Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

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Johnjgonzo8D said:
Damn, so much money spent in one posting. I am amazed, honestly amazing work. but holy balls that's a lot of cheddar spent on these cars I could imagine.
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Thanks Johnjgonzo8D.

Compared to some of the REALLY high quality builds out there, I probably have less cash in our whole flock of Mopars. The big $$ over here is usually spent by my son on his Charger, Roadrunner, and Challenger. I just get to assemble his toys.

The 'Lil Red has been mine almost 35 years. It's sad that I let it waste away the way I did. I feel obligated to fix it back up.

The funnycar has been mine even longer (along with that hemi in the garage). I bought it 'back in the day' when I was still single and things were cheap.

The Barracuda was originally purchased to be my regular daily driver. I hadn't planned on rebuilding it until it got wrecked. If it wasn't for that accident it would most likely be still running the 318/904 & 7&1/4 rear. It started to snowball into a race/street/show vehicle. I put way more money into it than what I'd planned.

The Duster was sort of a midlife crisis purchase. It'd been 35 years since I'd drag raced and I had always wanted to return to the track. It was crude but they had more money in it than what they were asking for it. The idea of buying a turnkey Mopar racer was something I couldn't get out of my head. As much as I've tried to detail it out on a shoestring budget, it still adds up.

The Dodge dually was an impulse purchase. When a buddy of mine pulled up in it and offered to sell it to me I passed on it. I didn't need another truck. But how often do you see these old Dodge duallys? After a few weeks he hit me up again and I caved. I like the truck but my plan had always been to use my 'Lil Red Express as my hauler when it's done. I think it'd look awesome painted to match the Duster but...

The Chevelle was a mistake. If I can finish it out cheap enough, I'll probably break even on it when it comes time to sell.

Believe it or not I try my damn-est to keep from buying any more projects. - After all I still have to finish that 'glass T-bucket and the Model A truck. I don't think I'll live long enough to get them all done the way it is.
 
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Well I finally saw pictures of that '65 Coronet 4X4. It's a four door. It sits way too high for my tastes. - And it looks sort of hammered. I don't know many other details yet, but it looks like it would be a major project to turn it into something I'd like.

Now if it turns out that there's a hemi in there...

Ideally I would have wanted a two door to start with. I'd have wanted something lower to the ground that could have been adapted for towing. Oh well.

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My grandpa gave me his 65 coronet for my first car when I was a teenager.
 
ariffle said:
if thats the trade, keep your dully.
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ariffle said:
That 4x4 looks like a pile.
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I knew it'd be a long shot that the '65 would be something I'd like. I thought maybe it would have been engineered so that it sat down more like a Dakota four wheel drive and have a more 'factory' vibe to it. From the pictures it looks like it would ride like a lumber wagon. Although it's highly unlikely that I'd trade I still might if it's got a perfect interior and a desirable power plant. I'm guessing that the interior is likely to be in the same condition as the exterior. - And it's probably nothing special for drivetrain. I don't want to insult the guy. He may think he's sitting on a real gem. If I was a 'dyed in the wool' 4X4 fanatic maybe I'd feel more enthusiastic about it.
 
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sireland67 said:
My grandpa gave me his 65 coronet for my first car when I was a teenager.
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Cool! If it was a two door I'll bet you wish you still had it. It's one of those body styles that's just begging to be made into an altered wheelbase.
 
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1967 'cuda said:
Cool! If it was a two door I'll bet you wish you still had it. It's one of those body styles that's just begging to be made into an altered wheelbase.
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Unfortunately it was a 4-door, I totaled it my first year in college, the old girl got me thru high school, lots of memory's.
 
Don't say no yet. Make it a convertible - perfect Nebraska duck hunting apparatus! Drive it around the neighborhood a few times with an installed gun rack, and maybe your complaints about the muscle car collection will diminish.
 
Cuda68Scott said:
Don't say no yet. Make it a convertible - perfect Nebraska duck hunting apparatus! Drive it around the neighborhood a few times with an installed gun rack, and maybe your complaints about the muscle car collection will diminish.
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If it was a convertible, where would I mount my gun rack??? LOL.
 
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R4Sedan said:
John, if you get that we will have to get you a foot gas pedal and a mullet wig.:violent1::violent1::violent1:
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I almost bought one of those foot gas pedals today at the swap meet!!! LOL! As my hair gets thinner and thinner that mullet wig might be an improvement. The only problem I see is that I'll have to move some of my car parts off the lawn to make room for a couch.
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sireland67 said:
Unfortunately it was a 4-door, I totaled it my first year in college, the old girl got me thru high school, lots of memory's.
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I guess that even if it had 6 doors a '65 Coronet would be way cooler than an any year Honda!!
 
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1967 'cuda said:
I almost bought one of those foot gas pedals today at the swap meet!!! LOL! As my hair gets thinner and thinner that mullet wig might be an improvement. The only problem I see is that I'll have to move some of my car parts off the lawn to make room for a couch.

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Hay wait just a darn minute!!!!
I thought you were confined to working on Teresa's house??
Now we find out that you went to another swap meet? WTH???

I'm tellin.... Unless you got me something. Didya,Didya,Didya??? Didn't think so......:protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest:
 
ariffle said:
Hay wait just a darn minute!!!!
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ariffle said:
I thought you were confined to working on Teresa's house??
Now we find out that you went to another swap meet? WTH???

I'm tellin.... Unless you got me something. Didya,Didya,Didya??? Didn't think so......:protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest:
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Yup. I went to another swap meet this morning. It was raining here most of the day so we couldn't work on the house anyway. The rain combined with 40-some degree temperatures and wind kept attendance way down. It was held at the Speedway Motors parking lot. I don't think there were more than 50 vendors.

As always I was determined not to come home empty handed. With such slim pickin's it was hard to find anything to buy. The only Mopar parts I saw were a cast iron '68 440 intake manifold for $20 and a finned aluminum Dana 60 cover for $75. I didn't need the intake and I didn't want to spend the $75 for the rear cover. I did manage to pick up a couple of items though.

I bought a 10" long inline aluminum fuel filter for $5. I'm sure I'll find a use for it somewhere.

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And I bought an AFCO aluminum racing radiator for $50. I got the guy down from $75. - Still not sure what I'll do with it. I thought about converting it for use as either an oil cooler or transmission cooler but most likely I'll keep it for use with the funnycar. The funnycar will likely be built as an econo-funny with a water cooled engine. The radiator is 21&1/2" by 12".
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They were giving out free hats, stickers, discount coupons, catalogs and rags from Speedway Motors so I grabbed some of those while I was there.

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I did keep you in mind. I was planning on picking you up a crate hemi to stuff into your Barracuda but there weren't any there. :wack: Oh well....


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The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't very rosy. The temperature is supposed to stay cold until late afternoon. Despite the need to keep working on the house I'm thinking about taking the Barracuda to a small car show in Bee, Nebraska. It's in conjunction with their church's annual chicken dinner. Teresa will be gone tomorrow for a birthday party for one of her grandmonsters. She hates chicken. So it'll be a chance for me to avoid having my ankles bitten while I get to feast.
 
1967 'cuda said:
Yup. I went to another swap meet this morning. It was raining here most of the day so we couldn't work on the house anyway. The rain combined with 40-some degree temperatures and wind kept attendance way down. It was held at the Speedway Motors parking lot. I don't think there were more than 50 vendors.

As always I was determined not to come home empty handed. With such slim pickin's it was hard to find anything to buy. The only Mopar parts I saw were a cast iron '68 440 intake manifold for $20 and a finned aluminum Dana 60 cover for $75. I didn't need the intake and I didn't want to spend the $75 for the rear cover. I did manage to pick up a couple of items though.

I bought a 10" long inline aluminum fuel filter for $5. I'm sure I'll find a use for it somewhere.

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And I bought an AFCO aluminum racing radiator for $50. I got the guy down from $75. - Still not sure what I'll do with it. I thought about converting it for use as either an oil cooler or transmission cooler but most likely I'll keep it for use with the funnycar. The funnycar will likely be built as an econo-funny with a water cooled engine. The radiator is 21&1/2" by 12".

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They were giving out free hats, stickers, discount coupons, catalogs and rags from Speedway Motors so I grabbed some of those while I was there.

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I did keep you in mind. I was planning on picking you up a crate hemi to stuff into your Barracuda but there weren't any there. :wack: Oh well....
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Dang!!! And I thought for sure you'd come thru with a Hemi..
Aren't those things all over the place?? L.O.L!!!
Glad you came home with some goodies.
 
1967 'cuda said:
The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't very rosy. The temperature is supposed to stay cold until late afternoon. Despite the need to keep working on the house I'm thinking about taking the Barracuda to a small car show in Bee, Nebraska. It's in conjunction with their church's annual chicken dinner. Teresa will be gone tomorrow for a birthday party for one of her grandmonsters. She hates chicken. So it'll be a chance for me to avoid having my ankles bitten while I get to feast.
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Yummy!
You know your gonna get the Barracuda all dirty driving in that nasty weather.
Guess your gonna have to spend another day with the Mopars cleaning it up. Darn, and you wanted to work on the house. Oh well. the sacrifices we must make I guess.
:burnout:
 
ariffle said:
Yummy!
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ariffle said:
You know your gonna get the Barracuda all dirty driving in that nasty weather.
Guess your gonna have to spend another day with the Mopars cleaning it up. Darn, and you wanted to work on the house. Oh well. the sacrifices we must make I guess.
:burnout:
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If it's really nasty out I'll probably skip the show. It's about 20 miles away so it'd make a nice outing for the 'Cuda but I had enough misery today at the swap meet. I don't want to spend tomorrow shivering out in the cold. I might just make a short appearance, eat, and go home. The big Mopar car show is coming up in a few weeks in Omaha. That's the one I really want to attend.

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As far as the house goes, I remembered that I'm afraid of heights when I got about 20' up the ladder and happened to look down. It's a b*tch working up there with a sander, scraper, caulking gun, and paint. - Especially with my bum shoulder. I keep picturing my obituary as I reach sideways out with that sander. I need to get the bottom done and rent a decent lift or at least some scaffolding.

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So with Teresa gone for the day and the skies clear, I headed out for a chicken dinner and the small car show. - Actually, it was more like a Show 'n Shine than a car show. Bee, Nebraska is a very small town and the guy that puts the show on doesn't charge a cent for the cars that enter. They actually give out discount coupons for the meal and then award door prizes to the entrants. It's very laid back and helps to attract more people to the church supper.

There were only 16 cars that showed up this year. That's less than half of their average. It started out chilly but warmed up as the afternoon progressed. I talked my buddy Ray into taking his '73 Duster. It's a slant 6 and he refers to it as his beater. It's not a bad car but with 4 Chargers, 2 Superbees, a GTX, and a Roadrunner in his stable it's closer to being a granny car than the rest.

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Another buddy drove his '75 Roadrunner down but didn't park it with the rest of the cars. He'd stopped just long enough to chat for awhile and check out the rest of the cars. Doug's still got his 2 Superbees waiting at home until the car show season gets into full swing.

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Despite the small showing it was still a nice day. I won a $25 gift certificate to U.S. Cellular and Ray got a certificate for a free pizza at a place in Seward, Nebraska. They don't do any judging on the vehicles so there aren't any separate classes for the cars. - Just a nice chance to get together and shoot the breeze.

The 'Cuda was running good but I kept my foot out of it while I was there. - After all, it was a 'church' event.

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^^^^ Lmao....^^^^^ Always loved the smaller,more informal car "get -togethers"... Those are the ones I enjoy,& remember the most
 
Before we left, Ray talked me into stopping back at his place to help him install carpeting in his '71 GTX. He ordered it from Year One and hadn't put carpet in a car before. By mistake he had ordered carpet for a column shift car and his was a console car. His plan is still to put a column shift in it because he's used to running them in his drag cars. - But he was adamant that he didn't want to remove the console brackets that were welded to the floor. He wants to be able to put the car back to original after he's done racing it.

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You can't tell it from this picture but this carpet was molded better than most that I've ever installed. It really conformed nicely to each bump in that floor.

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One issue that we had was the rubber foot mat on the carpet. - Because we didn't want to cut it for the roll bar, - we shifted the rug to the right about an inch.

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Once you align the contours of the carpet with those of the floor it is easy to position the rug. Until then it won't lay flat.

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Ray held the carpet down while I marked the locations for the roll bars on the bottom side of the rug.

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The carpet is not glued down yet. Ray didn't have any on hand so he's planning on stopping by my garage tomorrow to pick up some.

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We tossed the remnants in the back seat area as we went.

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To cover the console brackets, Ray is thinking about installing a plate to mount his switches and gauges that will cover them. Once glued in place and the sill plates installed, the wrinkles should be gone.

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