65 Barracuda question

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Pyrxtc

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My husband and I are restoring one we bought last May. Bought it without knowing anything about Barracudas so we are learning as we go. We are having a hard time determining what version it is. It was born in April of 1965 in St Louis. It has a V8 engine with a 4 barrel carburetor, mopar disc brakes, mopar power steering, AC and heat, a 5*4.5 bolt pattern on the wheels and dual exhaust. There is no commando or Formula S badging, just a V8 on the side. The interior name badge has the long tail a but the exterior is short. The front seats have a headrest so I know they were replaced. The drivers side is a power seat. The shifter was changed out, unfortunately, into a bnm quick silver bang shift with reverse lock out.

is it just a stock car? Is it a Commando that I should be looking for badging for ? A Formula S?

Videos in the link

1965 Barracuda - Google Drive

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well, it had a tach so "S" is possible...but no 2 under the C so no "S".....ABC/312 would be a 273/4 "S"...Auto car with A/C...AM radio...Front buckets...dont know what X/C is...DD4WD= light metallic blue with a white stripe (!) and medium blue interior....and some killer wheels! (really, they are K/H recall styled wheels)
Mopar "Recall Wheels" - These New Wheels Look Pretty Close...
 
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Those wheels I had no idea about “recall wheels” I saw them and I knew I wanted them after at least 3-4 months of looking for the right ones. I bought them at Discount Tire. Briefly thought about smoothies but quickly changed my mind when I saw them on the car and returned them.

We will be repainting it and adding back the stripe in the fall. Debating a silver stripe since the interior vinyl was redone with a silver stripe on door panels and seats.

still looking for the tach. The 4bb was only on the Commando right? And you could get the Commando without the S? Still a lot of learning to do. But, I have hit 75mph on the highway and it drives beautifully but a little scary as we haven’t added seatbelts yet. The link has a video of the engine. I have seen another compartment quite so full...

pishta said:
well, it had a tach so "S" is possible...but no 2 under the C so no S.....ABC/312 would be a 273/4 "S"...Auto car with A/C...AM radio...Front buckets...dont know what X/C is...DD4WD= light metallic blue with a white stripe (!) and medium blue interior....and some killer wheels! (really, they are K/H recall styled wheels)
Mopar "Recall Wheels" - These New Wheels Look Pretty Close...
Click to expand...
 
Tach could have been added. In 1965 is was only available on the "S", but any dealer could have added it. The hole looks factory. Dash could also have been swapped out. A lot of 273 2 barrel cars got a four barrel throughout the years. If the wheels are 5 x 4.5" pattern, the brakes have been changed. Disc brakes were available in 1965, but started as a dealer option and were factory installed at some point during the model year. Very uncommon, even on a '65 "S".
 
Look for the exhaust cutout in the rear valance, big square would have been the Commando.
Short tail is a 65 Emblem.
I like the wheels.
To me it looks like a 65 273-2 barrel car.
 
Your car originally was a 2 barrel V8 with a 904 floor shift transmission. The color was medium blue with medium blue vinyl interior. The tach, 4 barrel, and valve covers were added. Tires were 670/13. No stripe. Left side mirror and padded dash. Look for a build sheet under the rear seat which would show the other accessories. The Commando emblem would be below the trunk lid near the right taillight.
 
As mentioned, it's not a Formula S or Commando car, so, there wouldn't have been any emblems indicating so.
 
The Commando emblem you posted is 66-67. Fender mount.
Your 65 had these V8 emblems and if it had been a Commando it would have had the bottom emblem. Nice car, good luck with your efforts.
Engine 64 V8.jpg
Engine 273 Commando 2.jpg
 
nice car- good buy. do you envision making it a good driver with all the upgrades it has or more of a stock performance/good driver? Accurate exhaust makes a very nice Commando 273 exhaust system for these cars which has a unique resonator /unique sound. Resonator stainless exhaust tip exits through a cut out in the rear valence which only the 273 commando engined barracudas had. Good luck with your Barracuda!
 
273commando said:
nice car- good buy. do you envision making it a good driver with all the upgrades it has or more of a stock performance/good driver? Accurate exhaust makes a very nice Commando 273 exhaust system for these cars which has a unique resonator /unique sound. Resonator stainless exhaust tip exits through a cut out in the rear valence which only the 273 commando engined barracudas had. Good luck with your Barracuda!
Click to expand...

I want it to be a good driver and keep all the upgrades. They look like original upgrades so why take them out. I love the way it drives and sounds. We just want to give it the ability to be a daily if not fun driver. I don’t want it to be put on a shelf for special days only. It’s too much fun and much too nice looking.
 
The original tire size would have been 650/13. Even Commando 273's got 13 inch wheels when ordered without the Formula S package, even if they also had the rally suspension option.

I'm pretty sure that some stripes were dealer installed (or, more accurately, dealer painted, since the stripe was not a decal). If I'm right, this car could have had a stripe when first sold, even if it's not on the fender tag or build sheet.

One of the biggest clues that this Barracuda did not originally have a Commando 273 is that there is no rectangular cutout at the lower left side of the rear valence for the Commando 273's cowbell resonator.

Finally, I would note that the rocker trim on this Barracuda is from a 66 Barracuda. The 65 trim is narrower, and does not extend to the bottom of the rocker. For this reason, the wheel opening moldings 64-65 are different than 66, as the 66 moldings have a larger cutout for the rocker trim than 64-5.
 
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