1970 Barracuda Reanimated.

[anlauto]

Whoever installed those calipers in the first picture had them backwards...The calipers hang of the front on all 70-74 E Bodies 

[Marty]

Thank you for the heads up!

[Marty]

I gathered up the upper and lower control arms and media blasted off the old black and green paint. Hung them up and applied gray epoxy primer.

The uppers were sprayed with a silver base coat then clear coated. I added 50% flattener to the clear to remove the high gloss.

The lowers were also sprayed with silver. I masked off about two inches of the knuckle area. The exposed area was sprayed with Dupli Color battery terminal protection. I found it in the battery accessory section at the Auto parts store in town. This gives the decent appearance of Cosmoline. It took a few days before it actually dried. Added the spacer and bump stop.

[Marty]

Front seats finished.

[Marty]

Front-end parts are ready for install.

[Marty]

Finally got around to getting the front suspension installed or at least part of it. Typically waiting on parts. Sign of the times.

First thing was to spot in the bottom of the frame rails with a touch-up gun with some Limelight green then install the "K" member.

Install the new front to rear brake and gas line. Attach the sway bar to the "K' member. Install the upper/ lower control arms, steering knuckle, and strut arms. Leaving the lower control arms and strut rods loose. Install steering box.

Cleaned out the Torsion Bar holes in the cross member using a brush and Acetone then greased them up. I made sure the control arms were full down and lubed the "T" bar well. Next, I slipped the new T bar through the X member. Moving to the engine compartment, I greased up the inside of the dust boot. Using a heat gun, I warmed up the inside of the boot. I had cut the spout off a funnel earlier to help me install the boot and slipped the boot over the tapered side. Quickly before the boot cooled, I placed them on the greased end of the T bar and slipped the boot on. Easy peasy. Slid the T bar into the control arm with little difficulty, installed the clip and boot.

I buttoned everything up with torque specs and cotter keys. Prepare to finish the rest of the suspension shorty. *I corrected the jack stand placement.

[Marty]

Christmas Eve.

For the most part, the front suspension is installed. I still need the brake hose's so I just installed the calipers loosely so I could clear the bench for other projects.


Merry Christmas...

[anlauto]

Great artwork there, is that yours ?

[ebodyproducts]

Wow, looks awesome. Great artwork too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Marty]

Great artwork there, is that yours ?

Thanks. The Corvette, Camaro, and Barracuda are mine and the Willys, Charger, and Challenger are my friends. Just something to clear the head and get me away from painting old cars.

[Marty]

Got the front end back together and put the Barracuda back on the floor to check the stance. It was nice to see the barracuda sitting the way it should and that cocked-eyed left tire back in place. I'll get back on the rear axel at a later time.

I think the next thing I want to do is start back on the front clip. The wiring will probably be next. I want to install some of the accessories to make sure the wiring will be the correct length. I'll be using the American Auto Wire Classic Update kit.

The first thing I checked was the horns. The "HI" horn faced the wrong way. The up position. To correct this, I drilled out the spot welds..carefully, on the back of the horn body. I prepped the attachment point then applied a bit of Panel Bond Adhesive. (SEM or Evercoat Edge.) Both sides. Placing the bracket in the opposite direction I placed a socket over the top of the arm. Wrapped some gorilla tape over the top of the socket to keep the arm in place. I wiped off any excess glue using Acetone and left it to dry. (24hrs.) Once dry, I dabbed the former spot welds up with black paint.

There is no way I would have attempted to weld. I'm not that precise.

[Marty]

I added some parts to the engine compartment.

Cleaned up the headlight buckets/lamps and reinstalled them.

Assembled the grill.

Reinstalled the grill assembly.

I would have installed the bumper but the rear bracket bolts will not quite line up with the holes in the frame due to the brackets hitting the bumper filler panel.  Time to research and modify.

[anlauto]

I love looking back at page 1 and see how far you've come...great job, it's looking awesome

[Marty]

Appreciate you for following along.  Thanks.

[usraptor]

Looking good.  Won't be long now.