ft lbs of torque.
The car handled well very well for its time and much better than a big block Challenger.
And it could consistently beat 440 cars.
Of course it was Panther Pink with black interior black graphics and black leather interior.
I took it to a major Mopar meet and was directed to park it with the other Challengers.
After a couple of hours a couple of young women came by looked at the fender tag and scornfully announced that it wasnt a real TA.
I agreed with them but one of the gurls asked why the car was even at the meet.
I told her because I wanted to come.
She informed ne thst she had a REAL TA and that it was much faster than my POS copy.
I smiled and asked her how much money she wanted to lose.
She reached in her purse and brought out 200 dollars.
Financial arrangements nade we keft the neet for some deserted side road a few miles away trailed by a b out ten of her club friends in their cars.
Of course it wasnt even a contest since I had 60 more ci around 100 ft lbs more torque etc.
My point is that the pony cars were back in the day CREATED to be driven modified raced etc.
If someone wants a trsiler queen numbers match car fine. And if they are worth a lot of money due to rarity fine.
And if the numbers match fine.
As an aside note I can tell you that a lot of so called matching numbers hypo cars arent.
Because early in their life the owners grenaded the engines.
There are plenty of fakes out there.
What was the numbers on the rear trunk flange? Were they the same as the front ones? And were they grafted in?
"You can get anything you want, Excluding Alice, at Alice's restaurant." Arlo Guthrie (Woodie Guthrie's son). (Back in the day.)
And, I thought I was a motor head (replacing water pumps on 67 Mustang, and then clutch/pressure plate and throw out bearing on 67 Vette) back in the day, but you guys take it to the next level! Great show men!
Yup, Happy Thanksgiving! LoL
The analysis of the Cuda is what makes Mark Wormon seperate from the rest
His daughter is really coming along well. She will be the future, very cool.
Tony's just as big of a Mopar dictionary as he's making factory licensed reproduction parts and they're exactly the same on some things he doesn't on others so that they are not able to make fakes and they together all intensive purposes today are the Mopar Brothers and they have made each other's businesses better than ever marks accepted by Mopar as only person who was awarded the global ambassador when they gave him the first generation #3 426 ci hellaphant 1000 hp crate motor in Christine the '58 fury and with 4 digits on tap she's always ready to go for a run and embarrass a few fox body's or anything in the next lane at the stop light with a few tons it's going to hook 🪝 up and get down through there on any street 💯 be a helluva bracket car
Really liked the explanation of how everything came together. One of the best of your videos
The 1967 Plymouth GTX is my favorite mopar. I've never owned a GTX. In 1979 at age 16, my first car was an all black exterior & black interior 1974 Dodge Charger SE 318ci with a 2bbl carter, 3 speed auto. My father purchased the car new at my grandfathers dealership in Alice, TX. My grandfather was the General Manager at the Dodge Chrysler Plymouth dealership and a WW2 Navy veteran. Yawn Motors was the name of the dealership.
I love how you add in the original commercials. Beautiful cars.
Amazing. Now, after all this creative and masterful fittings of aftermarket parts, is it an original car and do people that have contact with it, purchase it in the future, have a 1970 Cuda? Or must it be declared as a remanufacture?
Most cases it’s never a issue the only issue comes from removing or cutting off the vin tags and putting it on another shell but there’s a few rules for that but they vary by state mostly because of truck cabs being swapped but it ultimately depends on how they go about restoring the car and what you do to it
Hmm... the 'Cuda of Theseus'. 🤔
Its numbers matching, There are 1,970 repos parts used on it! lol
One of my favorite episodes ❤️
This show is truly one of the best for car restoration...❤️👍
As both a car guy and a Dad I can really appreciate the father daughter time that only comes from being a good parent and keeping her interested by a lifetime of genuine interest in raising her.
I can't even get mu Son interested in rebuilding projects with me..
My mistake was buying him an Xbox after his mother and I split up.
Only getting him on every other weekend ends and Wednesday...he seemed to be more interested in that damb Xbox!?
I thought I was being a cool Dad buying him the neatest toy all kids wanted...
Respect to your skills in both craftsmanship and parenting..God Bless !
Don't bash on yourself for trying to please your child. Getting him the XBOX is actually a positive, if you change your perspective and your approach. That XBOX could be a leeway of getting him interested in car projects. Get him a game such as Forza Horizon 5 and join him when playing, it's gonna work wonders for both of you. Might seem unorthodox if you're old school but it could be one of the best and easiest ways of passing on the automotive love, knowledge and history to your boy. Unavoidably he will eventually start looking for his own real life projects and y'all will work on his and yours together!
@@CantDrive4Sheet I'll look into it, thanks for the heads up.. I appreciate it !
@@darrellclark9596 my dad was a car guy so I became one too, he and his cars was one reason, the video games I played were the other reason. Instead of getting your son a particular game you'd be better off with a "Xbox Ultimate Game Pass" subscription which includes a bunch of car games (also includes 100+ games of all genres apart from car games) for like 13$ a month, them games would cost 50-60-70$ a pop to buy otherwise and luckily that isn't necessary like back in the day when my dad had to buy actual physical game discs for me all the time
Never heard of this channel. Glad its actually Mopar and not some Closet chevy lovers like those other shows.
Amazing show and amazing individual.
The amount of knowledge is invaluable. 👍👍👍
I’ve done some of that kind of work building wrecks we called it, Marry two halves together. Done right it’s a lot of work. It’s more common than one thinks.
Absolutely excellent information. Learned a lot.
How could this NOT be a newly assigned VIN car? I would expect at least 51% of the original car to be there. This thing was about 15% there - being charitable.
@Ben Jones Lots of grey areas!!! Tampering with VINs, whether to alter, or just to restore a car thats legit- still pushes the limits of some laws. Ive collected quite a few nice dashes for Stealths/3000GTs. Before I sell them, Ill record removing and destroying the VIN plate. I dont ever want to be caught up in somthing someone else does down the line. Paranoid?? Yeah probably LOL...
It's the "Ship of Theseus" problem. If you keep repairing a ship with new material, how long does it remain the "same" ship? Your body replaces all of its cell material every few years, so how can you say it's the "same" body? A philosophical problem that goes back to the ancient Greeks.
This car was the subject of a new episode a couple of weeks ago in which it was finally finished. It is now called the Catalog Cuda. Mark said it was getting a VIN and title assigned from the State of Oregon and it does not have a Chrysler original VIN.
@@johnkowalkowski4269 Ok, good, it’s as it should be then.
@@grizzlygrizzle Yeah, here's Grandpa's axe - we've had to change the handle twice and the head once though.
1971 Cuda 426 Hemi,
4-spd. Vinyl top, shaker hood, A/C, Center Consol,
Today is like a Full loaded 2023
Red eye, or Jailbreak,
with all options available..
A 1971 Barracuda is like a 2023 V6 Charger , vinyl seats, Strip down very low options..
If someone had a pocket full of money, mark is your guy on mopars !
The daughter knows more about these cars than the most of us. Great asset to have when you are doing this for a living.
Daughters looking tired
After the Vietnam War, I hired into Motor Wheel Corporation in Lansing, Michigan, who made wheels for many manufacturers.
GM, Ford, and Chrysler were all customers of ours.
Motor Wheel started life as Pruden Wheel, who made wooden caisson , wagon, and field artillery wheels for WWI, and many different wheels and Sherman tank and other parts for WWll including B-17 and B-24 bomber landing gear.
We also made Army tank bogie wheels, tank turret bearing races, and even wheels for American and Australian tractor manufacturers.
If it was round and made of steel, we made it!
I started out in the wheel disc stamping area, where we made the Chrysler deep dished ‘Cuda wheels. We referred to them as the “10 hole coin”. The reason was, that the piercing die that punched the lug and center holes could not accommodate the 10 roughly triangular holes in the disc because of the severe punch angles. After the disc was formed and lug holes punched, each wheel had to have their ten holes punched individually on the machine we called the “ten hole coin”.
I loved these wheels, and remember spending many shifts individually punching those ten holes, one at a time.
I was a Mopar nut back then, so I took pride in manufacturing these wheels!
Great information. Love these videos. Thanks.
Fair question: Is this Cuda any more "fake" than some of the cars done in the GYC shop where nearly every panel was replaced?
@@mikeellis9720 how is that different than taking the firewall and core support, and little else, and instead of using OEM metal from a donor body, using aftermarket re-stampings to replace nearly all rusted or damaged metal? See where I'm going with this? It's just a horse (fish?) of another color.
Mark's used panels and clips from donors in his yard. Let's just be thankful people work so hard to keep these cars alive.
...but it's really only original once.
The six pack car has mostly mopar metal while the black shaker car is about 95% recycled Subarus
i never got into Mopar because there weren't any to get into.. very cool video
I'm 60yrs+ a couple, and the prices commanded of these vintage cars is ridiculous. Life is too short to get worried about part numbers. If you're buying a museum piece, then buy one from a museum. Put it in the living room and tell friends, "I only paid a million bucks for it." So now it's a coffee table. It's a car. Drive the thing, race it, tear it up, boil it down, and have fun! Investors ran the prices up for the "suckers" that buy these automobiles and real hot rod people pay for it. The old "Muscle Car Club" has no new members. RIP.
Me and my buddies were big into muscle cars back in the 80s when they were all cheap. I can tell you there are alot of fake SSs and cars like this one out there. They're all easy to steal and swap around parts on.
LOL. Yep, there are more SS cars out there now than were ever produced at the factory.
@@Wooley689 yeah we did shady 💩 back then too . Mopars are the only thing we didn't really mess with. For some reason those cars rusted out before GM and Fords ever did.
@@Wooley689 I bet you a dollar 30 years from now they'll be more Dodge Demons than dodge actually produced.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn LOL. I won't take that bet.
Isn’t it harder to confirm SS and RS, because GM wasn’t body code crazy?
Dang! This is probably the best show I've seen.. I've seen it on TV before and as a MOPAR guy I'm just very happy .. Great episode. Big fan .. subscribed..
So the entire car is a rebuilt fake except the VIN?! And who will buy this car?
“That’s not even funny” yet I was laughing
I think they took Boyd Coddington to the woodshed, when he startes building cars with 80% worth of new parts, and just keeping the VIN numbers. They wanted him to start with a new VIN number, which kind of defeats the purpose of restoring.
How does a VIN get assigned to a build like this one?
How does your state assign a title?
My grandmother assembled Carter Carbs in St. Louis til they went out of business. They went out of business when fuel injection came out as they couldn't meet the requirements for production.
The whole building is gone now with a big chain link fence around the lot .... and it's deemed toxic and hazardous from all the chemicals used.
I used to drive by a vinyl top shop every day in the 70s. They prided themselves in using only OEM trim at the edges, using the oem hole locations. Presence of holes for vinyl roof trim is not absolute proof...because, it might still be authentic paint roof, even with vinyl trim holes present.
again you use old tags to build a new car . this must be an old build from graveyard cars , in the UK we call them ringers
That was one BEAUTIFUL build. I wish I had the money to buy one of these built by Graveyard Carz...
WOW ! ! !
Thank you Denny O for slamming the nail right on the head.... it's not a fake it's restored
Great video, very educational and a wonderful learning experience. Now I want to watch and learn more.
How do you totally build a 71 cuda from the ground but yet tell the owner of that challenger Convertible that its not worth fixing up and its better off as a parts car..I betcha you bought that one for yourself.
Best episode for me.
In 1977 I owned a 1965 Mustang GT that was stolen and totally stripped. The frame was one of the few components that I recovered. I was able to sell the frame for $500 simply because the buyer knew he could "create" a 1965 Mustang GT using available after-market parts if he started with a frame containing a GT serial number.
My late father, a mold engraver, would reproduce G.M. style serial numbers on engine blocks and various numbered components by hand, as the stamps are proprietary and unobtainable.
I think he charged about a $100 a part and did this for a few Bloomington Gold winners.
He was a better engraver than businessman.
For aeroplanes you see that more and more often that a rebuild - no, recreation - from scratch is easier than a restoration, esp. as all systems must be completely refurbished anyhow. One thing that breaks, and you are dead.
You can get complete P-51D Mustangs from scratch - one of the few things you should have is a Packard-Merlin engine block.
They built a series of 8 Messerschmitt Me 262 jets, then 5 Flocke-Wulf 190s.
In New Zealand they have built the concrete moulds so that you can build the fuselage shells for the DeHavilland DH 98 Mosquito, which is a wood-balsa-wood sandwich.
Love to see the size of the down payment.
Interesting that someone went to all the effort, but then made it obvious by adding extra welds, especially on the core support... The floor welds might get overlooked under carpet, but the core support ones are instantly noticeable!! Shady...!!!
AUTHENTICITY IS INSPIRING now TAHT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BODY SHOP KID WITH NO EXPERENCE AND A MAN THAT TACKES PRIDE IN HIS JOB HIS COMPANY AND HIS REPUTATION. AND LIKE A TRUE MAN HE IS PROUND TO PASS HIS TIME AND BRAINS ONTO HIS CHILLDREN. I TOLTALY RESPECT HIM
Its a real car restoration.
We took the correct fender tag and ordered every part in the Classic Industries Catalog.
Cost was no object.
Well...yeah.
Any reasonably talented team of body men and mechanics can do that.
And the fendertag means its c a real Barracuda?
Sorry.
The real Barracuda disdolved in the acid dip tank.
What you have there is an assem led parts catalog.
QUESTION:
Do you think the factory might have run short of Cuda stock and
wanted to use some Gran Coupe stock to keep production going by modifying it (i.e., plug up welds, etc.)?
@@Parkhill57 Have to disagree.
My Uncle worked the BOP (Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac) division in Texas.
I do not suspect Chrysler and GM and Ford were run much differently.
Robots? In 1970?
Some(stamping machines, etc) , but there was a lot "leading" (rhymes with bedding) done by hand.
Yes, actual "lead" (like in car batteries) was used like in fitting car top to rear quarter and other places where the fit was well out of tolerance (i.e., just welding would not be enough). May have even used "lead" to fill holes like shown in this video.
Don't think factories were perfect just because it would be nice to believe they were. There can be bolts missing, wrong (by the book) parts, etc. on a "factory" car.
@George "no way a factory did that!"
I accept you have a different opinion.
Not just my uncle - I have seen the older cars in the junkyard (and yes, seen the lead from the factory)
Believe whatever makes you happy though, Life is too short.
I wonder whether it is already so or whether it will come, that 3D printing is the preferred way of restoration. You laser-scan the old parts, clean them up, and then print them in metal. Then even complex stampings or casts can be replaced.
Any news about the status of that?
You can do that, but its rather expensive. Price has come down somewhat but its not something your average restorer can afford unless you work with customers that can throw 5-10k out easy just for something like.
We saw the numbers at the front, so what were the rear body numbers at the trunk lid???
When I would replace things like quarters or rockers, I'd plug weld them on with a mig welder, then when I'd prime the panels I'd use a pencil with an eraser and use the eraser to put a mark in the wet primer, making it look like a factory spot weld.
So, it's a kit car.
No. It’s a differently optioned barracuda being passed off as a numbers matching collectible barracuda
Elaborate tributes are OK as long as they're presented as tributes. Unfortunately there have always been people in the hobby who are happy to capitalize on others' ignorance, and there's no guarantee that this "'Cuda" won't be sold down the line as an original. I'm having a 383 Challenger redone with a 440, but the VINs and fender tag will remain untouched.
I am stunned that you caught all of that with the cuda / grand cuda .
I too like the owner of the Grand Coupe shell, I would be thrilled even if it were just a tribute build. Unlike today's cars, the cars of the 50's-70's had special meaning and although I didn't appreciate it back then, now I'm in my late 50's, I now understand how special my uncles two Dodge Chargers from '69-'70 were to him. I personally remember the '70 Charger because my then little hand got caught between the B-pillar and the door when it suddenly closed with no warning. While I didn't sustain any permanent damage from the injury, I never did that ever again. Never saw my mom, aunt, and uncle run that fast before in my life. Next, I cannot imagine what it cost for your shop to build that '71 Cuda from ground up but if I were rich, it would be a dream beyond belief to own and drive such an incredible car. I envy the persons who can afford such luxury today because I was around and raised around these cars, I've worked hard my whole life driving semi-trucks yet I cannot afford one.
Is it possible that when a customer bought this car , that the person decided to have them put the vinyl top on at the dealership?
Yes, Disguised as a weaker grand barracuda. So he could win street races & money back in the day
I always preferred the 70 over the 71. The grill and single headlights looked cleaner and didn't have the gegaws on the fenders.
When you say the owner wants to ride it out, is there any legal requirements for you to follow or possible legal ramifications down the line for you and/or the owner?
restoration is based on many factors.these dudes are trying to do a full oem build.what is wrong is the price.simple builds over restoration is the issue.finding parts is another.yes people use older parts to save money.some people don`t have money or a tv show to pay for the repairs.if i built a car it would be a daily driver.not a fancy pos.
It's obvious you passed your Mopar genes to your daughter. She obviously loves all of this 'car' stuff and as she said, "this is fascinating" to me. Good job raising your daughter correctly:)
How do you know he is her gene donor.
And she'd be happier to get a dozen of sockets , instead of roses on Valentines day!
Can someone tell me exactly what the 'fraud of epic proportions' is?
I could imagine the manufacturer painting before assembly as well. This make the car more durable and better finished.
a long time ago I rolled my 70 Challenger T/A .... I still think of her lying in the ditch twisted and bent ... and I cry
So they put old vin numbers on a kit car and called it a restored car?
Or they put those vin carrying panels on a different vehicle that wasn’t as valuable.
It's interesting that Plymouth's advertising department coudn't get the right hand exhaust tip to line up with the body opening at 39:08.
So spot welds are what the industry uses because it is cost effective. Building your own 1:1 Monogram, would something else add to the strength / righty of the unibody?
Everybody else: scandalous clone
Graveyard cars: tribute
Recently heard of a 1971 GTX hemi near me.Apparently it's very bad shape.After seeing this it probably could be restored
My favorite car. Is it for sale?
Great Cuda build! Question: If the only part of the car that's actually original is the roof, how did you title it? Does the roof have numbers? The real question I ask is that I'm considering building a brand new 56 Chevy pickup with all new metal and cab from Premier Street Rod, an aftermarket performance chassis, with an LS engine. I was wondering how much of the truck had to be original to be considered a "restoration" vs a new truck that resembles an original.
How would they know?
I know of a convertible Cuda that was rear ended and another that was hit in the front and they were married together. The cuda is now a hard top with a convertible vin tag and it was not stolen just wrecked and repaired. This car lives in southern Alberta. I personally have not seen it but i know a guy who is aware of it and it came up in a conversation we had about strange things seen. I wish i had more information about it. The grand coup reminds me of this or it was a fraud to up a price when that was coming into itself or was a stolen car that was used to repair a legit one on the cheap. I had a uncle that ran a very large chop shop in Montreal many years ago (60-80's) and seen lots of funny things going on with cars of value. It became a restoration body shop and storage facility. I remember when my cousin his son had his 16th birthday and we went to town and had a fun time and he had a 5 year old about Caddy as his personal car that was supposed to be a wrecked and repaired but was a stolen one with number sections patched in. He never got caught by slipping in stolen ones with legit repairs but when the heat was getting close that is when he became a restored and repair body shop and winter storage only. I never worked for them but was not stupid being family and noticing some things happening too fast for legit repairs of wrecks to rich's. Back then it was possible but now you have a guy come out and wants to examine repairs with photo's and kept garbage part before he signs off on a car or truck. Times have changed.
Had a big local salvage yard in the early 80s that nobody ever expected had a major chopping operation going on, and was considered a reputable business. They got caught when a young kid who was one of the contracted car thieves was caught and outed them. I would have thought they would at least have had middlemen purchasers to break the trace to them. Cops were blown away when they discovered all the numbers on parts from stolen cars there. Times have changed. I was never into that kind of stuff but knew about it from being in the auto business. I knew of 2 tow drivers that were part of the reason for the city starting a program to check yards for titles on everything there. Prior to that time, nobody would check for titles on absolutely thrashed cars in yards. They probably also had something to do with the dual wheel rear axle tow truck requirement, so people couldn't use, buy, or slap together lower dollar trucks to do shady things. Guy got caught when somebody recognized the business name of the truck he was driving, when he stole a junk car to scrap it. Had it have been some low dollar sling boom job with tiny text slapped on it, nobody would have ever noticed who's truck was involved. We knew his boss and he was not thrilled when the police showed up and he learned about what was going on. Story was this car was actually still on the road, although in terrible shape. Guy who took it thought it was a dead vehicle, as it looked so bad he didn't realize it was actually legal, and was parked in an area of the city where you could leave dead cars sit. By the time the police got to the yard where he took it for scrap, they had already chain ripped the powertrain out of it. These guys would steal tow cars that were absolute junk that were not on the road, and get the scrap value. Most people probably thought the city just came and took them, as there technically are ordinances against unregistered junk vehicles that are not garaged in the city. Guy told me one car he was towing had the shot tires come off the rims, and got to the point where he had to hurry up and drop it on a major 4 lane city avenue. Could imagine what the cops thought when they drove past or were called there and saw it. 😆
@@billg7205 lmao. ALOT of these old cars were stolen back then and stripped down. Now I'm seeing some of them pop up on marketplace where I live and ive gotten a couple returned to their owners and the ones trying to sell them were left crying. 🤣🤣
Question: Was the transmission tunnel modified to put the Silver State Automatic in the Hemi Cuda?
I did not like some of your earlier episodes but I think you are getting much better