66 fish

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Fred Fisch

Fred Fisch

FischFace66
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
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Location
Falls Church, VA
It has been too long since I reached out on A-Bodies. Hi folks.
My poor old Barracuda needs some attention. I have had her driving around Centreville, VA a couple times this winter, but I am itchin' for a nice show here in northern VA. She is a quite original sweetheart.
Delivered on June 9, 1966 in Columbus, Montana, the car was a honeymoon vehicle and immediately driven to San Jose, CA by the original owner, Mr. Ray Koski. My older brother, Jim Fisch purchased the A-body Barracuda in 1973. Having arleady been through many adventures in it with Jim, I finally bought the vehicle in 1978, drove her from Oakland, California to a new life chapter in Colorado-- and I have never let her go!
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As an everyday driver for many years, she has now racked-up over 290,000 miles through the roads and sometimes the off-roads, of America and Canada.
"Retired" and limited to auto shows, dinner outings and other special events since 1998, the Barracuda now basks in her private garage in Clifton, Virginia. She is treated with the respect that has been earned over a lifetime of fun driving and sometimes dangerous and life-changing events.
This car has had multiple sojourns across the western US as far east as Missouri, via old US Highway 50 through California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Then the Barracuda went north for three years in the early '80s to Montana (her place of origin), North Dakota, Wyoming and into Saskatchewan through the northern US "port" of Scobey, Montana. In this extreme winter climate, the Barracuda was outfitted with special "Conoco Polar Start" gear lube for the 4-speed trans and rear end and an engine block heater to plug-in the night before-- no vehicle will start at 40 below zero without it. (see next)
 
The Barracuda has delivered seriously injured people to the emergency room, towed other vehicles when the rear hitch was attached for many years, crossed the highest mountain passes in Colorado, Wyoming, and California with heavy rear tire chains attached, and crossed the extreme deserts of SoCal, Arizona and New Mexico. In 1983, I dropped the drive shaft onto the bridge that spans the Missouri River at Williston, North Dakota and had to retrieve it. The Barracuda was then used to pull a large hot dog stand for a couple of years in Denver. I have been stuck in the sand, snow and mud in at least ten states and provinces. I have folded down the rear seat and dropped the inside trunk wall flat, where a six foot+-tall man can rack out. Sleeping under that big, beautiful back window looking up at an unbelievable firmament of the Milky Way out in the middle of nowhere-- that is the kind of nowhere I like to be.
The Barracuda has only been painted once and there has never been any serious damage or rust to the body. I have the original Owner's Manual and the original, matching "Chrysler Corporation Car Production Broadcast", aka the "Build Sheet." The Barracuda also still has the 1966 Chrysler metal "Certicard" attached (the original owner's name & address was stuck on it with a plastic label maker). That was the clue I used to find Mr. Koski in Livermore, California in 2012. He is now a retired school teacher. Ray still loves cars, especially racers and was amazed when I wrote to him. He then sent me a June 1966 photo of him and his new bride when the Barracuda was two days old, the massive back window pasted in white with "JUST MARRIED."
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Awesome posts!! I'd love to see pics of the car, especially the one from 66!! There's a lotta room to write on that back window!!! :)
 
Great pics!! It didn't lose itself on me to use that 66 pic of the front end to see that the center grille is not body color, but black! I thought long and hard about what color to paint mine and finally went with flatted black!! Looks like I guessed right??? Thanks for sharing!!

Incidentally, the Challenger in my photo pics is my brothers, and the race was much ballyhooed in the ranks!! Of course he spun it hard on the line running a four speed, but it didn't give me enough of a head start to combat his 440 power and I lost!! They were telling me in the pits that my time had to be recorded by a calendar!!! Ha ha ha!!! Geof
 
Thx cosgig. When I converted to the red paint, I switched the center grill over to red as well. But that picture in Pleasanton was when the Barracuda was about 7 years old. FischFace
 
What a great story and a great history as well. Love these kind of things! Subscribed.
 
very cool. we all own our own stretch of "Memory Lane". and no one can take that from us, but it gives us pleasure in re-living it when we share it
 
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