Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
- Not sure why I'm feeling so burnt out today. I got off to a late start and have been piddling since.
I'd cut some 1/2" steel plates to weld on top of the pipe being used for front engine mounts. After grinding the new plate edges smooth I marked the tubing on the chassis where it needed to be cut off. A cut-off wheel made quick work of the tubes. Next I fit the plates above the tubing and marked where I needed to drill & tap. My plan was to bolt the plates in place before doing any welding.
Everything was going OK until it came time to tap the holes. When I struggled with the first tap I swapped it out for another one I had. I made it half way through the first hole when my tap handle broke. Dang! I was using WD-40 as a cutting fluid but it didn't seem to help. I know the taps have been used a number of times. Maybe they're no longer sharp enough. The tap handle was from Harbor Freight so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised it was suicidal.
The needle on the circular wall thermometer only shows 85' today but I've had sweat pouring off me. Maybe it's on it's second time around. I'm still hoping on making more progress but I had to take a break from the frustration. I've got a second tap handle here but it's smaller. I might be stuck until I make a parts store run tomorrow. I've been tempted to cheat by enlarging the holes a bit but I don't really want to lose any holding strength when the motor's bolted down.