Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
Today I was finally able to get some vehicles moved around. The dually couldn't get traction and I had to pull it off the icy patch that it was parked on. I moved the trailer to a spot that didn't have ruts in front of it. I towed the 'Lil Red back onto the street and called a few buddies to help push it into the garage. For the time being, I had to park the Roadrunner out back again.
Time to install some wood! The expensive stainless steel fasteners that came with the kit are composed of several pieces. The outside carriage heads are actually the nuts.
There are nylon washers that space the wood away from the sheet metal sides of the box. These trucks did not have these spacers when they came from the factory and moisture would get trapped between the wood and the sheet metal causing rust and wood rot. Installing these is a nice touch.
The stainless phillips head bolts are similar to the factory design but not exactly the same. There are also small diameter stainless steel washers that help to keep the bolts from gouging into the paint.
One of the first steps I had to do was to ream out the pre-drilled holes in the wood. The holes were made small so that the knurled nuts don't spin when you bolt everything together but they were so undersized that I was afraid that the wood would split when I forced them in. I ran the drill backwards so that it was less likely to catch and split the wood.
I pressed the carriage head nuts into the wood with a vice. I didn't want to risk damage by hammering them in.
I used weatherstrip adhesive to hold the nylon washers to the wood after struggling to get them between the wood and the box sides without dropping them.
I'd forgotten why I hadn't taken the wood back off after I'd originally tried to test fit it. Five of the holes didn't line up correctly and I wasn't able to drill the wood without screwing up it's ability to hold those carriage head nuts. I should be able to get by with enlarging the holes in the box and still have the bolt head/washers cover the holes.
I had never counted the fasteners when I bought the kit. I am short 1 bolt and 22 of those nylon washers. I will have to contact the company and see if they'll send some out. I purchased everything back in May 2012.
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Today I was finally able to get some vehicles moved around. The dually couldn't get traction and I had to pull it off the icy patch that it was parked on. I moved the trailer to a spot that didn't have ruts in front of it. I towed the 'Lil Red back onto the street and called a few buddies to help push it into the garage. For the time being, I had to park the Roadrunner out back again.
Time to install some wood! The expensive stainless steel fasteners that came with the kit are composed of several pieces. The outside carriage heads are actually the nuts.
There are nylon washers that space the wood away from the sheet metal sides of the box. These trucks did not have these spacers when they came from the factory and moisture would get trapped between the wood and the sheet metal causing rust and wood rot. Installing these is a nice touch.
The stainless phillips head bolts are similar to the factory design but not exactly the same. There are also small diameter stainless steel washers that help to keep the bolts from gouging into the paint.
One of the first steps I had to do was to ream out the pre-drilled holes in the wood. The holes were made small so that the knurled nuts don't spin when you bolt everything together but they were so undersized that I was afraid that the wood would split when I forced them in. I ran the drill backwards so that it was less likely to catch and split the wood.
I pressed the carriage head nuts into the wood with a vice. I didn't want to risk damage by hammering them in.
I used weatherstrip adhesive to hold the nylon washers to the wood after struggling to get them between the wood and the box sides without dropping them.
I'd forgotten why I hadn't taken the wood back off after I'd originally tried to test fit it. Five of the holes didn't line up correctly and I wasn't able to drill the wood without screwing up it's ability to hold those carriage head nuts. I should be able to get by with enlarging the holes in the box and still have the bolt head/washers cover the holes.
I had never counted the fasteners when I bought the kit. I am short 1 bolt and 22 of those nylon washers. I will have to contact the company and see if they'll send some out. I purchased everything back in May 2012.
View attachment IMG_4534.jpg
View attachment IMG_4535.jpg
View attachment IMG_4539.jpg
View attachment IMG_4540.jpg
View attachment IMG_4538.jpg
View attachment IMG_4541.jpg
View attachment IMG_4549.jpg
View attachment IMG_4544.jpg
View attachment IMG_4548.jpg
View attachment IMG_4547.jpg