Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

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Well John it's been a little over 9 months since we originally talked about that 'Cuda I bought. It's been sitting in my garage. I'm just now starting to get motivated on her. So I think I will be starting a thread.
There was a time I thought I might never get to it! I hope things are going well for you today.
 
Well John it's been a little over 9 months since we originally talked about that 'Cuda I bought. It's been sitting in my garage. I'm just now starting to get motivated on her. So I think I will be starting a thread.
There was a time I thought I might never get to it! I hope things are going well for you today.

Here is some motivation from another Tampa guy, mines up and roaming the streets finally.
 

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It is a 1948 with a mixture of parts from WWII until present day.
A little automotive trivia, during WWII Ford and Willy's both made jeeps.
Willy's was a MB and Fords were GPW's parts were interchangeable between them, but Ford put a small "F" stamp on every part they made.


Dang FoMoCo owners! - Always "F"ing things up!
 
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I passed on a restored early 60's Drag master rail/chassis/ drivetrain, (freshly cage certed,bright pink panther paint, Olds rear end,) ,back in '94( Bakersfield's March Meet ,retro) .. Freshly registered /glide small block set up.. 1800 bones,had the cash in pocket.. That one, the 55' two door Two Lane Blacktop clone( stored it a decade..) ,and a '41 Willy's coupe, are the body styles,I truly cherish. I leave it ,there..

Dang, bomber. I realize that owning a rail is about as practical as having a gerbil for a guard animal but it'd still be sweet just the same. At $1800, I'm afraid I'd have added another car to the stable. The shoebox Chebbies were always cool but the baddest looking one was still the one from 'Two Lane Blacktop'. I'll always have a soft spot for the old Willys coupes
 
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Well John it's been a little over 9 months since we originally talked about that 'Cuda I bought. It's been sitting in my garage. I'm just now starting to get motivated on her. So I think I will be starting a thread.
There was a time I thought I might never get to it! I hope things are going well for you today.


:happy1::happy1::happy1:


So have you figured out a direction for the build yet? Stock - restoration? Wild custom? Retro-rod with new comfy interior? Road course handling? Straight line drag look? Big power?

The vision I had for mine was to mimic the drag cars of the '60s & '70s. There isn't a whole lot I'd change but I'd still like to gear it more for highway use. - And there are times when I wonder if I should have gone wild with the paint...
 
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Here is some motivation from another Tampa guy, mines up and roaming the streets finally.
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Every time I start to question the choice of color on my car and think I should have gone wild, I see pictures of cars like yours that remind me how bad *** these fastbacks look in black!
 
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:happy1::happy1::happy1:

So have you figured out a direction for the build yet? Stock - restoration? Wild custom? Retro-rod with new comfy interior? Road course handling? Straight line drag look? Big power?

The vision I had for mine was to mimic the drag cars of the '60s & '70s. There isn't a whole lot I'd change but I'd still like to gear it more for highway use. - And there are times when I wonder if I should have gone wild with the paint...

Yes, I think for the time I will just stay mostly stock with a few upgrades like BBP, rear and fix all the leaks.
She difinetly needed some work. It seems like back then when I was looking there were know FB's for sale.
Several months later they are everywhere and pretty decent prices. Uh well my life story.
 
Yes, I think for the time I will just stay mostly stock with a few upgrades like BBP, rear and fix all the leaks.
She difinetly needed some work. It seems like back then when I was looking there were know FB's for sale.
Several months later they are everywhere and pretty decent prices. Uh well my life story.


Sounds like the story of my life. I think I've matsered the art of buying high & selling low. :banghead::banghead:

It's good to have a dream. - Something to shoot for. There have been so many different ways to go with these builds. When I first bought mine my plan was to drive it 'as is' and just fix a bunch of the minor problems it had. After it got wrecked I was forced to put $$ into it. At that point I started thinking more seriously about going farther with it.
 
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skypower, that thing looks nazzzty. And I see you are at my favorite filling station. Is that the one on Dale Mabry?

No that one is in Port Richey where my shop is but I have the car I South Tampa now. And Thanks.
 
Every time I start to question the choice of color on my car and think I should have gone wild, I see pictures of cars like yours that remind me how bad *** these fastbacks look in black!


Black just seems to go well with these cars.
 
Black just seems to go well with these cars.

I know it'd be sort of weird if everyone chose black but I've had a poster hanging in the garage of a black Barracuda with Keystones on it for ages. - Had it even before I bought my 'Cuda. It was part of my inspiration.
 
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I know it'd be sort of weird if everyone chose black but I've had a poster hanging in the garage of a black Barracuda with Keystones on it for ages. - Had it even before I bought my 'Cuda. It was part of my inspiration.

John,a 67-69 Cuda in black with Keystones ,is just badass. Even better,no one uses it commonly anymore... HMMM... A black notchie,with Keystones & 60's profile rubber...
 
I had Keystones on one of my Cuda's back in the 80's and loved them, it would be nice if I could get them in the sizes I need for my car.
 
I had Keystones on one of my Cuda's back in the 80's and loved them, it would be nice if I could get them in the sizes I need for my car.

My son chose a set for his Charger.

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A lot of places don't list all of the available sizes. I heard that they make them in 15X12's. Every now and then I see an old set of skinny 15X4's for sale. I'm not sure but I think the full set a buddy of mine is running on his '68 Coronet are 14's. - Though I doubt the 14's are being made anymore.


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I may have to do some more research, I need another set for my street tires and keep the pro stars for the track.
 
I may have to do some more research, I need another set for my street tires and keep the pro stars for the track.

I love the Pro-Stars. I had them on my list of potential wheel choices for my '67. When I decided to go with the Rodlites it was because I knew they were light and thought they resembled a cross between aluminum slots and a set of Halibrands. Although it's unlikely that I'll ever buy a full set of wheels to alternate with the ones I've got on the 'Cuda now, I'd still like to get a nice wheel to carry as a spare.

That dang well is so small in the trunk that it's hard to find anything that will fit. I'm tempted to make a hold down to mount a spare above the floor and just use the well for jack storage. I didn't have a spare with me when I had a flat this last summer and really kicked myself.
 
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That poster is on my shop wall!!! When people look at my Cuda all deformed, I point to that poster and say, "that's what it's supposed to look like." :glasses7: Then I get the, "Oh."

Maybe I'm prejudiced but I wouldn't be surprised if I had a poster of your car someday on my wall (when it's finished). As much as I love all the build threads, I have to say that FRANKENCUDA looks to become one of the most unique.
 
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December 7th. We all remember it as 'the day that will live in infamy'. Pearl Harbor. But for me it was D-Day. THE DENTIST! That's right, today is the day I was scheduled to have the rest of my teeth pulled.

I didn't sleep much the night before. Call me a pansy but I was more nervous than a ***** attending Bible study. I was surprised when they told me they'd decided not to pull all of my remaining teeth right now. Apparently the decision was made to just remove my top teeth and decide later what to do with the rest after the swelling goes down. I had become resolved to get it all over with but I wasn't going to argue with the guy with the needles and drills. I didn't feel that pissing him off before he started would be a good idea.

They took my last 4 remaining top teeth. I warned him ahead of time that I had a needle phobia hoping that he'd go a little gentler on me. I'm not sure it helped. I lost count of the number of shots of Novocaine. As spooked as I may be of needles, I sure didn't want to feel much of what was to come later.

I could hear him saying that the 'tissue' was really holding onto the teeth and he was going to have to do a lot of cutting. I kept my eyes clamped shut because I really didn't want to see what was coming. I guess the anesthetic did do it's job. The rest of the work was relatively painless. He packed my mouth with gauze before I left.

Teresa drove on the way back home. With a mouth full of gauze I couldn't talk. I did write her a note to pull over at a gas station so I could get some napkins. Despite the gauze, my mouth kept filling with blood and had a tendency to drool from my numbed face.

When I'd gotten home I decided the best thing to do was get some sleep. I couldn't talk, couldn't eat, and I was tired from the night before. It's almost 8 hours since I had the teeth pulled. The effects of the Novocaine have pretty much worn off. Now it feels like I've been punched in the face with a 2X4. The bleeding has almost stopped. I snuck out to the garage to have a smoke.

Pudding & soup. Pudding & soup. My next appointment isn't until January. I guess Christmas turkey won't be on my menu this year.


 
How did you end up needing to remove all your teeth? Strict sugar diet?

I feel for you, John. And this afternoon I'll be taking my daughter to the dentist to remove two of her teeth. Last time I was exhausted afterwards. She was ok, though.

Girls are tough.
 
The Keystones have an obvious 'old school' look to them. I know they're not rare but you don't see them nearly as often as most other choices.

Here they are pretty rare, the regular cragar ss's are about a dime a dozen here then next to them are torque thrust, but I've maybe seen one or two sets of keystones. I think it requires a certain style of car to make them look right.
 
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