1970 Barracuda Reanimated.

[Marty]

Continued.

[Marty]

More buffing on the stainless that attaches to the cowl.

Installed new bushings in the wiper linkage.

New wiper blades.

I cleaned off the junk paint that was on the cowl screens. I found the plastic was in great condition, so no refinishing was required.

A hole was drilled into the firewall and the Shaker grommet and cable installed.

Gas pedal to carb cable installed.

Cowl holes plugged then I installed the cowl seal. The Detroit Muscle Technologies seal made things so much easier and it sure beats trying to install the clips yourself. Highly recommend.

Clutch rod and boot.

I checked the fitment of the console and found that the front bracket was off about a half inch. I'm not sure how that happened but I took a grinder to the welds and removed the front and rear bracket. I rechecked the measurements then marked the Sheetmetal. Instead of welding the bracket back on hump, I just used some panel bond. It worked just fine and it's not going anywhere.

More parts on the way.

Plans are to drop in the 440 sometime late January.

[Marty]

More on the console.

Repair:

The 1970 manual console I'm using had a chunk of plastic missing from the back corner. I have a spare console that was banged up quite a bit, so I used it as a doner. I cut out the piece that was needed to repair the good console and trimmed to fit. The repair areas were prepped with sandpaper. I used the super glue and baking soda method to bond the piece to the console. Once the repair was filled, I smoothed the repair with sandpaper. I kept the sanding on the repair because I didn't want to remove too much of the surrounding console texture. 180,220,320 grits.

I got out the Ever Coat spot filler and Grade #3 Steel Wool. Mixed up the filler and applied it carefully to the repairs. I dabbed the steel wool onto the uncured filler. Just enough to leave the steel wool imprint and to blend it out into the console texture. Let it dry. Once hardened, I used 320 to knock off the peaks of the filler.

Spot primed the area with some spray can sandable primer. This will fill in the valleys and keep the color coat from being absorbed into the filler leaving a dull spot. I dragged the 320 over the repair again to dress the repair as required and spotted in more primer.

The console was prepped and painted using SEM Landau black.

The texture is not exact, but it's enough to hide the repair. It won't really be noticed unless you know where the repair is.
 

Console brackets.

As mentioned in the above update, I had removed my poorly placed console brackets.

The front bracket was placed one inch in front of the shifter hole and one inch to the side. I used tape as a marker. The bracket and floor were prepped, and Panel Bond was applied to the bracket and floor. I used a block of wood to keep the bracket from falling forward. I wasn't concerned if the side of the bracket point didn't touch the floor. (I added more adhesive later to build up the area.)  I just wanted the bracket to be level so that the console would not rock like it did before.

I removed the bottom of the console and attached the rear bracket to the bottom of the storage box. I located the center of the floor and marked it. Applied the adhesive to the prepped area and bracket. I carefully put the console in place lining up the front holes to the bracket slots, then installed the screws. The screws were not tightened so that I could adjust the console to the rear attachment point. Sliding the bracket till it fit over the lap weld and the mark that lined up with the rear bracket screw heads. It's not a good idea to pull the parts apart once the parts are in the adhesive. Using my fingers I lightly pressed the bracket into the panel bond. I left the console in place till the panel bond cured. Later I applied some red oxide to the bonded area.

[mtull]

More on the console.

Nice work @Marty.  I appreciate the time you take to share your techniques.  My console is missing the same section and will need the same repair thus, I'll certainly be trying to replicate your approach at some point. Now all I need is a console corner section

[Marty]

Thanks, just spreading good will.  Glad I had it though. I don't recall when I picked up the extra console, might have been when I had my '71 Challenger project.  Other than being broken, it being an automatic console helped in the decision on which one to cannibalize. 

[dodj]

More on the console.

Nice work @Marty.  I appreciate the time you take to share your techniques.  My console is missing the same section and will need the same repair thus, I'll certainly be trying to replicate your approach at some point. Now all I need is a console corner section

I second the appreciation. There are a few things in Marty's thread that I will attempt to replicate. Likely not as well, but hey...in my case it's a hobby.

[Marty]

I ordered a 22" radiator from Auto City Classics. Two selling points were. Similar factory styled tanks, and studs were installed for the fan shroud

Like all aftermarket parts, I installed the new parts to verify fit. The radiator only needed some filing on the lower right-hand flange to line up with the bolt hole. The shroud needed some filing to lengthen the slots to line up with the radiator studs. The radiator was painted with semi-gloss black.

The steering wheel was disassembled for cleaning and paint. The horn pad was cleaned with Prep All and a brush. The pad was in very nice condition, so the silver pin stripe didn't need any further attention. After the pad was dry, I sprayed on two coats of SEM Tac Free.

The wheel it's self-had a couple of cracks and a gouge or two. I scuffed the wheel with 120 grit and dug out the cracks with a Dremel tool. The defects were filled with 3M epoxy. After 24 hrs., The repair was sanded smooth with 120. Reapplied the epoxy as required. I sprayed on... using a Preval bottle, a couple of coats of Polyester high build primer.

After another 24hrs., I sanded the wheel repairs with 120.

I cleaned the wheel with Acetone and placed it on a turn table. Mixed up some Epoxy primer in a Preval bottle and let it sit for a 30-minute induction time. I sprayed numerous light coats of the primer using 10-minute flash times. I'll let the epoxy dry for a few days.

The only reason for the white epoxy is that that's all I had at the time. It won't make any noticeable difference in the final finish.

[dodj]

Really like your posts. It's like a mini shop class. 

[mtull]

The wheel it's self-had a couple of cracks and a gouge or two. I scuffed the wheel with 120 grit and dug out the cracks with a Dremel tool. The defects were filled with 3M epoxy. After 24 hrs., The repair was sanded smooth with 120. Reapplied the epoxy as required. I sprayed on... using a Preval bottle, a couple of coats of Polyester high build primer.

Are you going to try any faux wood graining?

[Marty]

Really like your posts. It's like a mini shop class. 

  Thanks.

(Test at the end of the build.)

[Marty]

The wheel it's self-had a couple of cracks and a gouge or two. I scuffed the wheel with 120 grit and dug out the cracks with a Dremel tool. The defects were filled with 3M epoxy. After 24 hrs., The repair was sanded smooth with 120. Reapplied the epoxy as required. I sprayed on... using a Preval bottle, a couple of coats of Polyester high build primer.

Are you going to try any faux wood graining?

Thats the plan. I'm a bit nervous on the final product, but I can't turn back now. Then again it wouldn't be the first time I had to strip off a finish and start over. 

[Marty]

Not much going on with the Barracuda at the moment. I did finally get the gas pedal and cable sorted out. I've been trying to track down the Throttle Cable Retaining Plug. No where to be found (back ordered as usual.) I came up with a solution. I picked up a box of Chrysler/GM Panel Push Pins. #963-056D. Cut a slot into the head of the push pin. Slipped the cable into the slot then inserted the pin into the gas pedal arm. $5 for the plug + shipping, or a $5 box of push pins containing 5 pins in a pack and no shipping.

I entered the 1969 Camaro in a three day inside car show this weekend. There were four E-Bodies.

1) 1971 Hemi 'Cuda that I painted last year was displayed in our section.
2) 1971 383 'Cuda survivor was also in our section. Restoration to begin soon.
3) 1971 440 Challenger. A good friend of mine was there with his group.
4) 1971 340 'Cuda was parked on the other side of the convention center.

I plan to have my Barracuda entered next year.

[Marty]

Continued.

[Marty]

The Starbird show results:

The 1971 Hemi Cuda won "Best in Show".
The 1971 383 Survivor was not judged.
The 1971 340 won in the Mopar class.
The 1970 Challenger was not judged.

[dodj]

That sublime Challenger....is the spoiler mounted in the correct place? Seems kinda far forward.