65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
I chose the heavy duty ones, because I sometimes haul heavy music equipment in the back. But I believe it also gives you better handling.
65 Barracuda daily driver
- Thread starter 65barracudaLA
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I chose the heavy duty ones, because I sometimes haul heavy music equipment in the back. But I believe it also gives you better handling.
dibbons
Well-Known Member
I had to adapt some aftermarket bushings to the sway bar on my '65 Formula S. See post #7 in the following thread for some fotos:
where to buy factory sway bar bushings?
where to buy factory sway bar bushings?
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
So I started cleaning up my "new" 7 1/4" sure grip and found factory orange, green and yellow paint markings, which I always find interesting. Not sure what they mean and since it's not a show car, I just ended up painting it semigloss black.
It's kinda fun to pull in the studs with the impact gun
All new studs all around! Once this rear end goes under the car it will finally only have right hand thread studs. I understand, if people want to keep their cars original, but left hand thread is just not practical. When I first bought the car almost 10 years ago, I broke off one of the studs, because I had never heard of left hand thread. Now I know, but even though I do most of the work myself, if I drop the car off at a shop for an alignment, I don't feel like explaining what left hand thread is.
It's kinda fun to pull in the studs with the impact gun
All new studs all around! Once this rear end goes under the car it will finally only have right hand thread studs. I understand, if people want to keep their cars original, but left hand thread is just not practical. When I first bought the car almost 10 years ago, I broke off one of the studs, because I had never heard of left hand thread. Now I know, but even though I do most of the work myself, if I drop the car off at a shop for an alignment, I don't feel like explaining what left hand thread is.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
I was just looking online for some information on the factory paint marks and apparently the orange paint indicates a sure grip or more specifically it tells the assembly line to add the sure grip additive. I love to discover this kind of information!
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
The front tires had almost no tread left and looked kinda goofy, so I put the fairly new tires (205/70R14) that were on the car before on the Cragars. Much better.
New:
Old:
Suddenly the 14s don't look so tiny anymore. I will most likely change the rear tires as well because they are dry rotted and ballooning. I'm still trying to find another set of 15s, but now I'm in no hurry. This weekend I will swap out the one-legger rear for the sure grip. Should be easy enough, even though I'm doing all new brake shoes and drums. At least I have done all of that before... I'll keep you posted.
New:
Old:
Suddenly the 14s don't look so tiny anymore. I will most likely change the rear tires as well because they are dry rotted and ballooning. I'm still trying to find another set of 15s, but now I'm in no hurry. This weekend I will swap out the one-legger rear for the sure grip. Should be easy enough, even though I'm doing all new brake shoes and drums. At least I have done all of that before... I'll keep you posted.
Rustyfish
Member
I'm sure I missed it, but have been following your thread. What size tires are you currently running out back? I've got 215 70 14's currently but going to go a little wider on the rear for the staggered look.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
The rears are 235/60R15, but they are too wide for the rim (I believe they are 15x6). I think I'm gonna go with a 225/65R15 or 215/65R15. The 15s I currently have on there have a overall diameter of 26.1" and 65R15s would be 26.0", so not that different. The 205/70R14 are 25.4" tall, so pretty close. Also, I personally would not really go wider than 205 for the front, because I don't have power steering and it's a pretty good workout to parallel park as it is. Remember, this is a big city fish...
Rustyfish
Member
I was thinking of going back to 205's up front, but more for look and fit. I have power steering so no problem.
clifftt
Well-Known Member
Is that an Ultra-man avatar? My younger brothers went ape **** over him back in the day!
Rustyfish
Member
Yep, one of my earliest favorite shows as a kid. Long time ago.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
So, yesterday I started putting the sure grip under the car. The sure grip already had 10" backing plates, so I put some new shoes and drums on them. I could not find a set of new hardware that would have matched what I have here, so I just reused the ones that were on the old one. Which was a bummer, because when I took off the drums, it was disgusting. I hadn't taken off the drums in years. Also, note the mud that is still under the car from throwing it around in the desert last summer. Part of why I changed the rear end is that the old bearings were going out and the seals were leaky, so gear oil was dripping out of the axle tubes. Which made the rear brakes kinda useless. The car still stopped fine with the Kelsey Hayes disc brakes in the front. Oh, and the old drums didn't even match. One was a bell and the other a regular one. Now they are brand new and the same. What almost took the longest was to get the parking brake cables out. Found the info here on fabo of course. Using a small hose clamp works pretty well. And then putting the brakes together again took a while. Especially cleaning all these disgustingly greasy parts. Have I mentioned I hate working on drum brakes? You constantly feel like you need a third hand. I should have just bought a six pack and called a friend to help while drinking beer. Also, finally all right hand thread on all 4 corners! I still have to bleed the brakes, which I will do right after posting this...
Not super pretty, but good enough...
Not super pretty, but good enough...
Your Barracuda thanks you!!!
Rustyfish
Member
Not sure I could handle all the maintenance needed for a daily especially here in the midwest. You are an inspiration.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
This is not what I wanted to see or how I wanted to spend my Sunday...
The old one didn't want to come out. It took a good amount of time to destroy it enough to somehow get it out
Luckily I had a seal and the foam gaskets already and I got it in relatively easy
The axle had come out by simply pulling on it with my hands. I did not want to damage the new seal, though, so I put an old drum on it backwards to guide it in and also used a jack stand (which is hard to see). I really hope the seal is okay now.
I also fixed another problem, but that is too embarrassing to tell. Time to take a shower and go for a test drive.
The old one didn't want to come out. It took a good amount of time to destroy it enough to somehow get it out
Luckily I had a seal and the foam gaskets already and I got it in relatively easy
The axle had come out by simply pulling on it with my hands. I did not want to damage the new seal, though, so I put an old drum on it backwards to guide it in and also used a jack stand (which is hard to see). I really hope the seal is okay now.
I also fixed another problem, but that is too embarrassing to tell. Time to take a shower and go for a test drive.
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65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
Thanks! What I'm doing is not necessarily smart or practical, haha. But I truly love this car and just really want to drive it every chance I get. This is California, though, so the weather makes a lot of things easier. Also, I work from home, but when I still worked at an office, I drove this car as well. I wish I had a garage, though, but that is just pure luxury in L.A.. You just really have to want it. Where there's a will, there is a way... Haha, I rode my bike to the parts store today to buy a one-man-brake-bleeder (the second one within a year) and a torque wrench. The old torque wrench gave up, after all these years. In August I will have this car for ten years. So things that I fixed a long time ago need fixing again. Like the rear brakes, haha. As I mentioned I hadn't taken off the drums in a very long time. I knew the axles were leaking, but it didn't seem like a pressing issue. I drove thousands of miles all over California this summer and I still plan to drive up to Vancouver this year to see some relatives in this car. At this point it kinda is a challenge, how far I can go. I also have a number of friends in Austin, TX (24 hour drive) and one day I want to drive to New York maybe?! I was born in Chicago, so that would be a great destination, too! Bring it on!
Anyways, this car is getting very close to be really good. I kept the look pretty original, but everything else is as modern as I could go. Electronic ignition, disc brakes, dual master cylinder (!), completely rebuilt heavy duty suspension, etc. I still need to finish the a/c install including the radiator and at some point I want to pull the engine and have the transmission rebuilt, paint the engine and engine compartment and finally seal the oil pan, which is still leaking like crazy. The list is getting shorter now.
Commando66
She's a beaut Clark!
Great work on a very deserving car. It looks really good. If you make that trip to Vancouver, look me up in Washington.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
Thank you @Commando66 - I will stop by on the way for sure! I just looked at the pictures of your car and it looks fantastic!
Anyways, I just got back from the test drive and there might still be some air in the brake lines, but overall it's great! There's no more noise from the bearings, which was significant. It's so quiet now!
I am in North Carolina, but part of my bucket list is finishing my 65 formula s. Then driving to Chicago and taking rt 66 heading to California. My wife says wishful thinking, but it's a dream for me. I would really like to see if the place I lived in marina del Rey still exist. After that pick up interstate 40 and head back home.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
@Tadams Just keep working and finish your Barracuda! Everything else will come together with time. The Route 66 trip sounds great - you should do it!
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
I had already read that the wheel cylinders in the rear were most likely going to lock up the brakes in combination with the discs up front, but when I swapped out the rear end I couldn't get the right cylinders with the smaller bore in time. So I've been driving like this and it is actually quite dangerous, because the brakes lock up quite easily. Luckily I was able to swap them out without taking all of the brakes apart. I also took the dash cluster, because the fuel and temp gauge and some of the dash lights had a short. And I lubricated the speedo, because the needles is a bit bouncy sometimes. I just remembered this moment that I haven't reconnected the speedo cable. I should write a note to not forget... I wanted to get it done quickly, so I forgot to take more photos.
I also finally put the front bumper back on. It's not very straight and the chrome is bad, but I'm not willing to shell out 600 bucks for a new one. After this photo was taken I realized that the side of the bumper was pointing down somehow, but I was able to bend it up a bit. Still need to take another photo.
I also finally put the front bumper back on. It's not very straight and the chrome is bad, but I'm not willing to shell out 600 bucks for a new one. After this photo was taken I realized that the side of the bumper was pointing down somehow, but I was able to bend it up a bit. Still need to take another photo.
Your car looks absolutely beautiful. I friend on Facebook has a set of crater wheels with almost new tires for 600. Very tempting, but I think I'm going to stay with the stock formula s hubcaps. I really like the way the craters look though.
When I first picked up my first Barracuda I had thought about old school chrome reverse wheels with baby moons. Keep up the good work on yours.
I'm replacing the torsion bars and rebuilding the lower control arms this week. Been cold and raining for the last week which has kept me out of the garage.
Have an awesome day.
When I first picked up my first Barracuda I had thought about old school chrome reverse wheels with baby moons. Keep up the good work on yours.
I'm replacing the torsion bars and rebuilding the lower control arms this week. Been cold and raining for the last week which has kept me out of the garage.
Have an awesome day.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
The rear tires that came with the Cragars were a bit dry-rotted and so I got some Cooper CS3 215/65R15 and had them installed. They're a little smaller than the 235/60R15, but I feel like they give the car a more balanced look.
65barracudaLA
Well-Known Member
So I finally tackled installing my new Champion aluminum 3-row radiator. So, I initially ordered one for a '65, but it ended up being about an inch to wide. So I ordered one for a '64, which is not wide enough for the opening of a '65 and had to custom make my own bracket out of 1/8" aluminum. I used an original '65 slant 6 radiator as a template. I ended up not using the original bolt locations except for one, so I could have simplified this quite a bit, but where's the fun in doing that...
I guess I went a bit too far with making this rock solid, but I'm sure that won't hurt. I was just afraid that the fan (which is super close) would destroy the fins, if it flexed too much. I also hammered the radiator core support quite a bit to get a bit more space between the fan and the radiator. Not pretty, but nobody is gonna see that...
I already had a new lower radiator hose, but I noticed the upper one was too short (I guess the other radiator had a wider upper tank). Also the hose clamp was broken, so I drove over to the parts store basically just with the short hose barely holding on. The parts store is only about a mile from where I live, so I thought I might make it there before the thermostat even opened. Well, a bit of coolant came out, but not a lot.
Next I will have to fit the A/C condenser in there somehow... Summer is around the corner! The new radiator is part of making the final A/C install possible.
I still have to paint the visible portions of the radiator black. I wish I had done that right away, but I'm sure I'll have to take off the grille and valance to install the condenser anyways.
Back on the road!
I guess I went a bit too far with making this rock solid, but I'm sure that won't hurt. I was just afraid that the fan (which is super close) would destroy the fins, if it flexed too much. I also hammered the radiator core support quite a bit to get a bit more space between the fan and the radiator. Not pretty, but nobody is gonna see that...
I already had a new lower radiator hose, but I noticed the upper one was too short (I guess the other radiator had a wider upper tank). Also the hose clamp was broken, so I drove over to the parts store basically just with the short hose barely holding on. The parts store is only about a mile from where I live, so I thought I might make it there before the thermostat even opened. Well, a bit of coolant came out, but not a lot.
Next I will have to fit the A/C condenser in there somehow... Summer is around the corner! The new radiator is part of making the final A/C install possible.
I still have to paint the visible portions of the radiator black. I wish I had done that right away, but I'm sure I'll have to take off the grille and valance to install the condenser anyways.
Back on the road!
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