Meet La Cuchara Roja aka "The Red Spoon"

Lifelong40Fan · Mar 22, 2021

Really cool 45. Looking forward to following along!

MDH33 · Mar 23, 2021

I used to work up around cuchara in the Spanish peaks. Wish I had spotted this old 45! What a beauty.

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 23, 2021

MDH33 said:
I used to work up around cuchara in the Spanish peaks. Wish I had spotted this old 45! What a beauty.

Thanks it’s a great 45 for sure. I was really hoping maybe some mud member had seen this thing when it was bouncing around Cuchara!

MDH33 · Mar 23, 2021

Here's my old 40 in the hills up above Cuchara. Some great old roads in those parts, and a great place to have an old cruiser. Good memories.

77HesterSue · Mar 24, 2021

Great find JP! You have the cruiser karma with the 45 SWB removable tops. Eager to see what you do with this old girl!
My new 45 will be next in line, I hope!

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 24, 2021

Thanks Jennifer! Yes your SWB is my next build for sure... my 4th SWB RT build in a row, I’m definitely living the dream

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 24, 2021

How about a little teaser for tonight...

whitey45 · Mar 24, 2021

Slight increase in horsepower!!! They fit like a glove!!

whitey45 · Mar 24, 2021

Purists just had bad thoughts about you!!!

Customer pays the bills!!

KT40 · Mar 25, 2021

ClemsonCruiser said:
How about a little teaser for tonight...

View attachment 2625387

E-rod? LS3?

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

redfj45can said:
no likes 4 my post curious ....
... I know the reality is hard it`s no walk in the park..View attachment 2626003
ask Warren.

Honestly Red Can all your posts make me feel like I’m reading a Dr. Sues book. I’m not sure anybody knows what to make of you

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

whitey45 said:
Purists just had bad thoughts about you!!! Customer pays the bills!!

Haha yep that post of the new engine earned me my first thumbs down ever on Ih8mud :lol:

I tried to warn the purists with a disclaimer at the beginning of the build thread. I certainly hope I’ve built up enough purist cred with my past builds to survive this one :grinpimp:

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

KT40 said:
E-rod? LS3?

Ken it’s a new crate LS3. We were after the E-rod package to get the CARB certification but after being on back order wait for 2 months we bailed and went the the normal 6.2. Only difference between the two from what I understand is the E-rod comes with manifolds and cats.

Couple more pics, mated to a new H55 and Splitcase via Advanced Adapters bellhousing and flywheel. 430 ponies should get the old 45 moving!

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

For fun since everyone loves new shiny parts here are some pics of what’s going in this old girl.

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

More.

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

Okay so first thing on the list with the engine out was to cut off the stock engine mounts and weld up all the holes on the firewall we’d no longer be using. Also we modified the driverside rib to mimic a later firewall and accommodate a Wilwood booster and master set-up.

ClemsonCruiser · Mar 25, 2021

This 45 being a late ‘64/early ‘65 was optioned without the factory heater. However my client is a big fan of the diagonal fresh intake grills on ‘65 passenger cowls. Luckily I had a rusty LV front cowl carcass rotting away way out back that I could harvest the parts from. So 100 spot welds and lots of angle grinder work later we had successfully added the correct ‘65 heater body pieces. Big thanks to @JackA for hooking me up with a diagonal grill!