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 | | February 22, 2021 - Max Help My friend is missing the rear window trim for his car, I was illustrating how big the pieces are. Also there were a couple brackets that needed to be installed in the trunk... |
 | | January 30, 2021 - Rock It For once I'm not pulling parts off my car to help somebody, still don't get how sombody could thing these go on the other way (top/bottom swap)... |
 | | October 3, 2020 - Dealer Code I was trying to see if I could read the dealer code written in the glovebox... |
 | | September 20, 2020 - Screw It Once again I'm taking my car apart to help somebody in an online forum. There was a question about the correct console mounting screws... |
 | | August 23, 2020 - Oops My niece and I went out to dinner and on the way home she was driving and we ran over something that sounded like gravel. Shortly after that with every turn we heard banging and poping noises, some of the resinated through the floor boards... |
 | | August 10, 2020 - OEM Taillights You would think finding good OEM taillights without pits would be easy, again a very long search is over... |
 | | May 28, 2020 - Fuel Sender The search for a accurate sender has been going on for a long time, this is a factory sender and have hopes that it works correctly. The initial meter reading look promising... |
 | | March 22, 2020 - Breakout Feeling a little cooped up I went for a drive, well I thought I had gas, guess I was lower than I thought, out a mile from home. Got gas (walking) and got the car home just as it started raining... |
 | | February 13, 2020 - Trim Clips (2) I contacted the company that I got the clips from about the correct clips and they knew the proper clip that I needed... |
 | | February 1, 2020 - Hot Wheels (3) Questions about the covers, I popped one off to show how heavy the construction was... |
 | | January 26, 2020 - Hot Wheels (2) With the new wheel covers I wanted to get some new beauty shots, any excuse for a drive... |
 | | January 25, 2020 - Hot Wheels Time for a change, I haven't run these wheel cover in quite some time, they are a rare dealer option that wasn't available from the factory. This is the first time on the car with the new redline tires... |
 | | January 20, 2020 - Trim Clips There was some interior trim that was never put on the car and in the last ten years most of the clips went missing. I ordered some new clips that I thought would work but they were just off enough that I couldn't addapt them... |
 | | January 11, 2020 - Time for an oil change Ron came by to help with the bulk oil changes. First up was the Barracuda, was able to just roll the car back and have the room. When it came time to do the Polara I found it easier to move the Barracuda out of the garage and move the Polara to the middle... |
 | | December 29, 2019 - Hood Latch I recently acquired an NOS hood latch, I want to clear coat it first with hopes it will retain this look a little longer. Looking at this latch made me look at the release lever and I decided that little of it seen to worry about. At the same time I was looking at this there... |
 | | December 7, 2019 - Ten Years Late When I put the car together ten years ago I didn't put this trim in at the point it should have, an oversight on my part. At that time I realized my mistake and figured I'd take care of it later. I knew it wasn't going to be easy and had an idea how much I... |
 | | November 2, 2019 - Flowers The other day I was up at the landfill and spotted these, returned with the Barracuda... |
 | | August 19, 2019 - Web Help Web Help... |
 | | August 10, 2019 - Dyno Day I chose to go to this show as they were going to have a dyno there and I wanted to get both cars checked. I recruited my friend Ron to go and drive the Barracuda. At first when we got to the show they tried to park us in one location and it didn't look right... |
 | | June 30, 2019 - Throttle Spring I recently found a spring that I thought might work better than the doubling up that I had. When I go to put it on one of the springs I had on the car broke. This combo works better, not as heavy as the double springs I had but not as lite as the single (that broke)... |
 | | June 9, 2019 - Mopar Alley - 2019 I haven't takin the Barracuda to this show in a long time, came early, parked the car, went and checked out the swap, the show, oh, pictures, oh well. n the way home I took a detour to checkout a vista, great vista, weather dependent, wrong time of day... |
 | | May 19, 2019 - Gas Guage Still trying to figure out my gas gauge, picked up an aftermarket one that was designed to use with the factory sender. Even after hooking it up I had the same issues, probably the aftermarket senders... |
 | | April 14, 2019 - Spring Fling 2019 Took the Barracuda to Spring Fling, hung out with some friends I haven't seen in a while, not much time at the car... |
 | | April 13, 2019 - Backup Lights Picked up a pair reproduction backup bezels at the show today... |
 | | April 3, 2019 - Bath Time After getting back from Oregon I felt it was time to give both cars a good wash, the Polara typically gets wiped down when I get back but it was looking a little dirty... |
 | | March 31, 2019 - Road Trip! - Day 5 Road trip continues... |
 | | March 30, 2019 - Road Trip! - Day 4 Road trip continues... |
 | | March 29, 2019 - Family Time Road trip continues... |
 | | March 25, 2019 - Road Trip! - Day 3 Road trip continues... |
 | | March 24, 2019 - Road Trip! - Day 2 Road trip continues... |
 | | March 23, 2019 - Road Trip! - Day 1 Vacation time and for me that means Road Trip! In the past I have taken my truck or rented a car, this trip it will be with the Barracuda. So stay tuned and I'll post updates from the road, no itinerary is being posted to keep it interesting... |
 | | March 16, 2019 - Grandpa's Legacy Fortunately I was able to get a pair of NOS defroster hoses, for some reason they were not put on the ten years ago. When I did the car ten years ago there were a few things I didn't know and the hood latch needed to be cleaned up. It was blasted and painted... |
 | | March 15, 2019 - Open House When he did the disc brakes he needed to take off the sticky wheel weights. I needed to get the wheels off so I could take them all to be re balanced, the easiest way was to jack it in the middle with the door to the house open... |
 | | March 14, 2019 - Disc Brakes and Sway Bar (4) Car is done with the brake and sway bar, a little low in the front, will need to crank it up... |
 | | February 27, 2019 - Disc Brakes and Sway Bar (3) More pictures from the shop, there was an issue with the sway bar bushings so as soon as I get different ones I'll be back... |
 | | February 26, 2019 - Disc Brakes and Sway Bar (2) Pictures from the shop of the car... |
 | | February 24, 2019 - Master Cylinder Bail The best I can tell I have everything needed to do the disc brake swap and the sway bar installation. I was able to locate new straps for the sway bar brackets. While the car is in the shop I'm going to have him service the transmission (leaking bad) and... |
 | | January 30, 2019 - Master Cylinder Bail This was taken to document the orientation of the bail on the master cylinder as I was going to take it off so I could paint the outside of the housing... |
 | | January 23, 2019 - Sway Bar Upgrade (2) I had the control arms and sway bar blasted, there is some pitting but not enough to be an issue. One of brackets was bent pretty good, may take some work to get it fixed... |
 | | January 20, 2019 - Lunch Time Drive My niece was in town and we went out to lunch and went for a drive, eleven years ago she was helping me put the car together. Shortly before she got her learners permit (years ago) we took the car to a deserted parking lot and I let her drive to car... |
 | | January 15, 2019 - License Plate Bracket Once again answering a forum question, this one was about the mounting of the front plate bracket... |
 | | November 24, 2018 - Sway Bar Upgrade One thing I have been wanting to do to the car was add a factory sway bar, just got the parts needed, at least the non-serviceable ones... |
 | | November 6, 2018 - Power Steering Hose Someone in a forum asked a question about their power steering hose and it was noted that they had it run incorrectly. I was illustrating the proper orientation... |
 | | November 4, 2018 - Reproduction Sender The reproduction senders use a different rheostat, these are enclosed... |
 | | October 28, 2018 - Throttle Brackets The throttle bracket on a 67 Commando is a very unique part and a one year only bracket, these were taken to illustrate the differences between the 2-barrel and 4-barrel parts... |
 | | October 27, 2018 - Fuel Sender Rebuild This was an attempt to rebuild a fuel sender. I was able to identify the issues and broken parts, some of these I was able fix but overall there was still some issues that I couldn't take care of and the functionality wasn't good enough to use... |
 | | October 26, 2018 - Certicard One thing I do is keep a dummy Certicard in the holder on the car, I do have the original and it still has my grandfather's original information on it... |
 | | October 24, 2018 - Dealer Frame (4) Finished frame on the car... |
 | | October 23, 2018 - Dealer Frame (3) The letters on the plate frame were hand brushed with white... |
 | | October 22, 2018 - Dealer Frame (2) On a recent outing the speedometer cable was making a lot of noise, it was binding so bad that it was causing the housing to slap the exhaust pipe. We were hearing the noise from the pipe before we noticed it was in sync with the speedometer bounce... |
 | | October 20, 2018 - Dealer Frame Just got a new restoration battery for the car. I have one original dealer plate frame and it was bent pretty good. I was able to straighten it by putting it in the vice and pressing most of it out with a couple blocks of wood... |
 | | October 18, 2018 - Brake Inspection Did an inspection on the brakes thinking I may need to do them (I have never done the rears, so 1984?), looked good so I left them... |
 | | October 14, 2018 - And Another Ones Gone Previously I had stripped down the other engines I had but now it is time to get rid of the one that just came out of the car. Pretty much keeping everything but the block... |
 | | October 13, 2018 - Realy Yet another hose that wouldn't seal, doubled up the clamp with another hidden clamp. Next up was to look into the backup lights, they don't work and I have no power at the switch, yes the key was on and the fuses are good. I'll deal with it later... |
 | | October 8, 2018 - Smooth The new pushrods and rocker screws came in. One thing that needed to be done was to clean the casting on the mating surface of the rockers. I used an abrasive pad and went at it, I would then run a stud into it and check for high spots with a magnifying glass... |
 | | September 22, 2018 - Barracuda While I was having the ball joint replaced I was told the brakes needed to be done. I figured I might as well get them done while I wait for rocker parts. Nothing particular just a typical brake job. |
 | | September 7, 2018 - Barracuda I set out to have the ball joints done and Andy at Troxell's made quick work of it, the left was good and he only did the right. He commented on the brakes needing to be done... |
 | | September 7, 2018 - Polara I got tired of the reproduction plates on the car and wanted to get the originals redone, so they were dropped off at the Powder Coater. |
 | | September 6, 2018 - Barracuda I couldn't get the radiator hoses to stop leaking, sometimes it was worse than others. We had already put a screw clamp on the radiator end of the lower hose when we started it for the first time and I needed to do the same at the water pump... |
 | | September 2, 2018 - Barracuda I couldn't take it, put the wheel covers on, picture time. Went for another drive with the idea of getting pictures. Nothing jumped out so I just stopped and took a few, stopped by my brothers on the way home to show him the latest. |
 | | September 1, 2018 - Barracuda Took the car for a drive today to one of my go to picture places, the weather was just right to get pictures without harsh shadows. Took some of the recent work under the hood and a couple overall just because... |
 | | August 25, 2018 - Barracuda The day started with my friend coming over and going through the carburetors and with his help I chose to use the factory original one. While he cleaned it up and rebuilt it I needed to run out and buy a distributor as he felt the one I had was worn out... |
 | | August 20, 2018 - Barracuda The radiator in the car was an aftermarket replacement that was deteriorating and didn't look good. With all the extra effort that has gone into the recent restoration it would have been foolish to use this radiator... |
 | | August 14, 2018 - Barracuda This was taken to answer a question online. |
 | | August 6, 2018 - Barracuda One of the things I got with the car from my Grandfather was the original factory carburetor. While getting the different carburetors ready to pick from I needed to select a air cleaner hoop, one of them had a wing nut that had been painted black, doubt it was factory. |
 | | August 5, 2018 - Barracuda One thing that I left off on my previous restoration were the engine to transmission braces. |
 | | August 2, 2018 - Barracuda For some reason the factory used different wire retainers on the opposing sides of the engine, some say that the ones on the passenger side were painted... |
 | | July 25, 2018 - Barracuda In my regular searching of eBay I found an NOS carburetor with the correct number tag. |
 | | July 19, 2018 - Barracuda I had previously installed the wiper motor but it looked like it was well used. It was removed and sent in for restoration, good choice. It was installed but will need to wait till I can open the doors enough to get to the linkage and attach it... |
 | | July 17, 2018 - Barracuda The parts book list two different power steering hoses for the 273, the one for the two barrel has a horseshoe loop on one end and the one for the Commando 273 does not... |
 | | July 14, 2018 - Barracuda Looking for an original throttle spring and I looked through the factory parts book and one of the numbers listed was 2658308 and a friend had one as it was the only spring listed for a 66 with a 273. |
 | | June 19, 2018 - Barracuda This car being an original California car it was equipped with the Cleaner Air Package, one of the notable components of this package is the Vacuum Control Valve... |
 | | June 12, 2018 - Barracuda I'm pretty sure the factory brake hoses were 3/16" and not 1/8", this is something that isn't listed on most part searches. I had to look at pictures posted of different manufactures hoses till I found ones that were 3/16"... |
 | | May 28, 2018 - Barracuda Once again another "close enough" reproduction part, could be a "one size fits all" part, either way the replacement wasn't good enough for me. The original was cleaned up and installed on the alternator with the bent corner the way it was on the original. |
 | | May 27, 2018 - Barracuda Not a lot of time for the car I did get the alternator brackets and fan on. |
 | | May 26, 2018 - Barracuda I got a new master cylinder but the bolt was the wrong size so I chose to put a Heli-Coil in so the original bolt could be used. The inside was first taped and then stuffed with paper towels before covering it in tape, no metal shaving should get in... |
 | | May 25, 2018 - Barracuda The dry transfer letters worked fine but took a little work to line up, the red was difficult to differentiate from the black. After having to redo various letters I finished it, it may not be as perfect as the NOS one it is far better than the reproduction... |
 | | May 24, 2018 - Barracuda I purchased a reproduction date coded voltage regulator, it has a different style cover than my factory piece. I also have an NOS piece but the cover had a fair amount of shelf ware. So I chose to attempt to do the lettering myself... |
 | | May 23, 2018 - Barracuda I dropped by the paint shop to check in on the status of the battery tray and data plate, still not done. |
 | | May 22, 2018 - Barracuda The day was spent under the car, driveshaft, pipes to manifolds, starter, transmission lines, speedometer cable, neutral safety, kick down and shift linkage. And all that took the full day. |
 | | May 21, 2018 - Barracuda My friend dropped by and assisted in getting the engine in and mated to the transmission. Once we had it lowered in place and bolted to the transmission we had difficulties getting the mounts to drop in... |
 | | May 20, 2018 - Barracuda I have always found it easier to leave the transmission in the car when pulling the engine, this was no different only this time I had to remove the transmission as well. I had help lifting the transmission out but chose to just use my engine hoist to put it back in... |
 | | May 19, 2018 - Barracuda One thing I planned to do before having the engine compartment repainted was to paint the frame and wiper motor. With everything masked off the black was touched up. Once the paint was dry the new brake lines were installed... |
 | | May 18, 2018 - Barracuda I got the car back and it looks far better than it did before. |
 | | May 15, 2018 - Barracuda I dropped by the shop again to see the progress, he was literally at the point he was getting ready to spray. |
 | | May 14, 2018 - Barracuda Cleaning the transmission as more about cleaning than restoring, steel wool and a small wire brush were used with a couple cans of brake clean. |
 | | May 13, 2018 - Barracuda I was going to clean the transmission but the days plan changed. |
 | | May 8, 2018 - Barracuda In going through parts I realized I had two different styles, in looking through pictures of the car from way back and pictures of a 67 Valiant (w/273) I figured which one it probably had and that it probably could have had either. |
 | | May 7, 2018 - Barracuda I checked in with the shop to make sure we were on the same page. |
 | | May 6, 2018 - Barracuda With the car out I had room to organize parts and sort into cleaning groups. Some parts just need a scrubbing, others blasted. I had a different exhaust that I chose to use, A it was more correct, B I was able to clean it ahead of time... |
 | | May 5, 2018 - Barracuda The car was going to be towed to the body shop but I wasn't going to be home so I rolled the car into the street (told neighbors a tow truck would be getting it so don't worry). With the car out I was able to remove the rest of the parts that I wanted to clear. |
 | | May 2, 2018 - Barracuda The exhaust manifolds are much easier to separate from the pipes with the engine not there. The car was then rolled out with the engine bay over the driveway then scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed... |
 | | May 1, 2018 - Barracuda It was originally planned to remove the transmission under the car but I chose to slide it forward and lift it out. The engine mount was left on the frame and the bolts to the transmission removed... |
 | | April 30, 2018 - Barracuda A simple hookup and pull, nope first drag the hoist out from the yard in pieces. Even though it was just used a few months ago all the finger tight bolts needed wrenched to remove so I could assemble the hoist. System drained and radiator removed... |
 | | April 29, 2018 - Barracuda The day started with moving both cars out of the garage so I could paint the engine. The engine was originally painted with Dupli-Color Chrysler red, not quite right knowing I'd be doing a full assembly paint when done... |
 | | April 28, 2018 - Barracuda One thing we had planned on doing was to block off the heat crossover on the intake, with today's gas vapor lock is more an issue. I used an old 440 valley pan and cut a couple pieces out to cover the ports on the heads... |
 | | April 21, 2018 - Barracuda New day, first up was to install the balancer now that we had an installer. Oil was then poured into the engine through the valley over all the lifter sleeves, the oil was pumped till it came out the first lifter... |
 | | April 15, 2018 - Barracuda I recently had my wheels powder coated and because the larger tires will not fit in the spare tire well I chose to get a smaller tire and put it on a 4-1/2" wheel. The tire that was on the car wouldn't hold air so I put the spare on... |
 | | April 7, 2018 - Barracuda The day started with verifying the valve rocker geometry, once we were happy the Cometic head gaskets were copper coated. While we waited for the gaskets to be ready the head gasket surfaces were cleaned and the block surface... |
 | | April 1, 2018 - Barracuda The day started off with putting the crank seal in the timing cover, a section of exhaust pipe was the perfect fit to drive it in, although the seal has a coating on it sealant was used. The timing cover and water pump were installed... |
 | | March 31, 2018 - Barracuda New day, one by one the pistons were coated inside with oil to get the wrist pins and then oil was liberally poured over the outside and worked into the rings. As each piston was done it was inserted and bolted in, torque would be done later... |
 | | March 30, 2018 - Barracuda Another part asked about but didn't sell. |
 | | March 20, 2018 - Barracuda The new timing chain arrived and was installed, perfect tension. Happy with the timing chain the work moved to the heads, my builder chose to go with new springs, retainers and locks, the machine shop used the originals... |
 | | March 17, 2018 - Barracuda I'm in the process of doing some cleanup on the Barracuda and wanted to get some pictures of the as it was. This is ten years after the car was restored and for eight years the car was kept on the driveway under a cover. |
 | | March 15, 2018 - Barracuda When I got the new redline tires I only got 4 till I knew if they would fit the spare tire well. Once I got the tires mounted I tried one of them in the spare tire well, well it fit but was way too tight... |
 | | March 5, 2018 - Barracuda Well I bit the bullet and got the tires, just got four, will get a normal tire for a spare. |
 | | March 3, 2018 - Barracuda Once the machine work was done the first thing was to clean the inside of the water jacket, something that should have been done prior to sending it out. Bristle brushes and coat hangers were used in every conceivable angle in every opening in the block... |
 | | March 2, 2018 - Barracuda The original 1967 Barracuda Fastbacks had a pebble grain trunk mat. With a little searching I found some material that was close. |
 | | March 1, 2018 - Barracuda With the Barracuda going back to its original two barrel setup I will no longer need the Commando parts. There was somebody that was interested but no longer. Once I get the new engine in the car these parts will be for sale... |
 | | February 26, 2018 - Barracuda Found picture, no idea why I took it. |
 | | February 18, 2018 - Barracuda For the entire time I was restoring the Polara the Barracuda sat on the driveway under a cover, now that the Polara is done it is time to get the Barracuda back in the garage... |
 | | February 3, 2018 - Barracuda For the last couple months I have been sorting hardware from five different engines. Along with the hardware I have been collecting all the other parts needed to complete the new engine. I did find a replacement valve cover... |
 | | January 22, 2018 - Barracuda The dip on the bendable wire tabs was cracked so it was all removed, the tabs were cleaned up and prepped for new dip. |
 | | January 19, 2018 - Barracuda This car originally had an un-silenced air cleaner and has always been a topic of conversation. I have never seen another Mopar of this era with the same air cleaner on a 2 barrel carburetor, 4 barrel yes, and 1 barrel yes. There is no doubt it is an original part... |
 | | January 14, 2018 - Barracuda I finished up painting the engine and noticed that one head doesn't have the treaded hole used for the ground cable, so when we do the assembly I'll have to make sure the heads go on the correct side... |
 | | January 13, 2018 - Barracuda The engine was mocked up so it could be cleaned and painted, my engine builder liked the block painted first. I do plan on painting it as an assembly later... |
 | | January 12, 2018 - Barracuda I sent the intake and exhaust manifolds out to be blasted as they are a little big heavy and awkward for the blast cabinet that I use... |
 | | January 8, 2018 - Barracuda I have parts to at least four different 273 and some 318, most of the 318 parts are labeled for that so if there was a difference I knew why. The rest of the parts were sorted and inspected to come up with one good set that could be cleaned and repainted... |
 | | January 6, 2018 - Barracuda I picked up the engine block piston rods and crank today, he had set aside the balancer that he said to use... |
 | | January 1, 2018 - Barracuda A new year and I'm in full swing getting parts ready for this engine. The braces were never put back on the engine and I plan on putting them on this round. If all goes well I should have the engine back in a few days. |
 | | December 26, 2017 - Barracuda There was an issue with one of the heads so I took another pair of heads to the machine shop, the block was done just waiting to be honed. |
 | | November 20, 2017 - Barracuda When I restored the car I put Commando-V8 badges on the car and now I want to put the correct V-Eight badges on the car. An NOS set was located and will look much better than the originals. |
 | | June 18, 2017 - Barracuda A friend was asking what color the switch bezel should be and I said mine is part of the dash, apparently the 69 is different. |
 | | June 11, 2017 - Barracuda I went to my favorite show with the CHP car where the Barracuda has been overlooked, the CHP car did well and I saw a 2bbl Dart that I took note of the throttle linkage and plug wire retainers as this new engine will be 2bbl. |
 | | May 28, 2017 - Barracuda Two other engines were pulled out so they could be looked at, the original Barracuda engine was going to be taken apart for parts and scrap the block... |
 | | May 23, 2017 - Barracuda My engine builder was looking for a particular number on the heads and I needed to see what I had, the engines were tucked away where it was hard to get to so the camera became my eyes. I was in luck I had at least one set of the requested heads... |
 | | March 8, 2017 - Barracuda A little background, when the car was restored in 2008 the original engine was cleaned up repainted and put in, this engine had already been rebuilt twice and was 0.060 over. The previous rebuild was done not that long before or so I thought... |
 | | April 10, 2015 - Barracuda My friend dropped by on his way to the Spring Fling car show, his Barracuda Fastback is still in the shop so he brought his recently acquired convertible. |
 | | February 24, 2015 - Barracuda A local burger shop hosted a cruise-in again to support the local drag strip effort. |
 | | August 9, 2014 - Barracuda This year a bunch of my Emergency Vehicle friends came up for the show, I wasn't interested in the judging so I parked with them. |
 | | October 12, 2013 - Barracuda A local hot rod shop, Hot Rod Ranch hosted a Gasser Roundup, aside from the gassers my friend had his recently finished 1970 'Cuda. After the show my Niece who came with me and I went for a drive... |
 | | October 11, 2013 - Barracuda The local Chevy dealer was hosting a Cruise-In to support the local drag-strip effort. I didn't get any pictures but my car was seen on the Hot Rod Magazine website and Facebook page. |
 | | August 10, 2013 - Barracuda This is a fun local show, typically it draws about 200 cars with many coming in from throughout California. The show is a general show with the normal assortment of categories, this year there were about eight cars in the Mopar class. |
 | | June 3, 2012 - Barracuda I go to this show because I like the show, I'm not into the award thing, far from being a trophy hound. |
 | | March 24, 2012 - Barracuda Allan Hancock College had its third (actually forth) annual car show on Saturday. Two years ago I had the car there and put it in the Muscle car class and was out classed by some very nice cars and it was People's Choice judging... |
 | | February 4, 2012 - Barracuda One of the other local Mopar owners put together a Mopar gathering at a local lake. Need I say it, great all around. |
 | | October 29, 2011 - Barracuda Once again another Mopar BBQ, same as always, good food, good cars, good company. |
 | | August 13, 2011 - Barracuda A local shop once and a while host a Mopar BBQ, a couple friends and I took our cars, great drive, great cars, and great fun. |
 | | June 4, 2011 - Barracuda Once again I'm headed to a show that has eluded me. On the way I chose to take some back roads that at one time were the highway. It had been raining so the roads were filthy and that transferred to the car... |
 | | April 16, 2011 - Barracuda On my way to an Emergency Vehicle show in Morro Bay I stopped at the local Donuts and Coffee cruise-in. After the show I met up with a friend and went out to Morro Rock. |
 | | March 28, 2011 - Barracuda I had an issue with the HOA claiming I had a non-operational vehicle on my driveway, I had to clarify it that this isn't the same car that they may have thought was there. |
 | | January 29, 2011 - Barracuda friend and I took our cars to the local (40 miles away) donuts and coffee cruise-in, hung out for a while and left. On the way home we took a detour where my friend had ignition issues after we stopped for pictures. In the end it was a good day. |
 | | October 30, 2010 - Barracuda Once again another Fall Fling show. I chose to mix it up with a different set of wheel-covers, I had a set of the dealer optional Mag style caps. At the show was another 67 Barracuda that had a single headrest, it was an option that way. |
 | | September 4, 2010 - Barracuda Once again I had my car at the local car show but this time it was in the Mopar class, not sure if that class was there last year or not. Anyway I got the award for the class, first real trophy! |
 | | August 29, 2010 - Barracuda My parents were working on a new deck and I went down to help, I thought he already had the material delivered, nope. Wasn't an issue, we just took the Barracuda to the hardware store and loaded it up. Talk about Déja_vu... |
 | | June 28, 2010 - Barracuda I went to an event with my friend and his CHP 1969 Polara and we got back to Lompoc a little late, he still had a three hour drive home. He was going to spend the night but didn't want to leave his car outside so I checked with my brother... |
 | | June 6, 2010 - Barracuda Back to the same people's choice show and like before no glory. Again it isn't about the trophies it is about friends and the show. |
 | | January 23, 2010 - Barracuda With some recent snow in the area I thought I'd see if I could get close enough for pictures. I got much closer than the pictures show but at that point you couldn't see the snow. The road was getting to be more loose gravel and a stream crossing finial turned me around. |
 | | September 5, 2009 - Barracuda First year for the car at the local car show, it was entered in the Muscle Car class. Didn't place but over all a good show, some family came to see the car (and the show). |
 | | August 20, 2009 - Barracuda Road trip to Oregon to show the car to a couple friends. 300 Miles was the first stop was for a photo-op at the Golden Gate Bridge. The first lot I got to was no good. I moved on and found a better spot but there were a few cars and some people... |
 | | August 9, 2009 - Barracuda My brothers took their families camping at a local lake so I took the car and joined them. My Niece had my camera and took some pictures of her car. |
 | | June 19, 2009 - Barracuda Got an NOS dual point distributor, not sure I can use this thing, it is too nice. |
 | | June 7, 2009 - Barracuda One of the shows I had been looking forward to taking the car to. The show is people's choice judging and I wasn't popular enough to get even 3rd out of six cars even though mine was clearly nicer than most the others, the others were local and people knew the owners... |
 | | May 28, 2009 - Barracuda This car was originally purchased from Guy Moothart in Compton and retained its frames into about 1979, gone when I got the car but I was able to spot a car and follow them till I could ask about getting the frame, they only had one... |
 | | May 10, 2009 - Barracuda I took the car for a drive to the local beach for lunch, great burger stand there. As I left I stopped for a picture, only thing better would have been to taken it before lunch for better lighting. |
 | | April 26, 2009 - Barracuda Once again my friend came down for the show, this was the cars first judged show, sort of. This year they wanted to do away with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and give "Award of Distinction" plaques, whatever. |
 | | April 18, 2009 - Barracuda I had the car visiting my parents along with my brothers and their families. I parked the car in the same location as it was in the 1969 picture. With a little help from my Niece we took a bunch of pictures and I was able to use one of them for the composite. |
 | | March 7, 2009 - Barracuda Someone in a forum was having a hard time visualizing the seat mountings. |
 | | February 14, 2009 - Barracuda Over the last couple months I have cleaned up the Commando engine I got from a friend. I did pull it apart and replace the gaskets as I did the initial engine, I just hope I don't make whatever mistake I may have on the other one. |
 | | November 30, 2008 - Barracuda Like I really need another engine, the price was right but not the location. This one was six hours away on a good day, this was Sunday on a holiday weekend. I got a later start than planned as my brothers truck wasn't available... |
 | | November 2, 2008 - Barracuda Another week later and I'm out again, this time to an old bridge not too far from home. Good location but may be better at a different time of day. I did have to edit the warning sign out of some of the pictures, didn't do all them as it takes time... |
 | | October 27, 2008 - Barracuda I took the car to show a friend and used his driveway as a backdrop while I waited for him. After my visit with my friend I took the car for a little drive to a spot I discovered some time back. A patch of the old 101 through Arroyo Grande was still there... |
 | | October 26, 2008 - Barracuda I took a little time to look at the engine to see if I could see what the problem may have been. No smoking guns but then again I'm not sure what I'm looking for. |
 | | October 25, 2008 - Barracuda Now that I am back rolling (although with a temporary heart transplant) I'm back out looking for backgrounds to show off the car. A recently finished building that wasn't occupied yet had the vintage look... |
 | | October 18, 2008 - Barracuda The drive down last night was crazy, we had cars constantly hovering to check out the cars, it didn't help the two cars were the same including color. The show was casual with no judging, met up with some other Barracuda owners and enjoyed a great day... |
 | | October 17, 2008 - Barracuda The few day have been getting the engine out of the Barracuda and getting the Valiant ready to pull the engine. I took the day off work as I knew it was going to take some time to pull the engine and get it in the Barracuda... |
 | | October 13, 2008 - Barracuda Yesterday I took the car out for another drive and it was running real hot the entire time, didn't do far and turned around and went home. When I got home I left it running and flipped the radiator cap off, I put the garden hose on trickle and put it in the radiator... |
 | | October 11, 2008 - Barracuda Now that I have the exhaust and an alignment the car is done and I can start driving it. I chose to take one of our many back road drives that I like, the car drove great and was fun to be back in it on the road... |
 | | October 8, 2008 - Barracuda I made plans to have the exhaust done and get an alignment, 6:00 in the morning I fire it up and try to idle it down to the exhaust shop. Later that afternoon I go to get the car and take it to the alignment shop and he tells me it heats up quite quick? Ok?... |
 | | October 5, 2008 - Barracuda For the last month or so I have been working diligently on getting the car running but have been having one problem or another. Well the other night I had a problem with the Valiant and needed to have it towed home... |
 | | September 21, 2008 - Barracuda The car is essentially done, I'm still trying to decide if I want to upgrade the brakes at this time. Probably not just worried that there may be some unforeseen problems. |
 | | September 8, 2008 - Barracuda I got the driver door together finally, I don't care what way you read the factory service manual it doesn't make since or work. I found a totally different way to get the door glass in and it was way too easy, not even close to how the book wanted it to go... |
 | | September 4, 2008 - Barracuda The plan is to have the windshield and rear window installed this weekend, first I needed to put the clips in for the trim. The trim is for a 68 and later can so there were no provisions for the clips, I needed to drill the holes. |
 | | September 2, 2008 - Barracuda A friend of mine in Oregon restore all the trim for this car a while back, I delivered it all to him personally and a year later went and picked it up. Shortly after getting home I discovered on of the trunk trim pieces had speckles all over it, I tried cleaning it thinking it was just compound, no luck... |
 | | August 24, 2008 - Barracuda The original y-pipe was in good shape and was cleaned up and painted with Eastwood exhaust paint. I still have the tail pipe but the rest of the headpipe and muffler are long gone (long story as well). |
 | | August 23, 2008 - Barracuda Now seemed like the perfect time to rebuild the steering coupler, the old one was taken apart and trashed. The new parts were greased and assembled, the assembly needed to be clamped together to get the fingers on the cover to reach over the nubs... |
 | | August 20, 2008 - Barracuda I have been having difficulties with the trunk lock, will need to see if the trim can move. |
 | | August 2, 2008 - Barracuda New tires were mounted up and one the car with the ever so cool bolt-through hubcaps. Test drive time, oh wait no interior yet, or windshield... |
 | | July 26, 2008 - Barracuda One thing I failed to do was leave the screws in for the coat hooks and other items, the mirror and visors were not an issue but the coat hooks were not that obvious. I marked them and tried to find pictures, found one and it looks close do it'll have do... |
 | | July 22, 2008 - Barracuda The rear section of carpet goes in first and right away I had a problem, there needs to be some more carpet alongside the rear seat. The trim panel and seat bottom were put in to see how much is missing, I'll just tuck the used pieces in and see how it goes. |
 | | July 19, 2008 - Barracuda The local trim shop agreed to come to the house and do the headliner and with that done I could start in on the carpet. |
 | | July 16, 2008 - Barracuda The headliner is being installed in a few days and I thought it might be good to get it out of the box. |
 | | July 11, 2008 - Barracuda I had some time for the car and got some more parts on the engine. |
 | | July 7, 2008 - Barracuda My Niece came by again this time to help with the dash, perfect job for a 9 year old assistant. The day was finished up with getting the torsion bars in and the front wheels back on. It is starting to look like a car again. |
 | | July 6, 2008 - Barracuda My lovely Niece came to help me put the engine in, she has be wanting to help for as long as she could talk. At first I wasn't sure there would be enough room to lift the car under the garage door and still roll the engine in, there was but not by much... |
 | | July 5, 2008 - Barracuda I went to my Parents for a BBQ and scouted out the house to see what I can use for a reference to recreate the 1969 picture I have. |
 | | July 4, 2008 - Barracuda First thing I did was test to see if it was safe to lift the car by the core support, as the car was lifted I checked for deflection, none, great good to go. I dug out the transmission shield but turns out it is for something else?... |
 | | June 30, 2008 - Barracuda The engine was finished out and is ready to install. |
 | | June 28, 2008 - Barracuda Time to get the engine assembly finished out so it can go in, once I figured out which seal to use, the pan, intake, timing cover and water pump were put on the previously painted engine. The car was covered up and the correct shade of red was sprayed on the engine. |
 | | June 19, 2008 - Barracuda Figured out the mystery parts, it is a rear seat shim that was cut in half, probably were running short so a half was taped to each side to do the job. |
 | | June 17, 2008 - Barracuda Some unidentified parts were found in a ziplock like there was a reason to save them, two metal bars some calking and a piece of tape? |
 | | June 16, 2008 - Barracuda As parts are moved others are pulled out to see what is needed to be cleaned up and made ready. |
 | | June 11, 2008 - Barracuda With the car in the garage I was left with nowhere to paint, well maybe nowhere. I live alone and my living room is more a storage space than part of the house, close enough, spray away. |
 | | June 5, 2008 - Barracuda New sliders for the door glass were ordered, they needed to be trimmed and holes punched. Having the originals made it easy. |
 | | May 30, 2008 - Barracuda A while back I acquired a correct Commando carb along with the linkage and brackets, these were used on my Valiant till I felt the carb needed an overhaul, I chose to just put an Edelbrock on it. This carburetor will be sent out for rebuild. |
 | | May 25, 2008 - Barracuda Some broken parts were discovered, one seat adjusted tie along with a seat adjuster spring. The other part I'm looking for is the shifter adjuster clamp. |
 | | May 20, 2008 - Barracuda One of the door glass trims came off, trying to figure out what they may have used to stick them on, may just use weatherstrip adhesive. |
 | | May 18, 2008 - Barracuda The quarter windows might be my biggest fear on this assembly project, maybe next to the doors. |
 | | May 11, 2008 - Barracuda The brake pedal assembly will need to come apart so it can be refinished, a good cleaning might be sufficient. |
 | | April 28, 2008 - Barracuda One of the things I need to get moving on are the seats, I have had the upholstery for years just need to get them installed. I just ordered new foam so now is a good time to document the assemblies and break them down. |
 | | April 27, 2008 - Barracuda In the last week I got the front bumper installed along with the plate bracket and plate. |
 | | April 19, 2008 - Barracuda I had to take a break from working on the car, time, money, life, anyway I am back! The grill was installed along with some parts under the hood. Some sound deadener was put on the interior floor and the rear load area floor put in. |
 | | October 31, 2007 - Barracuda Back at class, a little late getting there and ended up in one of the uncovered bays, probably better as I was going to be hitting the car with the buffer and cutting compound. |
 | | October 29, 2007 - Barracuda The car was taken back to class and the blocking started, we chose to take the aggressive approach and started with 800 grit paper and then moved onto 1000. I didn't have time to finish the car with 1000 grit in class but continued when I got home... |
 | | October 20, 2007 - Barracuda The car was rolled out on the driveway so I could see the car in different light throughout the day. That is one thing about this color is how it changes in different light. |
 | | October 17, 2007 - Barracuda After a couple weeks of blocking and sanding the car is ready for paint. Right away the car was rolled into the booth and masked with the help of a couple other students. The car was again cleaned and the paint mixed... |
 | | October 14, 2007 - Barracuda Just acquired another 273, this one is a Commando so it has the intake and correct special valve covers that I need. The rest will go into storage as spare parts. |
 | | October 7, 2007 - Barracuda Last class I got the car in primer, I should be able to get the car blocked and read for paint pretty quick. I have been getting instruction in class and then working every night on the car at home, three hours one day a week just would not work. |
 | | September 23, 2007 - Barracuda A friend was selling an original Commando 273 complete, I couldn't resist so I'll be picking it up later. |
 | | September 22, 2007 - Barracuda A couple months ago I saw a neighbor working on a 74 Charger, he was doing bodywork so I stopped by and askes who was doing the paint, he said he was and was taking a class at the local community college. Right away I went online and signed up for the class... |
 | | July 5, 2007 - Barracuda Someone in the Barracuda Owners Group online forum was asking about the radio support bracket, my dash being apart made it easy getting a picture. Another question led me to comment on the aluminum pins I had made to replace the plastic ones... |
 | | April 14, 2007 - Barracuda The engine was knocked apart and cleaned, new gaskets and put back together. I fresh coat of red was put on it but I'm not happy with the color, I'll need to do some searching there. The plan is still to do the Commando upgrade so I didn't bother with the intake... |
 | | January 21, 2007 - Barracuda During the teardown I busted a bolt on the lower pulley, luckily there was enough left I was able to work it out. It appears the pulley didn't seat properly when it was last installed and the bolt was probably stressed, something to take note of for later. |
 | | January 14, 2007 - Barracuda Still wanting to move forward I chose to clean up the motor, I couldn't recall how many miles were on this rebuild but felt it wasn't enough to worry about. I ordered a gasket set pulled the intake, heads and the pan along with the timing cover... |
 | | June 6, 2006 - Barracuda Sometime last year I had taken all my stainless and aluminum trim up to a friend in Oregon that was going to restore it for me. It was finally ready I drove back up there to pick it all up. When I got home I was looking at one of the trim pieces and noticed... |
 | | April 10, 2006 - Barracuda With the car needing to be painted over and not wanting to do it myself just be back where I started I set out looking for estimates and saving money. I did make some effort to see if it would buff out and it was a wasted effort... |
 | | September 27, 2005 - Barracuda Four weeks later we put the clear on, at the time I saw some issues and we felt the clear would even them out. That evening I looked at the car and started to see issues, some of the previous ones and others. The base went down seedy and that just got amplified... |
 | | September 4, 2005 - Barracuda The next day I rolled the car onto the driveway to get a good look at it in the sun, right away I could see that there were zebra stripes and missed areas. After watching my friend I felt it looked simple enough so I mixed up some more paint and started shooting... |
 | | September 3, 2005 - Barracuda The day has come, after 15 years the car is getting painted. My friend was finally able to come by and get this thing painted. I don't recall if it was one, two or three coats of base but it looked great. As the color was going down over the original paint you could... |
 | | July 23, 2005 - Barracuda Over the last few weeks I resolved the quarter panel and sanded the rest of the car. My friend came by again and we got the body panels all mounted and aligned and gave the car a thorough wash. |
 | | June 19, 2005 - Barracuda This is it, I recruited a friend to help me with the bodywork and paint the car. I spent most of the time scrubbing the engine compartment and the underside of the hood, while he cleaned up the bodywork on the quarter panel, front and rear valances... |
 | | May 8, 2005 - Barracuda I finally felt it was time to truly get motivated on this project, money was better and I had the time. First up was to track down all the parts from storage and all over the garage (and house). |
 | | June 1, 2004 - Barracuda A lot more sanding has been done and I felt it was time to pull the front frame assembly. The torsion bars fought a little but in the end I got it apart. |
 | | November 29, 2002 - Barracuda Another year and still no real money to work on the car. I have now acquired my original motor back after a yearlong battle, I was using the motor in my 73 Barracuda and sold the car with the idea we'd pull the motor the next week at the sellers house... |
 | | June 29, 2002 - Barracuda I pretty much have what I need to do the Commando upgrade, all that is needed is the chrome breather cap and the air cleaner decal. |
 | | February 24, 2002 - Barracuda The factory Barracuda jack is a thing of mystery, no idea how it works. I have used it but have no plans in the future. |
 | | June 23, 2001 - Barracuda Still no money but I had access to a digital camera so I chose to take a new series of pictures, by now I have removed the fenders. |
 | | November 1, 2000 - Barracuda I just started a new job and moved into a house with a garage so for the first time in ten years the car was where I could work on it, not that I had any money. Anyway time to start planning, a series of before shots were taken. |
 | | June 1, 1990 - Barracuda I finally had the resources to have the engine rebuilt for the second time, now I was a little wiser, I went with a recommendation of Valley Head Service in Northridge, CA. For a while we didn't know what we were going to do... |
 | | May 1, 1987 - Barracuda Off to go camping with a couple friends, not taking the car. |
 | | December 1, 1986 - Barracuda Two weeks after I get the car back, wham! Some girl backs out of a parking stall right into the drivers' side. No problems here other than the repairs were not great. It was not discovered for several months that the quarter window wouldn't roll down, broken roller... |
 | | September 1, 1986 - Barracuda Just my luck, take a thirty-year-old car with no damage and someone will hit it. Only problem nobody saw it happen. I returned home from work to find the front fender pushed back, with bits of a taillight around it. |
 | | June 15, 1983 - Barracuda I only had the car a year or so before the engine let loose, my 80 miles a day didn't take to well. Knowing nothing about engines I sent the car to have the engine rebuilt, at this time it had well over 150,000 miles on it... |
 | | December 7, 1966 - Barracuda It was November 1966 and my Grandfather was in the market for a new car, his Valiant Signet was recently wrecked. His first stop was Guy Moothart Chrysler Plymouth on Long Beach Boulevard in Compton California... |
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