65 Barracuda daily driver

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I've been working a lot lately and haven't had a chance to do much on the Barracuda. But I managed to swap out the transmission mount. I had never really checked it out, but the shakes a bit a higher speeds and since the suspension is all rebuilt I figured it could be the trans mount. The old mount was actually in a better condition than I thought, but it was only attached with one bolt to the transmission. I'm sure that's not good. I already ordered two new ones. Anyways, while I had the crossmember out, I cleaned off the 1/4" of grime and painted it.

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Hey, good to hear from you, watching the weather for your area. Hope you are safe from the heavy rains. I guess the L.A. River will be full.
 
@Tadams, Thanks, at least here in Echo Park the storm wasn't that bad. It blew the cover partially off the Barracuda. Certainly not the strongest storm in 6 years. I haven't seen the L.A. river yet.

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That is good news. I have heard from some other areas that were really bad. Stay safe.
 
I had to go to Malibu for work this morning, so I took the opportunity to test the new suspension on Mulholland... I'm very happy with the suspension, but the drum brakes got a little hot and weak. Time to install the Kelsey Hayes disc brakes that I have laying around! Well, they're not really "laying around", I have the spindles and hubs, but I need new rotors, master cylinder, calipers (at least I have some cores), wheel bearings, ball joints, hoses etc. As far as I know you don't necessarily need the dust shields, right?

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That is a beautiful Barracuda. You've done a nice job fixing it up. The disc brakes will make a big difference! The car only needs one other thing......a set of small bolt pattern Cragars! I'm 3000 miles away.....and I can hear it screaming for mag wheels, LOL. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks! I actually really like the wheel covers, but to be honest at some point I want to put 15" Cragar S/S on the car. I haven't found any affordable used ones yet and before I buy them new, I need to spend money on the disc brakes and I also want to install A/C. I'm also still on the fence whether I want to swap in a V8 to replace the slant 6. On the other hand, the slant runs really well and with Super 6 has a decent amount of power and great gas mileage (it's my daily driver). So, yeah, at some point I want to get Cragars, but I'm afraid not anytime soon.

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Please don't put Cragars on that. They're so cheesy and over used. Wheel covers look good as is.
 
Haha, everyone has different preferences. I like the wheel covers a lot and like I mentioned there are a lot of other things like A/C, disc brakes, exhaust etc. that I will need to tackle before I can think about new wheels and tires. It's the same with the slant 6. I always wanted a V8 car and this one originally was a V8 car, but when I bought it had a later model (hydraulic lifter) slant 6 with a super six setup. This engine runs really well and being a daily driver it has the right combination of power and gas mileage. I kind of decided to keep the slant until it blows up, which might never happen, because they appear to be bullet proof. I've had the car for about 8 years and I love driving it as is.
 
65barracudaLA said:
Haha, everyone has different preferences. I like the wheel covers a lot and like I mentioned there are a lot of other things like A/C, disc brakes, exhaust etc. that I will need to tackle before I can think about new wheels and tires. It's the same with the slant 6. I always wanted a V8 car and this one originally was a V8 car, but when I bought it had a later model (hydraulic lifter) slant 6 with a super six setup. This engine runs really well and being a daily driver it has the right combination of power and gas mileage. I kind of decided to keep the slant until it blows up, which might never happen, because they appear to be bullet proof. I've had the car for about 8 years and I love driving it as is.
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So, what's your take on daily driving it in LA? Does it every get annoying/difficult? Maintenance seem bothersome?
 
I have had the car for almost 8 years now and for the most part it wasn't too bad. Of course, when your radiator hose blows on the way to a meeting and you walk two miles to a parts store and then two miles back carrying a new hose AND coolant, you might get discouraged... But by now I replaced literally everything, so it's pretty reliable. Also, now I work from home and I rarely have to go somewhere work related, so that helps. A/C would be nice, though. It's on the list... Today I actually drove 300+ miles and didn't really have any issues other than minor overheating on those long grades. But slowing down and turning on the heat helps with that. I guess I simply got used to it. You either love it or you don't...

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No work done on the Barracuda lately, but another road trip to Joshua Tree. Haha, I should finally fix the speedometer. I've been using the Speed Box app instead of a speedometer. It did get the job done, but then my phone died...

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That is actually a really nice paint job for what you paid.
 
Haha, it looks great in pictures... But if you look closer, it's doesn't. I still think some color sanding will help, but I've never done that before. Any recommendations for materials/ techniques?
 
Is the paint single stage or base coat clear coat
base coat clear coat is designed to be color sanded and polished, but I don't believe single stage is. At least the paint I'm going to use said to not sand the single stage
 
The paint I am using says not to color sand
you might check with the place where you had it painted though
 
I paid that paint shop to color sand the car. That didn't really help very much. Most disappointing and awful people. I want to try it myself and I'm looking for some recommendations what sandpaper, blocks and polish I should use. I'm going to start with the hood and if I fail, I will just repaint it myself.
 
Tip: If you have an iPhone 5s or similar, get one of these silicone cases and it will fit perfectly between the knobs of your radio!
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Also, when my speedometer cable snapped, I installed the Speed Box app on my phone, which works pretty well.
 
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I still don't have much time to work on the car, but I went and got a brand new 2.25" exhaust front to back with Magnaflow muffler. I also finally rebuilt one of the Carter BBD carburetors that I have laying around. First time I ever rebuild a carburetor and it started right up! The Barracuda runs great now!

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I finally got the an aftermarket A/C that I will hopefully get to install soon. But I also got tired of the dirty partially white engine compartment, so I finally painted it red. Not easy with the engine in the car and it definitely not a perfect result, but better than before. Now I can install the A/C in a somewhat clean engine compartment.

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