Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

-
1967 'cuda said:
???
Click to expand...

How quickly they forget... This was from your stroker SB thread:

That 550 HP stroker Mike is describing sounds like the blue motor he posted here about a couple of years ago. I was so impressed with the power I bought a set of heads, his lifters, and Hughes 1.6 rockers as well as the solid Lunati cam he used, to upgrade my pump gas comp 292H/ported Eddy head 416. Still have not had it in a car but it is ready with a 11" PTC converter and fresh 904 (with kickdown on a VB that allows automatic or manual shifting).

Here it is: http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...d.php?t=189967
 
airwoofer said:
What did you change on it? Still the same heads and cam that I copied or is my SB now obsolete?

What's in this latest one?
Click to expand...

More head flow, more time spend porting and modifying the intake and a slightly bigger carb. I have another cam that I have been tweaking on that might push it close to the 600HP, all within the same rpm range. Plus Im working on a better piston design that should free up a few more HP as well.
 
All of you guys that have rebuilt your cars know that there's a seemingly endless number of parts involved. Even though I've tried to post a lot of pictures on this thread, I haven't shown more than a small fraction of the work involved. When I went to find the vented bolt that holds the brake line's brass T-block on the rear end housing I couldn't find it anywhere in this mess I call a garage. Luckily I have access to a parts source 15 miles away. The replacement vent bolt was rusty. After wire brushing it clean I painted it black.

img_0605-jpg.jpg


The brass T-block was covered in dirt and old undercoating. After cleaning it, I buffed the brass back to a shine and will still be applying a clear coat to it.

img_0606-jpg.jpg


My 727 is pretty much ready to go into the car but I didn't have a dip stick for it. So, I had to purchase a new one.

img_0607-jpg.jpg


You can see how those dang small parts add up over time to a lot of work and expense.

I had left my torque converter outside and it got rain in it. It took me almost a full day to clean it out. It had no drain and I could only get so much fluid to drain when I turned it upside down. I shook it. - And shook it. I used a vacuum cleaner to suck out what I could. I used compressed air to blow it out. I even used a space heater to try to evaporate what was left.

img_0608-jpg.jpg


View attachment IMG_0605.jpg

View attachment IMG_0606.jpg

View attachment IMG_0607.jpg

View attachment IMG_0608.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yes those "old small,missing parts" add up. I am blown away,you found one.... (The brass block...). She*t happens,in life(the converter.). If it were me,I would find a local trans shop,that could flush it(JMO....).
 
Little missing part especially when your leave the car sit for a few months and when u return u realize u forgot wat custom part u were working on

Posted via Topify using iPhone/iPad
 
I know enough to realize that I should buy a bunch of baggies before a dis-assembly and label everything as I go, but I never do. One thing that I have gotten better at is taking pictures of weird things that will be hard to put back together later. And as much as I love getting a hand from my son, it usually makes finding pieces more difficult.
 
Last edited:
1967 'cuda said:
Abodybomber, everybody wants to shoot for the moon on a dyno run. It would have been really really cool if Mike had said he managed to squeeze 700 HP out of it. But a year ago I was thinking that 400 horses would have been awesome. I'm glad I had the 440 Duster dyno'd last weekend. According to Mike's numbers, the Barracuda will actually be putting out more power. I can truly say that it's been a pleasure doing business with MRL.
Click to expand...

Mine pulled ,my butthole out with torque & response. Good lord...
 
Abodybomber said:
Mine pulled ,my butthole out with torque & response. Good lord...
Click to expand...

There's nothing like that adrenaline rush that massive amounts of HP and torque gives you. I am SO eager to get this thing back on the road!
 
Last edited:
Man that was a wild road trip for a little ol chevy hahaha

Great to hear you went with the manual box after our kind words of wisdom haha
 
THEWHITEZOMBIE said:
Man that was a wild road trip for a little ol chevy hahaha
Click to expand...
THEWHITEZOMBIE said:

Great to hear you went with the manual box after our kind words of wisdom haha
Click to expand...


Hey Zombie. I've listened to and taken a lot of advice from the pages of FABO. I've probably needed a push in one direction or another to keep me from sitting on the fence when it came to making some decisions. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
When I measured everything out for tire clearance I was confident everything was going to fit perfectly when I put the car back together. I had the Dana made about an inch and a half narrower than my old 7&1/4" rear was. But after swapping rears I saw that things were way too tight. After examining the new quarter panels I realized that these replacements had a much wider lip on them around the wheel wells. So today I used a crescent wrench to start rolling the lip. After I got it as far as I could, I took a heavy hammer and rolled the edge a bit more. Everything's hunky-dory now!
 
1967 'cuda said:
When I measured everything out for tire clearance I was confident everything was going to fit perfectly when I put the car back together. I had the Dana made about an inch and a half narrower than my old 7&1/4" rear was. But after swapping rears I saw that things were way too tight. After examining the new quarter panels I realized that these replacements had a much wider lip on them around the wheel wells. So today I used a crescent wrench to start rolling the lip. After I got it as far as I could, I took a heavy hammer and rolled the edge a bit more. Everything's hunky-dory now!
Click to expand...

Isn't rolling those fender lips ,drive you crazy? Done it on probably a half dozen cars,still curls my toes to do it.
 
I wish I would have known I was going to need to do it before the new paint was on the car. - But it seems to have come through it OK.
 
I tried working on the brake lines last night. I had previously cut off the hard line where it ended in front of the axle assembly because I couldn't get it loose. I used a 3" air grinder to cut through the outer spring reinforcement and peeled it off a few inches from the end. When I tried to re-do the double flare end, the line broke behind my flaring tool so I'll have to try again today. I'm hoping the line isn't too brittle. There was surface rust that I cleaned off with emery cloth. If I don't succeed I guess I'll be buying another line.
 
My brake flaring tool broke, so I looked for another form of diversion until the parts stores open tomorrow. I had an 1/18th scale die cast '68 Barracuda sitting on my shelf. I decided to clone it into a mini version of my car. After dismantling it I poof canned some metallic gray on it.
img_0609-jpg.jpg

img_0610-jpg.jpg


Using my printer and some decal paper I made some tail stripes with the Barracuda logo and some Barracuda lettering for the hood. I still need to print out some license plates. LOL!

img_0614-jpg.jpg


View attachment IMG_0609.jpg

View attachment IMG_0610.jpg

View attachment IMG_0614.jpg
 
Last edited:
The used FIRM FEEL steering shaft adapter came the other day. There was a clearcoat on it that was pitted up so I used some lacquer thinner to strip it off and then I buffed it on the bench grinder. I don't have a roll pin for it yet so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get one.

cap-jpg.jpg
img_0619-jpg.jpg



View attachment IMG_0619.jpg

View attachment Cap.jpg
 
Last edited:
I just got a call from the shipping company. The 408 will be here tomorrow!
 
I had left the manual steering gear sitting in the engine bay for about a week before I installed that steering shaft adapter (fit like a glove). I was amazed at how much the aluminum had oxidized in that time. I cleaned it up a bit again and hit it with a clear enamel coat before putting it back in.

img_0622-jpg.jpg


Tomorrow will be a busy day. I'm ready to install the new 3/8" fuel line now.

img_0623-jpg.jpg


I cut 2'' off the new U-bolts. - No sense having them stick out so low. While I was at it, I had to reverse the leaf spring pads (I had them on the wrong sides)

View attachment IMG_0622.jpg

View attachment IMG_0623.jpg
 
Last edited:
OK. I got a call from the shipping company this morning and they said now that the motor won't arrive today after all.
 
Man you are gonna be grinning ear to ear the first time you stomp on the gas pedal. Better make darn sure the brake pedal works first! You will also be pleasantly surprised how easy the manual steering is.

If 275/60-15 DRs will fit they sure work good under a fish.

Instead of trying to make E body headers fit you should consider the TTIs and get a 3" exhaust behind them.

You putting on a line lock or soes it already have one?

Congrats on winning the best before / after!
 
airwoofer said:
Man you are gonna be grinning ear to ear the first time you stomp on the gas pedal. Better make darn sure the brake pedal works first! You will also be pleasantly surprised how easy the manual steering is.
Click to expand...
airwoofer said:

If 275/60-15 DRs will fit they sure work good under a fish.

Instead of trying to make E body headers fit you should consider the TTIs and get a 3" exhaust behind them.

You putting on a line lock or soes it already have one?

Congrats on winning the best before / after!
Click to expand...


The headers were supposed to be a fit for A, B, and E bodies. So hopefully they'll fit without any modifications. If I hadn't already had them sitting in the garage, I might have considered the TTIs. I sure wish they didn't cost so dang much. We chose TTIs for our Charger (bought a used set) mainly because they were supposed to give us the best ground clearance. These ones from JEGS look like they hang pretty low when I mocked them up on the engine stand.

I've got a new line-loc sitting on the shelf but it was slated to be used on the Charger. I've been toying with the idea of snitching it for the Barracuda though.

One of the next problems I'm worried about is using this manual valve body with the column shift. I'm afraid I might bump into the wrong gear. I'm considering going to a floor mounted ratchet shifter. Everyone seems to like the Cheetah shifters (and I have one in the Duster) but I'm leaning towards a Hurst 3838510 Pro-Matic 2 and adding an aluminum pistol grip handle (153-1000) to it.
zzzzzz-jpg.jpg

zzzzz-jpg.jpg


I really wanted the look of the car to say DRAG RACE!! That's why I originally chose those M/T cheater slicks and Goodyear front runners. But I've already been eye balling all of the rides out there that are running the drag radials. So far I'm not too pleased with the ride feel I'm getting out of my tire combo.


View attachment zzzzzz.jpg

View attachment zzzzz.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top