Hello all! Welcome to my build thread!
I am a student at McPherson College, I hope to have this car at least in paint by my senior year. We have a big car show on campus at the end of each year, so that is my goal.
I picked up this '70 Barracuda back in April. I had enough time to get an A-Pillar done before I headed to England for an internship. I should have plenty of time to get things done now. Needs a new front left frame rail and most of the exterior panels as well.
Some specs:
1970 Plymouth Barracuda
383 HO 4-bbl (don't have it, unfortunately)
4 speed with pistol grip
8 3/4 posi rear end, 3.23 gear
B5 blue with a white vinyl top
White interior
Air Conditioning
Manual steering and brakes
The plan:
Full restoration-ish. Some upgrades here and there, but I want to keep it looking stock. Especially the color combo, which I think is beautiful.
I have a 440 6 pack to build and put in it, but I am also leaning towards a Gen 3 Hemi swap as well. I plan on keeping the flat hood if the engine can fit beneath.
Thanks for any advice you have along the way! I'm learning through this experience while also learning in classes, so bear with me on some of it.
(https://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/attachments/photo-may-07-10-03-19-am-jpg.49576/)
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Welcome! Cool project and a great school. I'm in your general area (Manhattan, KS) doing a restomod cuda with 5.7 myself. This is a great site for info and encouragement,
Bill
looks like a great project :takealook: is that an "EXPORT" tag on the inner fender, can you share a pic of the fender tag?
383 4-speed with A/C is a pretty rare combination :dunno: a "stroker" 400 & a flat hood would keep it closer to its original look :burnout:
Quote from: 6bblgt on September 05, 2018, 07:24:56 PM
looks like a great project :takealook: is that an "EXPORT" tag on the inner fender, can you share a pic of the fender tag?
383 4-speed with A/C is a pretty rare combination :dunno: a "stroker" 400 & a flat hood would keep it closer to its original look :burnout:
I'll get a picture of the tag tomorrow. But, that does explain that tag. It is a y09 car! Ill have to get a repro of that tag to put back on. I thought that was a personal tag from a previous owner.
Performance Car Graphics has reproduction EXPORT tags :bigthumb:
http://www.performancecargraphics.com/index.html
Keep the pics and questions coming. I hope you have some money saved. Gets costly quickly. :cheers:
I'm thinking a 440-6 pack would be easier and cheaper but I dont know much about either.
Lots of very bright people here that can give you great advice. Wishing you the best.
That is A vary early build, low VIN. Do you have the original fender tag? unfortunately LA produced cars do not typically have A build sheet with them. O ya :welcome: aboard. Mark.
Where did he mention the VIN ? :huh:
Ben, welcome.....I restore cars for a living so my opinion is just mine, and most on here know what I'm going to say.....
You have a pretty rare car, 1 of 602 built....I would restore it back to original or close to it....SELL the 440+6 and buy a correct dated 383....then build the nuts out of the 383....stroker kit, aluminum heads (painted orange), etc...
A four speed with AC is really rare as well.
Look forward to watching this project. :drinkingbud:
:welcome: to the site. :cheers: i also Look forward to watching this project.
Thanks Alan! I needed to call Dave anyway! :handshake:
Welcome to the site! Great car you have there, and I would build it your way so you can enjoy it! :banana:
Here is the fender tag. I do have a build sheet as well:
LINE 1:
Vehicle Build Sequence - 1020977 A - Scheduled to be built October 1969 on the 24 Day
E31593 - Vehicle Order Number (VON)
Y09 - Build for Export Order
Y11 - Domestic Publications (Military Sales Order)
Y14 - Sold Car
LINE 2:
3 - Unknown
D21 - 4 Speed Manual Transmission Floor Shift (A833)
D53 - 3.23 Rear Axle Ratio in 8¾" & 7¼" (3.21 in 8¼")
D91 - Sure Grip Axle
T86 - F70 x 14 White Side Wall Fiberglas
H - High Trim Grade
6 - Vinyl Bucket Seats
XW - White & Black
000 - Full Door Panel
VR1 - Unknown
EB5 - "Bright Blue Metallic" in Dodge / "Blue Fire Metallic" in Plymouth
V1W - Full Vinyl Roof White
LINE 3:
2 - E-Body Steering Column
1 - Steering Column for a Manual Transmission
5 - Floor Shift Steering Column
X9 - Jewel Black Steering Column
1 - Manual Steering Column Shaft & Coupler
0 - No Column Shifter Indicator Light
0 - No Cruise Control
0 - No Ignition Key Lamp
04 - 3 Spoke Woodgrain Steering Wheel (Standard S81)
TT - Woodgrain Steering Wheel (Standard S81)
02 - Horn Button & 3 Spoke Pad (Standard S81 or Option A93)
X9 - Black Horn Pad
61 - 26" Radiator #2998961 for 383 & 440 V8 four barrel carb Auto Trans w/ AC
57 - #2863257 Inlet Radiator Hose for 383 & 440 w/ AC & Max Cooling
78 - Alternator #3438178 Dual Pulley #2875711 Amps = 50 or Single Pulley 2444478 34 Amps
16 - Fan Assembly #2863216 w/ 7 Blades 18.5" Diameter
60 - Fan Drive Unit #2863260 Thermal 7.25" Diameter
20 - Yellow Cap Top Battery #2875320 59 Amps / Group 24
LINE 4:
55 - #1858955 Intake Manifold Vacuum Control connector w/ .127" OD Tube
084 - 383 4 Barrel w/ Manual Trans & AC (Orange Painted Engine & Holley Carb 335 HP)
36 - R4367 Holley 1970 383 4 Barrel Manual Trans
675 - A833 4 Speed Manual Trans w/ 383 4 Barrel
32 - #2538932 Speedometer Pinion with 32 Teeth BLACK
636 - #2883636 Barracuda Propeller Shaft 43.60" Length x 3.25" Diameter w/ type 7290 yoke (2.625")
074 - 8 3/4 Rear Axle 3.23 ratio (Sure Grip) 11" Drum 1.875 Pinion & 7290 Yoke
17 - #3420978 = 14 x 6.0 Painted Stamped Steel Wheel
TX9 - Wheel Color "Black" in Dodge / "Black Velvet" in Plymouth
17 - #3420978 = 14 x 6.0 Painted Stamped Steel Spare Wheel
32 - #2944432 Barracuda Wheel Cover
12 - #2962012 Crossmember (K-Frame) 318, 340 & 383 Engines
62 - #2835862 Front Sway Bar .88"
58 - Stamping #3400558 Standard Front Shock (Part #3004961)
49 - Standard Rear Shock (Part #3400849)
23 - 11" x 3" Front Drum Brake Hub assembly
That is one awesome ride!
I have to agree with Alan. And I usually just prefer a mod or custom.
Cool colors and options!
And it has it's build sheet !!
And it's a Military export above all that!! super cool car!
I have ordered all of the pieces to make the front half solid and rust free! I already have the upper cowl, both a-pillars (one is already installed), and both floor halves. I ordered a left frame rail, both shock towers, inner fender wells, and a left fender well to cowl bracket today!
:takemymoney:
I am going to replace the left frame rail while the fender well and shock tower are still in place to avoid any problems. I will remove both fender wells, then replace the shock towers one at a time. there is a little area to patch on the right rail, inside the shock tower to take care of before that shock tower can be put on.
I have a couple patches to do on the front of the firewall, and some patching to do on the panel below the upper cowl before the new upper cowl can be welded in. Inner fender wells can then be put in and then some new floors!
Obviously this is all a lot easier said than done, but I am hoping for some smooth waters. :burnout:
(https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d2/54/6b/d2546b9f1bd2fe072cec13288a18fd53--parts-online-arabic-funny.jpg)
That's a really cool Barracuda...I love the rarity of the 383 4-spd w/AC. Great car to restore!! :bradsthumb:
Got the rear end pulled out this morning. I've never had a car this far apart and neither has my dad. What a sight!
I am in drivetrain class this semester at school, and have gotten permission to rebuild my transmission and rear end in class. So that worked out very well!
Sheet metal should be here next week. I painted the ground below my frame rail white to write down measurements. I'm excited to see how this car progresses.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
New metal comes in tomorrow!
In the mean time, I got some old metal fixed up. Not my best work, it was hard to mimick the other side and a hard patch all around. Fortunately it is under a roof skin. A little more detail to fix but otherwise it is good to go. Just need some drip rails and a new skin.
Someday I'd like to find the guy that thought vinyl tops were such a good idea.
Well I did it...I started cutting. Getting the right inner fender, upper cowl, and right a pillar off. The. Going to work my way back forward; a pillar, patches under cowl, new cowl on, new shock tower and then new inner fender. Then I will move to the left frame rail, shock tower and fender well. Lots of work!!!
:wrenching:
Cowl is off! Cleaned up everything a little bit tonight. I have a few more patches to do
Under the cowl than I had hoped, but nothing I can't handle.
Does anyone know what gauge sheetmetal the firewall is?
I hope to have the A-pillar done in the next couple days, and the cowl back on by the end of this week. I hate how it looks without all of this metal on it!! :headbang:
Looking good. Keep up the great work. :banana: :wrenching:
Are you planning to save the numbers off the cowl?
You should media blast the whole car first, there is rust hiding.
You should also cut the section of the old cowl out that has the VIN number and weld it into the new cowl :alan2cents:
Yes, I am planning on cutting the hidden vin out and putting it in the new cowl. I wasn't sure what to think on that but it appears everyone thinks it should be put back in.
In the meantime during class, I have been rebuilding my 4-Speed. Hot tanked the box, tail and cover. Waiting on bearings, synchro rings, and gaskets. Then it should go back together smoothly.
I was surprised to find fairly new gears in it, this car either had very few miles on it or it has been rebuilt once or twice. It had blue paint on it, so I am guessing it has seen a rebuild before.
Does anyone know what factory markings there would have been on this transmission? I have seen some with yellow numbers painted on the side over the bare metal.
The right hand A-Pillar is done and welded in. This one went a lot more smoothly than the other side. Practice makes perfect. The left side I just tried to bend the metal on top of the pillar out of the way which of course distorted it too much. This side I decided to cut the metal off to be welded back on. Unfortunately, the metal was a little too pitted to weld nicely to so I was chasing some holes a bit. A little more holes to fill an d I will be looking pretty good. Next up are some firewall patches.
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Looking good.....nice work Ben!
Do you have the tool to load the countershaft in with all the brgs & spacers in place , if not you will need to make something to put it together again
otherwise great progress :twothumbsup:
Quote from: falcben on September 17, 2018, 08:52:09 AM
Does anyone know what factory markings there would have been on this transmission? I have seen some with yellow numbers painted on the side over the bare metal.
Can someone answer this question?
Quote from: Chryco Psycho on September 24, 2018, 10:07:30 PM
Do you have the tool to load the countershaft in with all the brgs & spacers in place , if not you will need to make something to put it together again
otherwise great progress :twothumbsup:
I didn't have too hard of a time putting the cluster gear back in. I used a bit of assembly goo to hold the bearings in place and it went pretty well! I am sure the tool helps out a lot too!
Moved on to somebody patches on the firewall. A couple more patches and some b5 blue and the upper cowl can go back on! I probably should have replaced the whole firewall, but this is a great spot to work on my metal skills before I move on to some highly visible areas.
I have found the correct numbers, I actually just opened my eyes and saw them faded away on the transmission case after I wire brushed it. "675" pretty clearly stamped on it in a lighter blue.
I am going to paint the A833 with some cast iron colored engine paint so it doesn't rust again. Would it be worthwhile making a stamp (my girlfriend is pretty crafty :inlove:), or would a stencil I can print from this site cut into some cardstock look just fine?
I am guessing I am shooting for what the picture shows? If so, how should I go about doing the orange on the casting numbers and white "X"? I believe the speedometer gear housing is painted the same orange as the casting numbers.
Maybe I should just paint it cast iron and call it good??? :dunno:
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That orange you laid down looks AMAZING. I love it. Keep plugging along. You are building a fun driver right? Maybe dont sweat the small stuff as its such a long journey to finish a major project like this.
Quote from: nsmall on September 28, 2018, 08:53:09 PM
That orange you laid down looks AMAZING. I love it. Keep plugging along. You are building a fun driver right? Maybe dont sweat the small stuff as its such a long journey to finish a major project like this.
Unfortunately not mine in the picture! haha. I was just using it as a reference. I hope my engine paint turns out that good though.
The numbers on the trans will be the same as on the build sheet. My guess would be 675, but your sheet will confirm it.
https://www.e-bodies.org/resources/mopar-stamps-stencils-paint-ink-part-numbers/
:popcorn: 1) It's pretty cool that those stamps are available here. 2) If your girlfriend is that crafty AND she is willing to apply those skills towards making stamps for your Mopar....she's probably a keeper. :bradsthumb: :rofl: :P :alan2cents:
Got the transmission done today. Cast iron paint on the whole thing, I don't want it to rust. I know I stamped it the wrong color, but I'm not too concerned about that, it looks pretty. :D
All new bearings, gaskets, and synchro rings. Cleaned up the Hurst shifter and painted the link rods.
Who makes pistol grip handles out of real wood? Are they affordable? Would it be worth giving my original some love and keeping it?
Time to throw it into a box for a while.
I think the pistol grips are pretty expensive. Can you post pics of yours? Maybe others can offer restoration ideas for your shifter?
Some more progress!! Some patches on the frame rail, and getting ready to install the shock tower. I finally got a different phone so I can take good pictures!
Here's a few more pictures. I have gotten the frame rail patches complete.
I have welded in the shock tower on the right side. It turned out very well! I did a small patch on the firewall underneath the inner fender to firewall piece, then made the top half of the panel as well. the only part holding me back from welding in the cowl and the right inner fender is some paint. I have some single stage B5 Blue order back in Colorado at a friends shop, my mom is visiting me for my 21st next week and it bringing it then.
Up next once those panels are welded into place is the left frame rail...wish me luck!
Back from the dead!
It has been a very busy few months. I spent January in Neenah, WI for an internship, then had to get back into the groove of school. I have been off and on working on the Barracuda. We have been getting an unusual amount of snow
Since, my last post.....right half of the front structure is complete. I have replaced the left frame rail, shock tower and have gotten the firewall patched. I am currently working on aligning the fender to get the inner fender welded into the correct position. Everything is going very well. The firewall needs a bit more work to look as good as I want it to, but I want to get the front solid before I get too far into details.
I have ordered upper control arms, a disc brake kit, and all of the bushings. I have sand blasted all of my suspension parts. I boxed the lower control arms with the AR Fabrications plates from Mancini racing. I read that they don't do a whole lot, but I figured for $25, it cant hurt to do it anyways. They were very easy to weld in and look great! I have some chassis black to spray on all of the parts and I am going to undercoat the areas the K member mounts to and the shock towers to mount the front suspension.
I want to get it back on its wheels so I can easily move it if needed. I need a carrier for the differential, has anyone bought the $395 DoctorDiff carrier? I'm looking into buying either it, or the Yukon Gear unit for $100 more. Any advice?
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:popcorn: Thank for the updates. Keep them coming!!! :popcorn:
Css at Dr Diff is great to deal with & can get you what you need .
Great job on the trans & the progress on the metal work too :twothumbsup:
Left fender well welded in, and fenders mocked up. Next up, floors.
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Photo issue fixed, sorry about that. I posted directly from my google photos app and I guess others can't see them.
They're good now.
My left floor is now tacked into place, and all of my front suspension has been painted. Any advice on good strut rods? Mine are pretty rough and I have put the strength plates on the lower control arms and have QA1 upper control arms, so I might as well go for a little better strut arm as well.
Currently in a self debate on engine since I have been sanding and painting motor mounts a little lately. I originally planned on doing a modern hemi swap with my 4-speed behind it. But lately I have been leaning back to classic carburetor and badassery. I have a '75 440 block, 906 heads and a 6-pack intake. But, the car is a 383 4bbl car but I don't have it in my hands. I found a '70 383 block and I am tempted to get it.
Also, thoughts on 4 speed tunnels? Mine is rotted. Is the AMD the best? or are the cheaper ones good too, like yearone, goodmark, etc.?
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You have a number of choices , everyone is doing 3rd gen Hemi for good reason , they are powerful , efficient & reliable , not a bad choice ! :bigthumb:
Any big block build I would stroke , so if you do the 383 to look original you can do 438 CI , it looks stock but works better than a 440 .
If you choose to go to the 440 block again I would stroke it to 512 , it bolts in the same as the 383 & it is difficult to tell the difference between B & RB blocks unless you really know Mopars , I like the 440 block choice better , there are a lot of better choices for the RB with heads & intakes , I like the Holley street Dom intake for flow & low height for good hood clearance & a Proform carb if you use a carb .
If the funds are there you can easily use EFI on the big blocks too , the easy way is the TBI throttle body injection with wet intake , I prefer the Multiport EFI , then I use the Eddy Victor intake & the very short Accufab Throttle body for hood clearance , but you are looking at least 3x the cost to do a multiport system .
Most likely all the 4 speed tunnels come from the same place. If it was my car and it is a big block I would keep it a big block but of course that is your choice. I'm done with carbs. I will inject anything I build in the future even if it is just throttle body. My son brought up a good point about injection economics yesterday though. You can spend the money and inject an old engine or spend probably less money on the wiring necessary to install a G3 Hemi in the old cars instead.
I would stick with AMD sheet metal, but for a piece like that you'll likely get away with saving a few bucks. :dunno:
It's on the ground! Waiting for my axle to get done in class at school, and it will be fully on the ground then! Hard work is paying off..
Diff is looking great :bigthumb: