1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
Not much time to write now but I came across this post on Facebook and felt it worthy to tell FABO members about.
Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
- Thread starter 1967 'cuda
- Start date
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Cuda68Scott
Well-Known Member
Nice car, I really think you should get that John! Maybe take some of the sting out of the funny car loss.
That drop-top looks tempting, but why the fresh paint, and show pics of a used fender?
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
Nice thought Scott but recent losses have made any new project funds non-existent. If things get any tighter around here I'll have to start selling parts to afford toilet paper.
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1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
That confused me too. I'm guessing he's dumping any of his extra Dart parts along with the car. Maybe it was one of the original fenders off the car.
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I was watching that car on evilbay. Hope you get caught up with your funds. I like reading your adventures.
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
Thanks jaws. I didn't realize that Dart had been posted on eBay. My Facebook account is mainly comprised of car buddies and car related groups. That's where I found it. Did it get any bids on eBay? It's always seemed to me that selling a car located in the middle of the country where the population is sparse tends to draw less bidding than the ones closer to the big cities.
I may be scrounging for awhile on my own builds but Spence's Charger project will still be getting some lovin'. He'll be back here in a few days and it sounds as though we'll be starting to plumb the brake (and possibly fuel) lines. Speaking of the fuel lines for it, Spencer talked to Holley about carb recommendations and they suggested a pair of 850's. Then they told him he should be running a 3/4" fuel supply line. Yikes! - Looks like those rolls of 1/2" he bought will be gathering dust on the shelf.
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1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
Despite the early demise of the funnycar and tight funds, the Mopar mayhem continues over here.
Earlier this week Spence and I helped our buddy Doug weld a set of U.S. Cartool subframe connectors on his '69 Coronet. We loved the fit we'd had when we'd installed a set on Spence's '68 Charger but Doug tweaked his as much as he could to get an even better fit. He ground any spots he needed to in order to close whatever gaps there were. Working with his rotisserie was a heck of a lot easier than doing overhead welding like we did in the past. We stitch welded every few inches after making our tack welds.
Earlier this week Spence and I helped our buddy Doug weld a set of U.S. Cartool subframe connectors on his '69 Coronet. We loved the fit we'd had when we'd installed a set on Spence's '68 Charger but Doug tweaked his as much as he could to get an even better fit. He ground any spots he needed to in order to close whatever gaps there were. Working with his rotisserie was a heck of a lot easier than doing overhead welding like we did in the past. We stitch welded every few inches after making our tack welds.
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
The past couple of days were actually spent working on the '67 Barracuda. - Yes, it still lurks around here but has been absent from attention ever since I messed up the fiberglass hood last year. As I wrote in an earlier post, Spence had bought me a pair of Borla mufflers for Father's Day and he was anxious to hear them on the car. (I was too!)
The damage to the hood didn't seem to have been fatal. I repaired the torn under-structure with a few layers of mat and resin. After grinding it back down it looked as though it was going to bolt back in place as it had before. Unfortunately, the entire hood was more screwed up than I'd realized.
Micro fractures throughout it made it impossible to align because the contour had subtly changed enough that the rear edge now overlapped the cowl by about a half an inch no matter how far we tried to adjust it. I guess I'll be ordering a replacement. For now though, it seemed as if I had nothing to lose modifying it to get it back on the car. We egg-shaped the hinge mounting holes to move it further forward and got it to line up with the hood pins but it still hit the cowl. It may be destined for the scrap heap but I was still determined to get it back on so I could drive the 'Cuda without an exposed engine compartment. I used the angle grinder to shave a half inch off the back of the hood.
Good thing it's light because we must have trial fit it about fifty times before we were able to open and close it without scarring the paint on the surrounding panels.
Spencer had brought his Go-Pro equipment with him so we could compare the sound of the Borla mufflers with the Purple Hornies and open headers on captured video. I decided to keep the exhaust simple for now by welding up a set of side dumps out or 2&1/2" tubing.
Initial measurements told me that I 'd need A couple of six foot lengths of pipe and two 45' elbows.
With the fabricated subframe connectors beneath the car I knew I'd have a firm mounting location for exhaust hangers. Next I needed to fab up a pair. I started with cutting a couple of short sections of 2&1/4" pipe at a 45' angle. Then I split them so that I could make them saddle the 2&1/2" exhaust pipes. We welded some tabs to them, ground them, and drilled a few holes to use for bolting them to the subframe connectors.
After fabricating the hangers we were ready to perform our exhaust tests.
Spence took a lot of video and posted it on YouTube. It's really difficult to judge the way the car sounds unless you're listening to it with a really good sound system. Down in our basement (on the movie screen & good speakers) it sounds pretty accurate to reality. In our garage listening through a cheap set of computer desktop speakers, it sounds crappy.
Spencer did not use an external mic when he filmed so his hand placement affected the sound quality. It might seem as though it was difficult for us to hear each other talking while in the car but it really wasn't. Although those Borlas are not quiet it's still possible to enjoy the radio while driving. - Not so with those Purple Hornies.
The bottom line is that the Borlas had a very nice deep tone that made the 408 sound a bit more like a big block. They're very throaty and I may still end up routing the exhaust all the way to the back of the car but they're a major improvement. If you're fortunate enough to have a really good sound system with which to listen to the video, I think you'll really like the tone.
The damage to the hood didn't seem to have been fatal. I repaired the torn under-structure with a few layers of mat and resin. After grinding it back down it looked as though it was going to bolt back in place as it had before. Unfortunately, the entire hood was more screwed up than I'd realized.
Micro fractures throughout it made it impossible to align because the contour had subtly changed enough that the rear edge now overlapped the cowl by about a half an inch no matter how far we tried to adjust it. I guess I'll be ordering a replacement. For now though, it seemed as if I had nothing to lose modifying it to get it back on the car. We egg-shaped the hinge mounting holes to move it further forward and got it to line up with the hood pins but it still hit the cowl. It may be destined for the scrap heap but I was still determined to get it back on so I could drive the 'Cuda without an exposed engine compartment. I used the angle grinder to shave a half inch off the back of the hood.
Good thing it's light because we must have trial fit it about fifty times before we were able to open and close it without scarring the paint on the surrounding panels.
Spencer had brought his Go-Pro equipment with him so we could compare the sound of the Borla mufflers with the Purple Hornies and open headers on captured video. I decided to keep the exhaust simple for now by welding up a set of side dumps out or 2&1/2" tubing.
Initial measurements told me that I 'd need A couple of six foot lengths of pipe and two 45' elbows.
With the fabricated subframe connectors beneath the car I knew I'd have a firm mounting location for exhaust hangers. Next I needed to fab up a pair. I started with cutting a couple of short sections of 2&1/4" pipe at a 45' angle. Then I split them so that I could make them saddle the 2&1/2" exhaust pipes. We welded some tabs to them, ground them, and drilled a few holes to use for bolting them to the subframe connectors.
After fabricating the hangers we were ready to perform our exhaust tests.
Spence took a lot of video and posted it on YouTube. It's really difficult to judge the way the car sounds unless you're listening to it with a really good sound system. Down in our basement (on the movie screen & good speakers) it sounds pretty accurate to reality. In our garage listening through a cheap set of computer desktop speakers, it sounds crappy.
Spencer did not use an external mic when he filmed so his hand placement affected the sound quality. It might seem as though it was difficult for us to hear each other talking while in the car but it really wasn't. Although those Borlas are not quiet it's still possible to enjoy the radio while driving. - Not so with those Purple Hornies.
The bottom line is that the Borlas had a very nice deep tone that made the 408 sound a bit more like a big block. They're very throaty and I may still end up routing the exhaust all the way to the back of the car but they're a major improvement. If you're fortunate enough to have a really good sound system with which to listen to the video, I think you'll really like the tone.
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
I've got those same Borlas on my 340 Dart. 2 1/2" system all the way to the back, with an H-pipe, and TTI headers. It really sounds great.
Love your 'cuda! Sounds good to me.
Love your 'cuda! Sounds good to me.
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
- Love your Dart too. I'm not sure that the Borlas you're running are the same though. I noticed that yours have an offset so I'm assuming they're a set of the chambered mufflers that they sell. Mine are a straight through design.
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1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
I spent the last night working on the Charger again. We started prepping the engine bay for brake line installation. It didn't take long to remove the mock motor and components. Next we welded up the steering shaft support and scoped out a path that we wanted to run the lines. This morning we made a few notches in the frame rail and removed any of the factory tabs that held the original lines.
I'm off to work on the house again but when I get back I'll start welding up the firewall mod and some filler plates that we made for the inner fenderwell.
I'm off to work on the house again but when I get back I'll start welding up the firewall mod and some filler plates that we made for the inner fenderwell.
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
No, those are old pictures. I think I got basically the same ones you have, the "Borla ProXS" mufflers. They are basically straight-thru, the perforated tube kind of takes an "S" path thru the housing. You can look right thru it.
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
So far I'm really pleased with the sound. There is enough of a difference in decibel level between them and the old Hornies that now I've realized I've got an exhaust leak next to one of my heads that I couldn't hear before.
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1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
While Spence was here we routed the brake lines to the front. So far everything looks pretty good. He decided to use NICOP tubing. It's a copper/nickel alloy. Most of our time was spent fabricating a bunch of aluminum mounting tabs. We couldn't find the proper 37' flaring tool anywhere local so we ordered one from JEGS. Our online research told us that a lot of guys use the standard 45' flare with AN fittings and don't have problems but we didn't want to risk leaks down the road.
R4Sedan
Larry
John, where have you been. Hope all is well. Enjoyed the video you made.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Can you take some pix of that hoop rotisserie your buddies coronet is attached to. Thats pretty slick
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
I like the open headers myself.
bkd
No more Scoops
I hope everything is good with you John, I miss your posts on your cars. Hope all is well and you come back soon.
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
I know it's been awhile since I've spent time on FABO. - Looks like my last post on this thread was back in July.
Most of my time has been taken up with work on that house we've been restoring. The city council there is still bent on having the place demolished. It's insane because all of the work we've done on the property looks great and it's very attractive despite the fact we have a long way to go. When you're a one man construction crew with limited resources it means progress is slow. Keep in mind that every wall, ceiling, window, and the flooring are all being repaired or replaced throughout. - Of course, so is the wiring and I'm also moving some walls around to accommodate a slightly modernized layout. One of the biggest projects I tackled this year was rebuilding (and moving) the stairway to the upstairs.
Despite the focus on house renovations I have been able to spend some time in the garage now and then. I just haven't had the time to pop onto FABO and post updates. I'll try to remember some of what's been going on here since my last posting.
I helped my friend Doug haul his '69 Coronet to a body shop in Lincoln, Nebraska. The owner of the shop had really bragged himself up to Doug and convinced him that there wasn't a better place to take the car. The shop's owner is Paul Christophersen.
Doug has that hoop rotisserie and the plan was to haul his car on the hoop because the suspension was already removed.
The view in my rear-view mirrors was strange driving the 30 miles from Seward to Lincoln. We strapped it down very securely so it never budged on the way.
With the car delivered Doug was happy as a clam (why are clams happy?) but it didn't last long. Problems began to show up with workmanship within a few weeks. The first issue was with the spare tire mount that they welded to a new trunk floor. Even though they did the welding outside of the car (before installing the trunk floor) the welds were really crap. It looked as though whoever did the job had never used a mig before. - Full of holes (porosity) and globby with way more weld than necessary. I don't think they had the gas turned on.
Now Doug is a perfectionist and although he didn't make a big deal out of it at the time he called me up after seeing those welds and asked me if I'd make a trip back to Lincoln with him to see what he was concerned about. Doug had payed a $2500 deposit fee before taking his car to the shop and was hoping that he was just overreacting. - But he was already beginning to have doubts about the type of workmanship they were doing.
When I got there with Doug I was surprised at how bad it looked. (I had thought that Doug might have been overreacting too) Although I agreed with Doug's assessment I told him that the shop didn't have a bad reputation and that he'd probably be happy with the finished product when the car was finished.
A few days later Doug called me back with new concerns. They did sort of a butcher job on the fitment of the right rear quarter panel. They didn't lap the new panel correctly and there was a large hump on the roof-line. In addition to that they wanted to use a new tail panel (AMD) that was mis-stamped. The keyhole wasn't centered properly. It was off by almost an inch and it needed to align with the aluminum R/T trim Doug had bought for the car. New welds on the car didn't look good either. I know that the factory welds weren't always pretty but these were really bad.
They had barely started working on the car and they'd already sapped about $15,000 from Doug. Now Doug isn't wealthy but he was willing to pay whatever it takes to get a really nice restoration. He was now convinced he wasn't going to get it from this place. Their finished work might look good after applying filler and paint but it wasn't up to the normal standards of other shops. The number of hours that they claimed to have in it was crazy.
Doug decided to pull the plug and take the car back home before they did anymore bad work. A few days later he had me return with my trailer to load it back up. They kept his deposit.
Doug was devastated. The loss was a real setback. He was dismayed because he had heard a lot of good things about the shop from former customers. It was known for doing high dollar restorations on Hemi and Sixpack cars. We came to the conclusion that the people he'd talked to were probably folk that never saw what was under the new paint of their cars. - Most likely those that just wanted to drop their cars off and pick them back up when completed. - Not those that likely played any part to the restoration process themselves.
Even Doug fell prey to being seeing the shiny stuff. He had been impressed by the sight of an A12 Super bee and Hemi cars on the premises. He didn't look close enough. When I sighted down the sides of the Super Bee I was surprised at how poorly the car had been blocked out. There were welds on the cowl of a '71 Hemi 'Cuda that were really unsightly. - and they put fresh paint over those welds so it was apparent they weren't going to dress them up any further. There was a Hemi Charger with fresh paint on it that had a noticeable buckle in it's hood.
Another friend of mine and I had noticed those flaws when Doug had first dropped his Coronet off but assumed Doug had noticed them too but was OK with the stuff. When we did try to voice concerns early on, Doug said he hadn't noticed those problems and was still confident they would do excellent work on his car if he kept his eyes on the progress. Part of the reason Doug eventually called it quits was because the shop told him they didn't want him coming around anymore until they were done. Originally they had assured him that he was welcome to come by anytime to inspect the work as it was being done.
These are photos of some of the other vehicles that were at the shop. I didn't take any that reveal the flaws. At first sight they looked very nice. It wasn't until you looked closer that you would notice the problems.
Most of my time has been taken up with work on that house we've been restoring. The city council there is still bent on having the place demolished. It's insane because all of the work we've done on the property looks great and it's very attractive despite the fact we have a long way to go. When you're a one man construction crew with limited resources it means progress is slow. Keep in mind that every wall, ceiling, window, and the flooring are all being repaired or replaced throughout. - Of course, so is the wiring and I'm also moving some walls around to accommodate a slightly modernized layout. One of the biggest projects I tackled this year was rebuilding (and moving) the stairway to the upstairs.
Despite the focus on house renovations I have been able to spend some time in the garage now and then. I just haven't had the time to pop onto FABO and post updates. I'll try to remember some of what's been going on here since my last posting.
I helped my friend Doug haul his '69 Coronet to a body shop in Lincoln, Nebraska. The owner of the shop had really bragged himself up to Doug and convinced him that there wasn't a better place to take the car. The shop's owner is Paul Christophersen.
Doug has that hoop rotisserie and the plan was to haul his car on the hoop because the suspension was already removed.
The view in my rear-view mirrors was strange driving the 30 miles from Seward to Lincoln. We strapped it down very securely so it never budged on the way.
With the car delivered Doug was happy as a clam (why are clams happy?) but it didn't last long. Problems began to show up with workmanship within a few weeks. The first issue was with the spare tire mount that they welded to a new trunk floor. Even though they did the welding outside of the car (before installing the trunk floor) the welds were really crap. It looked as though whoever did the job had never used a mig before. - Full of holes (porosity) and globby with way more weld than necessary. I don't think they had the gas turned on.
Now Doug is a perfectionist and although he didn't make a big deal out of it at the time he called me up after seeing those welds and asked me if I'd make a trip back to Lincoln with him to see what he was concerned about. Doug had payed a $2500 deposit fee before taking his car to the shop and was hoping that he was just overreacting. - But he was already beginning to have doubts about the type of workmanship they were doing.
When I got there with Doug I was surprised at how bad it looked. (I had thought that Doug might have been overreacting too) Although I agreed with Doug's assessment I told him that the shop didn't have a bad reputation and that he'd probably be happy with the finished product when the car was finished.
A few days later Doug called me back with new concerns. They did sort of a butcher job on the fitment of the right rear quarter panel. They didn't lap the new panel correctly and there was a large hump on the roof-line. In addition to that they wanted to use a new tail panel (AMD) that was mis-stamped. The keyhole wasn't centered properly. It was off by almost an inch and it needed to align with the aluminum R/T trim Doug had bought for the car. New welds on the car didn't look good either. I know that the factory welds weren't always pretty but these were really bad.
They had barely started working on the car and they'd already sapped about $15,000 from Doug. Now Doug isn't wealthy but he was willing to pay whatever it takes to get a really nice restoration. He was now convinced he wasn't going to get it from this place. Their finished work might look good after applying filler and paint but it wasn't up to the normal standards of other shops. The number of hours that they claimed to have in it was crazy.
Doug decided to pull the plug and take the car back home before they did anymore bad work. A few days later he had me return with my trailer to load it back up. They kept his deposit.
Doug was devastated. The loss was a real setback. He was dismayed because he had heard a lot of good things about the shop from former customers. It was known for doing high dollar restorations on Hemi and Sixpack cars. We came to the conclusion that the people he'd talked to were probably folk that never saw what was under the new paint of their cars. - Most likely those that just wanted to drop their cars off and pick them back up when completed. - Not those that likely played any part to the restoration process themselves.
Even Doug fell prey to being seeing the shiny stuff. He had been impressed by the sight of an A12 Super bee and Hemi cars on the premises. He didn't look close enough. When I sighted down the sides of the Super Bee I was surprised at how poorly the car had been blocked out. There were welds on the cowl of a '71 Hemi 'Cuda that were really unsightly. - and they put fresh paint over those welds so it was apparent they weren't going to dress them up any further. There was a Hemi Charger with fresh paint on it that had a noticeable buckle in it's hood.
Another friend of mine and I had noticed those flaws when Doug had first dropped his Coronet off but assumed Doug had noticed them too but was OK with the stuff. When we did try to voice concerns early on, Doug said he hadn't noticed those problems and was still confident they would do excellent work on his car if he kept his eyes on the progress. Part of the reason Doug eventually called it quits was because the shop told him they didn't want him coming around anymore until they were done. Originally they had assured him that he was welcome to come by anytime to inspect the work as it was being done.
These are photos of some of the other vehicles that were at the shop. I didn't take any that reveal the flaws. At first sight they looked very nice. It wasn't until you looked closer that you would notice the problems.
SNKEBIT
Spending $$ on Mopars
Good to hear from you, John!!! I haven't been able to work on my car either, too busy with customers stuff. Piling up!!!!!!!!!!
Keep swingin’ John
1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
I don't think I've got any pictures of the hoop by itself but here's a link to their site and a video I found online.
.Roller Hoop - Auto Rotisserie
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1967 'cuda
Dropped on Head as a Baby
If I didn't have any neighbors and never wanted to listen to some tunes while driving, I'd agree.
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