Well it's been a long long road so far and I still have a ton more to do. A little backstory on the car:

Car was bought used at Bill Breck here in Tucson by my uncle in '76. It's a factory 400 2bbl and sunroof car. Over the years the condition has dwindled, especially sitting in our backyard for about 16 years. The original motor is long gone as one of the motor mount ears busted off of the block. A '76 400 was quickly put into place and was still driven by my father in the 80's. Fast forward to about 2001 or so, I take interest in the car. Was taken to a local shop to get road worthy a few years after so I could drive it when I was 16. Motor was tired as all get out so I pulled it out when I was a senior in high school, got it rebuilt and didn't finish it until last year sometime. Motor was rebuilt .030" over, 10.05:1 KB pistons, 525 lift cam, aluminum heads, a TCI Streetfighter 727 (which I acquired for $50, brand new) and a 3000 stall converter. The only thing lacking was the rear end. I ended up finding a '73 8 3/4" from a Charger Rallye. Still waiting on a Sure-Grip center section, but the 2.94 open will just make due for now.

I am extremely proud of the work I've done on the car at such a young age (21 years old) and I hope I can continue loving this "ugly car" as others like to call it. There's so much more to do, but it'll get there. One day...

PICTURES (Not many at the beginning, but more pictures have been taken lately)

The start


When I was about 16


I got to duplicate a picture my father took of the car.



Before the motor was pulled


After pulled motor (Ugly engine bay)




New motor



After new motor and exhaust






Swapped in an 8 3/4" in September

Finished up the work on the rear a couple of weeks later (Oct 2009)








Paul

Got the the car back on the ground just to see how it would sit.









These pictures are from the shop I work at when I was trying to get the car running well. At this point it was popping out of the carb, etc. NIGHTMARE. Soon it was fixed (Next update)
Couple of pictures:



Paul

The past couple of months I've been working on the car more. Bought a '72 rear bumper and tailights to get rid of the filler strip. This past weekend, I installed my MSD ignition with Pro-Billet distributor and the car runs fantastic now! Got some better condition front seats. Finally bit the bullet because I was sick of looking at the empty space in the wheel wells. Got some new 15x8 Magnum 500's with 275/60-15's. Tires were only $40 each at Firestone! The 15x7 wheels and the matching front tires should be in later this week or early next week. Changed the whole look of the car, I think. Next update will include new front wheels and tires.

Paul

Great story! Keep the updates coming!

Looks great!! I drove my pea green "ugly" 72 charger in high school

Gave the car a bath today. Got the new front wheels and tires as well. I think the car looks awesome and I'm having a blast now that it is decently reliable.

Paul

Fascinating Story! Keep up the great work...

________________________________________

Cuda blog

Been quite busy with school and work lately. I have made some progress on the car. I primered the top finally, a lot better than the bare metal and surface rust it used to be. Also, put the emblems on the car and a '71 front bumper and grilles. I think it adds a bit more to the car. Ended up running over a curb that I did not see and it peeled a piece of the K-frame up, however I'm working on getting that fixed. I got a new K-frame from a junkyard, was lucky to find a BB frame. Included are pictures of the new one getting the welds beefed up. It's currently getting powder coated. Next step is a front end rebuild when I've got money. Also at the powder coat shop are the brackets and everything for my CalTracs that is getting put on the car. Slowly but surely...

Paul

Great story Paul and the car is looking really good. The wheels and tires made a WORLD of difference. Engine looks great too. Keep plugging away at it. Your making some great progress. Keep the pics coming too.

Joe

BTW, Back in the day we used to yank the dealer emblems on the rear of the car. But, now they are hard to come by and pretty cool. With the history you have, I'd leave it on there.