June 4, 2008-She's a bit rough right now, I know. I've had the car since Dec. 26, 2004. My dad bought it for me when I was 16 for $450 just after Christmas when he saw how much I loved the car when I first saw it. Always wanted an old Mopar... and maybe one day a 426 Hemi, lol. The car had been sitting in a cowfield since before I was born! Everything was there, more or less intact. Original 273, now it has a 318. Hauled it home and worked on it a little. Got it to run just by replacing the starter, fuel pump, fluids, and belts and cooling system. No ticks or knocks, a little smoking; not bad. Also, I acquired a 340 4 bbl., 727 tranny, and 8-3/4" rearend w/ 3.55's from an old 69 Dart GT (everything looks almost immaculate mechanically--we shall see...) for another $450. He just wanted to get rid of the car; he had a 1970 Plymouth 440 Superbird matching numbers for crying out loud... I've had the Barracuda almost 4 years and haven't been able to do much; a lot has been going on since graduation, mostly the fact that I joined the Marine Corps and am currently in Iraq as I type this. On a positive note, I should have more than enough money to completely rebuild/replace everything from top to bottom when I return here in a few months. Got good news from home; my dad finally dropped the body off at the body shop to have it completely restored. The right way. She's going to be deep glossy black--shows everything. Only time will tell... I've got high hopes for my dream car...
As she sat on my trailer going to the body shop.
340 I got for next to nothing. I may use this, but since money's not really too much of an issue, I really want a 6.1L stroked to 392 or 426. We'll see...
Rough, but not a rustbucket or a bondo-mobile either. Is there a chance???
My dad doing his famous plumber impersonation.
June 16, 2008-My car is completely disassembled and the main parts have been sent to NC for a light acid dipping to remove all the rust and crap and leave the body man with a good metal base to work with. The acid dipper is a little backed up, so it will probably be about a month before he can dip my car. All the other little parts, like transmission, engine, rearend, et cetera, are being sandblasted at home. Thinking about a roll cage for safety reasons. No, I'm not tubbing it. Sticking with the small block I have or a 6.1 crate motor. Have to see how money looks in the future; I can't afford to spend all my deployment money on my car, unfortunately. That's about it for now.
August 20, 2008-I'm in 29 Palms California on my way home for the first time in 7 months to see my family, friends, and my car is finally done with the acid bath, so my dad and I are going to drive down to NC on my 96 hour liberty to pick it up and take it back to the body man to begin work. So far, it looks like I can spend 20,000-25,000 in it at the moment (thank you for the money, Uncle Sam!). I'm going to get everything else done except for the engine. Normally, I'd probably start with the mechanical aspect, but however much money I have left afterwards determines where I go under the hood. I really want just a stock 6.1L hemi for multiple reasons, including gas mileage and reliability. I've done my research, and it seems not to incredibly hard a process to get one of the new hemi crates to work. Probably going to let my dad have the 340, but I plan on using the 727 and posi-rear I have. Apparrently, my dad has been working his ass off sandblasting and prepping parts like the tranny, rearend, and whatever other small parts he can do at home to save a little money. He also scored me some front end pieces from Carlisle and some tail chrome from a '69 in immaculate shape, which I may use even if it isn't the correct year. Thank you Dad, I love you!
September 1, 2008-I've got the car back from Chem-Strip, and the car was a lot more solid than I expected. The process removed all the rust, bondo, paint, and even the leaded joints from the car. We brought it to the body man and put the frame on a rotisserie. So far, the doors and fenders are done with metal work, the front passenger floor has been cut out, the driver's quarter has been partially cut out, and most of the trunk floor. We're currently in the process of putting metal back in. The driver's front floor pan is a bit thin in some spots, so I'm replacing it as well. I'll post pictures when I fill up the camera.
