Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

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Cuda68Scott said:
Looking good John! I am still impressed by what you get accomplished in a few days.
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Thanks Scott. It's too bad that paint fades, rust forms, mice exist, etc... I make comments now and then about the poor condition of the Duster. The pits in the steering wheel, rust bubbles here and there on the body, cracked windshield, mismatched gauges, and other flaws will continue to exist after I'm done.

I could spend a lot more time and money to get things better. 'Cheap is neat' is the theme I've adopted for the Duster.
 
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SNKEBIT said:
He doesn't sleep much, if at all.....................:prayer:
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Judging by my reaction times when I was at the drags I think I must be reserving my sleep time for the staging lanes. :banghead:
 
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1967 'cuda said:
Thanks famous bob. I always preferred the look of round gauges. I was probably influenced by the dashes in my '69 Superbee and '70 Roadrunner.

I've been trying to take the cheapest and easiest routes with these mods. By retaining as much of the cluster plastic as I could, it meant that all I had to fab was the flat section to nestle the gauges. The 160 mph speedometer wasn't doing me any good in my tool box. I had bought it for my fiberglass T over 35 years ago. The only real expenses were the new volt gauge and speedometer cable adapter.

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I still need to re-mount the tach and shift light.
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Damn,that pops......
 
Thanks Abodybomber. I hope that speedometer still works after sitting all those years.
 
I had no brand loyalty when I was still in high school. - Don't remember even hearing the term muscle car until a decade later. But there were cars I thought were cool. - Anything that seemed fast with fat tires and wheels fit the bill.

None of us were gearheads. but several of my friends had nice cars. The list of cars that classmates had included a '70 Mustang 302 fastback, '70 Camaro 350 RS/SS, '68 Charger 383, '70 AMX 390, '68 Superbee 383, '70 340 Duster, '69 396 Chevelle, '69 383 Roadrunner, '69 390 Fairlane, and a '71 383 Roadrunner. At the time I don't think we had any real perception of what these cars were beyond the fact we liked them.
 
It was the mid-70s and the cars from the peak of the high performance era filled the used car lots. Chevy Vegas, Ford Pintos, and Dodge Colts were replacing the lumbering hi-po vehicles. Gas prices soared past 50 cents a gallon. The big motor cars were cheap and became fodder for high school parking lots.

My dad had gravitated towards Mercs, and the more doors, the better. I think he was influenced by McGarret in Hawaii 5-O. The maroon dinosaur that adorned our yard had 'school car' written all over it. It may not have had the cool factor but it was transportation. And when you didn't have anything else you didn't complain.

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(it looked like this one but without the vinyl top)


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As I approached 16 years of age I knew the gunboat was destined to be taking up 1&1/2 stalls at AHS. But fate intervened. Dad traded the '68 Monterey in on a '73 Monterey that looked like a full battleship next to the old gunboat. It was green and was capable of seating almost as many kids as the bus. It was also too new for him to want us kids to use it for school.

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(it looked sort of like this one)

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It may not have been the sole thing on my mind as I waited to see what he would return with, but I was anxious to find out how low I was going to have to hang my head when my buddies saw me mobile.

Sound carries a long way out in the country. I listened for any approaching cars. One of them would hold my destiny. From a half mile away I could hear the rumble. I didn't bother to look up from my chores. It didn't sound like a Merc. But then I heard it slowing down as it approached the driveway.

It didn't sound like a Merc. It didn't look like a Merc. A TWO DOOR!! I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to hide my grin before dad saw it. For $500 dad had bought a deep forest green '68 Fury III and it was gorgeous. Whoever had owned it before had hopped it up. The thrush mufflers gave it a sweet sound and the air shocks gave it a rake. The 383 on the hood ornament didn't mean much to me. - At least, - not yet.

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(it looked really close to this one)

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Dad asked if I wanted to ride along when he took it up town to get it licensed. Us kids never said no to dad and for once I really did want to go. I must not have been doing a good job of hiding that grin. As we pulled out of the drive he said "These mufflers have got to go." Although disappointed, I was so thrilled there wasn't 2 more doors on the car that it didn't really matter.

As we approached the first intersection a half mile west of our farm dad realized that there was a car coming from his left and it wasn't planning on yielding right of way. I honestly think that dad came close to crapping his pants at the way the car responded. When he nailed the throttle it exploded forward like we were shot from a cannon. Those Merc 390s weren't pooches but they had nowhere near this capability. My old man never swore but I remember him saying "Damn! If I'd have known this thing had this much power I never would have bought it!" I hope he wasn't looking because I'm sure I must have had one heck of a grin then.
 
1967 'cuda said:
It may not have been the sole thing on my mind as I waited to see what he would return with, but I was anxious to find out how low I was going to have to hang my head when my buddies saw me mobile.

Sound carries a long way out in the country. I listened for any approaching cars. One of them would hold my destiny. From a half mile away I could hear the rumble. I didn't bother to look up from my chores. It didn't sound like a Merc. But then I heard it slowing down as it approached the driveway.

It didn't sound like a Merc. It didn't look like a Merc. A TWO DOOR!! I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to hide my grin before dad saw it. For $500 dad had bought a deep forest green '68 Fury III and it was gorgeous. Whoever had owned it before had hopped it up. The thrush mufflers gave it a sweet sound and the air shocks gave it a rake. The 383 on the hood ornament didn't mean much to me. - At least, - not yet.

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(it looked really close to this one)
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Yes ,sound does carry deep, in the country areas. :glasses7:(Ask me how I know,lol.) Great story,guy.
 
I wish I had more updates to report. With the Thanksgiving weekend things slowed to a crawl in the garage. I installed the speedometer adapter and the volt meter. The Duster is almost ready to move back outside. There are several small details that need to be checked.

I still have to finish riveting the front panel.

The volt meter hasn't been wired yet.

I want to get light sockets for all of the gauges (I only have one so far).

The decision to switch to the Evans Waterless antifreeze means that I'll have to make a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to pick it up.

The vinyl material hasn't been fitted down behind the driver's seat yet.

I need to get more nuts for my switches. They each had one instead of two so they're not secured well enough.

The passenger side headlight isn't connected to the wiring.

The driver's side front blinker isn't installed.

I need to verify my charging system is working.

I'd like to get a car cover for it to keep the snow off.

There are a bunch of other things I'd like to do but I really need to get the Roadrunner inside. I'm determined to get the ignition problem fixed on it so Spencer can drive it this winter. I hate to see that new paint on his Challenger being subjected to the snow and salt.

Once I can get done with the Roadrunner I'd like to slip the 'Cuda back inside and swap out that converter.

I hate to say it but the Charger may have to get bumped from the schedule. The 'Lil Red won't be ready by spring if the R/T is tying up the garage.

I need to get as much done as possible this winter. Most of my spring will be busy with a house remodel.

On a side note, I was able to fire the Duster up for the first time since I'd torn everything apart. I might have bad news regarding the paint I put on the headers. Even though I only ran it for a minute or so, - I see a few bubbles starting. It may be the fault of the gold furnace paint or it may be the fault of the orange and clear coat that are beneath it. It may be that the combined layers are at fault too. I don't know how bad it will get once I have a chance to run the engine longer.
 
I haven't really gotten back into the swing of things since Thanksgiving. - But most of the small things are getting taken care of. I couldn't find the light sockets for my gauges at the parts stores in town so I ordered some from JEGS.

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While I was at it I decided to buy one of the pre-made shifter covers for that Turbo-Action Cheetah shifter.

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The $50 for a cheesy looking plastic piece seems like a rip-off but I would have probably had over half that much in one I'd have fabbed plus my time.

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I went ahead and bit the bullet on some car covers too.

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I still haven't picked up any of that Evans Waterless Coolant. Yesterday it was so frickin' cold that I couldn't get the truck to start. I need to get a shipping quote for that Barracuda hood and was going to take it with me when I went to Lincoln.

If I hear one more idjit complaining about global warming I may end up going postal on them.
 
1967 'cuda said:
I still haven't picked up any of that Evans Waterless Coolant. Yesterday it was so frickin' cold that I couldn't get the truck to start. I need to get a shipping quote for that Barracuda hood and was going to take it with me when I went to Lincoln.

If I hear one more idjit complaining about global warming I may end up going postal on them.
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Geez, how cold?.....
 
Abodybomber said:
Geez, how cold?.....
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The overnight low was close to zero. The Ford normally spins over pretty easy. I may have to give some attention to the battery cables. They should be OK. I cleaned them and sprayed some of that anti-corrosion stuff on them. But I haven't checked them in 4 or 5 months.
 
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SNKEBIT said:
There's the problem right there. lol :banghead:
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The worst part of it is that my heater core took a dump this summer. When I checked into what it would take to replace it (tearing the dash and air bag system apart) I decided to block it off. - So it's a COLD ride for winter driving. I did order a ceramic heater for it last night. Not a great solution but it may save me from frostbite.

I did get the truck to fire up today. Apparently the Permatex battery saver spray hadn't prevented the terminals from corroding after all.

Although I didn't take it anywhere I did call UPS about the cost estimate to ship the Barracuda hood. They said between 4 and 5 hundred bucks to New York. OUCH!! At that price I'd have to pay someone to take it.
 
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1967 'cuda said:


Although I didn't take it anywhere I did call UPS about the cost estimate to ship the Barracuda hood. They said between 4 and 5 hundred bucks to Louisiana. OUCH!! At that price I'd have to pay someone to take it.
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That's the problem with shipping. It's making it almost impossible to sell anything. It would be cheaper in gas to come and get it!!! LOL
 
SNKEBIT said:
That's the problem with shipping. It's making it almost impossible to sell anything. It would be cheaper in gas to come and get it!!! LOL
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I finally was able to get some info from Greyhound. I'm not sure how accurate this is but according to their online estimate the cost of shipping the hood would be under $130. - That's one heck of a difference! I'd heard they were cheaper but I didn't expect that it would be by that much.

On a side note, SNKEBIT. I got the rear trim packaged for your '67. I'll probably still send it by post office or UPS so that it will be delivered to your door. - Be expecting to see a long white tube arriving next week.

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