A-body help needed for my 65 Barracuda

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dang it man ok well 1st im haapy u didnt go off the side there then we would not be thinking bout ur bcuda .... if ur going to fix her or not is all u have to think bout no i have a car u can throw all ur good parts at if u want it cheap mind u u have been though enough of i have parts for the one u have off the same car the best of luck to u agin no one was hert .. its just a car man .. but urs was one that i really liked i even have a pic of it in my puter lol thats how much i liked her
 
man sorry to see this,,,but glad your ok,,,

just incase you dont know,,64/65 are the same car, some barracuda and valiant parts interchange,,,some one must be watching desert car kings,,,the back glass is not worth any where near 2500.00, i have 3, most barracud guys have at least one extra,, you can find them on E BAY all day long under 300 the hard part is getting them shipped,,,if you need one,,

the rear tail lite lenses are available thru layson reproductions,,as far as i know no one has ever reproduced any full sheet metal panels for these early barracudas,, only lower quarter patch panels,,

cant believe the car wouldnt stop when you said you put it in park,,,,

glad your ok,,,dont let your insurance company make you crush that car,,,and a lesson for all,,make sure you have collector car insurance and that it states AGREED VALUE,,, if you wreck the car or its stolen,,they will spend up to your AGREED VALUE to fix the car or give you all the AGREED VALUE in cash to find another,, and it probably cost less that classic car insurance from a regular car insurance co,,

glad your ok ,,,
 
I wouldn't make any decisions on starting with a new body until you take it too a good frame shop, and don't take the adjusters word on it's fixability either, that car looks worse than it actually is.

My buddy has a 65 that was hit so hard that the rear bumper was literally on top of the rear tire, another buddy who owns a local body shop pulled it out and it came out great, all the door gaps, body lines, floor pans and even the frame rails were all lined up perfectly when he got done, the only problem you will run into is finding a good frame guy that isn't lazy, most just want to do quick fixes and yours will need a good 4-5 hours on the rack give or take, my buddy's only took a little over 4 hours on the rack. A frame guy that knows what he is doing can pull that out, it may be a good idea if you offer to strip everything out of his way though, the complete interior, rear window, gas tank and rear bumper will need to be removed first.

I seriously doubt you will need any body parts since it doesn't seem to have any rust issues, the quarters will pop out once the frame is back where it should be, they will probably need to be dallied in places, but not replaced, the repairs needed after it is pulled will be minor compared to starting with a new body, and clean bodies are not that easy to find, even in the southwest. My uncle lives in Tuscon and it took him years to find me quarters for my car, and even my so called rust free quarters I got from the car we parted ended up needing rust repairs.

I agree with Don about the back window, they are not rare or hard to find, in fact, it is probably the easiest part to find for these cars. Think about it, what is the first part everyone keeps when they part one out? the back window! There is probably 4 windows in the world for every car still on the road, I have 5 or 6 of them myself, I've had them given to me at swap meets by guys that thought they were rare but got tired of dragging them around.
 
I have noticed that the emergency brake is pretty much worthless when the car is going backwards. Even when everything is working well.
 
What a dam shame...You said you had a dual master cylinder but did your brakes hose(s) fail? Any brake fluid on the ground??/
Years ago, on the very next day after I bought my '66 Barracuda my front brakes hoses went. Boy, did I "chitt" the bed! Luckily I was coming to a stop at about 15mph and the e-brake held up. Amazingly, the day before I bought it at a 2001 Carisle Fall Swap Meet and drove it home 150 miles @ 65mph without any problems... I was damn lucky...I drove it for 10 years with the single mast. cyl. and I'm having a dual mast. cyl. installed sat this time for safety purposes (yeah, it took 10yrs for that to sink in...)
Like the other member stated...RESEARCH thoroughly the value of your vehicle. Contrary to what ins. companies are for, reimubrsing people for accidents....they are in the business to make money, not give it out.

On the bright side, you didn't state you were hurt and that's a big plus...especially since you could of sustained permanent back & neck pain.

ZooKypr
 
I hate to say this, but since you were at work you may have trouble collecting from the insurance company if your policy is a classic car policy. Almost all classic car policies have restrictions that don't allow you to drive your car to work or the grocery store and if you do and there is an accident, they will either not pay out or drop you, or both. Grundy, Hagarty, J.C. Taylor all have these restrictions, and State Farm did, at least they did when I had them on my 69 Charger. I would read through your policy before you start negotiating with the adjuster so you don't say something that may hurt your claim.
 
I agree with blownfish i don't think there is any classic car insurance that allows you to drive your car as a daily,i won't even stop at the store with mine i go to shows/cruiseins and gas station on the way and home again.In this economy and as hard as it is to get insurance companys to pay on your daily driver i would never risk it nobody wants to pay out just collect and screw ya if they can.
 
i have GRUNDY and they do now allow you to drive your classic to work,,,but not every day,,they even state that in the commerical on speed channel, grundy seems to be the most forgiving classic insurer,,,
 
Got an estimate to repair the car and provided to my insurance company as well as several comparable vehicles for sale at the level of restoration of my car. The news is mixed.

The Good
State Farm has been awesome and established the value of my car higher than I listed it when I got it insured. This is great news and the car as expected was a great investment. They worked with me to locate comparable vehicles and use the NADA and JD Power Mitchell tools to estimate an independent value. Both were within $1000 of what I found online.

The Bad
I wanted to retain the car and repair but they set the salvage value so high that I would not even break even buying it back and repairing it. This means I will have to let this car go. Since they set the value so high I am hoping they have located classic car groups that will take this car and build it back the way it was.

More good
I have not given up on my Mopar muscle dream it is just delayed. The wife is cool with me getting something again next year once we get through the holidays. Not sure exactly what I'll buy but I will ensure it is mechanically sound and has plenty of muscle under the hood to enjoy. will not be near as pretty as this car was but we'll see what's out there. I found this beautiful vehicle and hopefully will find another that speaks to me like this one did.

Appreciate all the well wishing, advice, and kind words. I am sad to let her go but my emotions can't get in the way of the huge difference in money between the two options presented.
 
buzzkill71 said:
Got an estimate to repair the car and provided to my insurance company as well as several comparable vehicles for sale at the level of restoration of my car. The news is mixed.

The Good
State Farm has been awesome and established the value of my car higher than I listed it when I got it insured. This is great news and the car as expected was a great investment. They worked with me to locate comparable vehicles and use the NADA and JD Power Mitchell tools to estimate an independent value. Both were within $1000 of what I found online.

The Bad
I wanted to retain the car and repair but they set the salvage value so high that I would not even break even buying it back and repairing it. This means I will have to let this car go. Since they set the value so high I am hoping they have located classic car groups that will take this car and build it back the way it was.

More good
I have not given up on my Mopar muscle dream it is just delayed. The wife is cool with me getting something again next year once we get through the holidays. Not sure exactly what I'll buy but I will ensure it is mechanically sound and has plenty of muscle under the hood to enjoy. will not be near as pretty as this car was but we'll see what's out there. I found this beautiful vehicle and hopefully will find another that speaks to me like this one did.

Appreciate all the well wishing, advice, and kind words. I am sad to let her go but my emotions can't get in the way of the huge difference in money between the two options presented.
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I wouldn't worry about buying the car back as long as you get your investment back. It most likely will go to a dealer auction. Then who knows parts or repaired hard to say.
 
caferacerx said:
it will be crushed
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Not that it really matters if the settlement is fair. But why would it be crushed before parting it out. Based on the pictures it looks to have some really nice trim and interior that could fetch some decent money. Here in California all the insurance salvage goes to auction.
 
Maybe it missed the previous owner too much lol ...my Grandpa's VW caught fire the first time my sister drove it after he passed away. Seriously though you broke even at least and there's another great car out there for you.
 
zhandfull said:
Not that it really matters if the settlement is fair. But why would it be crushed before parting it out. Based on the pictures it looks to have some really nice trim and interior that could fetch some decent money. Here in California all the insurance salvage goes to auction.
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with a salvage title it will go straight to a junk yard
if it is a U-pull it yard it will get picked over first then crushed
some junk yards send everything over 10 years old straight to the crusher,
 
seems like a shame to let them take the car,,,ide get a frame/body shop to give you an out of pocket cost to repair it,,ide have to find a way to repair it not let it get scraped
 
Thats awful. When he calls you next time, tell him youy and your car came within 5MPH of falling 5 stories off a parking structure because your brakes failed. I know the feeling..almost. I was driving my friends 63 300 and came up to an intersection..brakes went to the floor, not one but about 10 times! The brakes he worked on were so out of adjustment that they never bit. Its like "first you say it, then you do it....Shiiii! " No one was hurt there either, I pulled it off the road and cut the corner at about 20mph and stayed in the bike lane with cars honking the entire time. single pot too.
 
The insurnace company offered me more than double what I paid for the car to just let it go or I could have lost a few thousand dollars to get it fixed. I had a guy all lined up to fix the car but the numbers were just so ridiculously skewed towards letting it go that I had to listen to my head. My family has been able to get out of ALL debt except a mortgage right before the holidays and I will start saving up cash for another vehicle. If I am wise and patient I can find another awesome car that is a great deal.

I spoke to the guy that picked the car up and he was delivering the 65 Barracuda to some kind of classic car salvage place locally here in Atlanta. It was going to be stored in a warehouse next to a wrecked dodge viper. So that gives me hope that she might see the road again some day. They may part her out or decide that they can fix her and resell and make a profit...who knows.

I have narrowed my list down of possible vehicles I would like to own that will be in my price range:
  1. 66 Dodge charger - really like the looks of these cars and the interior details are wonderful. Very similar to the cuda but a little bigger. I have found several reasonably priced from $8500 to $18000
  2. 67-68 Barracuda - pretty rare and the cost are a little higher but still a neat car. The fastback is my favorite but the notchback is interesing as well. I can get into one of these for $15 to $20k
  3. 74 Cuda - I have found several of these that are not outrageously priced (which suprised me) and that is because after 73 a lot of these cars loose their vintage muscle pedigree but still they look good and you can make them as fast as you want. I am not tied to all original. I have found a few from $15 to $20k
  4. Another 64-66 Barracuda - I have seen several of these but the prices are obviously on the rise. $10k to 20k range there are many to choose from. Still love this car.
  5. The sleeper in the list 65 AMC Rambler Marlin - There is one for sale locally that is original and everything working for $5k. I have found others for $10 ti $15k. These are just cool looking and very different cars. I like different....anyone can own a Mmustang, Camaro, or Chevelle. Big issue with this car becomes keepign it running and finding parts for it. In total over 3 years they only made like 17000 of these so not big numbers out there.
  6. Of course there is what the wife wants me to get....a new(er) Challenger. I really like them but the entry for one that is fun is pretty steep. Used SRT-8 with 60k miles are selling for almost $30k and a new one costs over $40k. I would not get one of these and settle for a V-6 or the small V-8. I either go big or not at all. I know I get all the latest safety features and all but just not the same. To be honest half of the thrill of my Barracuda was going fast and knowing the car was not as safe as current vehicles. I can't picture the new Challenger feeling like that.
  7. Possibly a Dodge Dart Swinger or Plymouth Scamp. Lot of these around and they look ok but just not drawn to them like I am the others in this list.
 
All of the vehicles on your list of possibilities are intriguing to me also as far as different but cool. Good luck in your choice and let us know.
 
Sorry to see it go it was a nice car but you made out great and now you can save up again i personally will never have a new car again [payments] i do like the challengers but i want an r/t, srt8's are not my cup of tea [too expensive]. Your list is intresting early chargers,darts,barracudas are kool the later model cudas/challenger are very popular and the cheaper ones need to be checked out throughly so you don't get burned. If your going to use your next purchase as a daily driver then get a newer car if it's just for weekends then find a classic, these old cars are pieces of history they are not supposed to be used as daily drivers [at least the low production/big cubic inch cars] i love my cuda but not as a daily driver. I would use a early dart/valient 2 or 4 door slanty as a daily driver as long as i had air conditioning. Good luck with finding you next ride.
 
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