'70 Vert - waited long enough...

[Cuda416]

Alright, after owning the car for 9 years as of this month, and moving it from place to place either on the garage floor, or out back annoying my neighbors and now finally into the barn/shop, I'm creating this thread in hopes it will keep me focused and motivated to get this thing underway and eventually on the road.



What I have...

1970 Barracuda vert (sadly not a "Cuda")


As far as I can tell, originally....

White top (power)
Yellow exterior
Black interior
Center console
318 2bbl
3 speed manual on the floor
8-3/4 rear (probably 3.23 but haven't checked)
Front sway bar (have te bar and LCA's have tabs)
Power steering

I have no fender tags, nor build sheets. Those are long gone as is the original motor.

What I have in parts that came with the car

3 speed manual
Inland shifter
Small block bell housing
All the vert "stuff"
Twin scoop, rally hood with pins
Original (but mangled core support)
New (to me) core support with 26" opening
Two fenders (need work but very fixable)

Parts I've procured since owning  it.

New
U.S. Car tool core support brace
Dynacorn rear assembly
New torque boxes
AMD Quarter skins
AMD front floor
AMD tail light panel
AMD hinge pillars
AMD Upper Cowl
Transmission cross member
Inner fender panel "kits"

Used
3 speaker dash frame
Rally switch pod (also have the orignal non rally)
15x8 rally wheels for the back
18 spline E-Body A833
Wing with all hardware
71 challenger front clip (rails, firewall, hing pillars etc)
Hurst pistol grip shifter
Vert windshield frame


Clearly you can see it's in rough shape. Last time it was registered before I got it in 2011, was 1978. After someone decided to run it into a pole or something, it sat in a one car garage in MN for 34 years, rotting away. Lots to replace, and fabricate. As much of a challenge as this will be, the worst part is the windshield frame. It flat out scares me to be honest but I know some pretty skilled people and I'm not afraid to try anything with this. It will be slow going to be sure.

The plan going forward is to build a body jig and measure everything. I'll start with the middle and make sure everything is good (rockers, cross member, pillars etc) then move "out", starting towards the rear, then tackling the front. I haven't decided when to tackle the windshield frame yet but it will be small sections at a time and only after building reference gauges for all the contours and bracing the hell out of it.

It will be a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but they aint making any more of these things... sort of like land I guess.....

Here I go..... head first....

[1 Wild R/T]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you.....

FWIW about 50% of the windshield frame (the critical part where the glass seals) could come from a hard top the rest of the windshield frame is either wrapped in stainless trim or textured metal.... So you just need it to be straight & solid it doesn't need to be perfect....

[Cuda416]

That's a good point. I know the uprights are different (thicker steel and slightly different profile) and of course the top section, but I hadn't considered using a donor for the windshield hole. That would be spot on and save me from fabricating everything.

[soundcontrol]

Nice project.
Lots of work, but it's fun!
If you build a jig, could you share the drawings and measurements?

[Cuda416]

Nice project.
Lots of work, but it's fun!
If you build a jig, could you share the drawings and measurements?

Thanks, and yes, it will be a lot of work.

As far sharing drawings and measurements goes, that will depend on how "proud" of them I am. There will be nothing groundbreaking that's for sure. Most likely it will be something like the AMD units. That said, I've been toying around with building something more like an actual frame pulling rig. i saw one on you tube a guy built for doing pulls. I like the idea of clamping the pinch welds as an option. Building the main structure out of 5 or 6 inch square tube has it's appeal as well. Instead of a scaffold design, it's a simple ladder with sliding supports.

[Bpret]

Your's looks easy. Took me 6yrs. Mine is a cuda but a 3SPD manual also.

[Chryco Psycho]

Looking forward to seeing your progress 

Nice Job @Bpret

[Cuda416]

Looking forward to seeing your progress 

Nice Job @Bpret

That sure is Purdy....  is there a build thread or was that pre interwebs?

[Bpret]

Never did a build thread but it was extensive. Left front frame rail, upper cowl both quarters trunk floor and one floor pan behind driver's seat. No jig just measured and welded car. The car drives nice and lined up real good. Take pictures for reference measure everything tack pieces in place and install connecting pieces before welding. It is a lot of work but if you take your time and fit everything you will be happy with the results.

[Cuda416]

Never did a build thread but it was extensive. Left front frame rail, upper cowl both quarters trunk floor and one floor pan behind driver's seat. No jig just measured and welded car. The car drives nice and lined up real good. Take pictures for reference measure everything tack pieces in place and install connecting pieces before welding. It is a lot of work but if you take your time and fit everything you will be happy with the results.

I'm going to need all of that and more unfortunately. My biggest problem is going to be hidden rust inside the rockers and the windshield frame.  I'm contemplating removing the outer rockers completely and possibly removing the internal braces and reinstalling them after cleaning up the inner surfaces. Structure is everything on these cars and if those braces aren't properly secured, the whole effort is wasted I think. Because of all the hidden stuff I will need to deal with, I think a jig is paramount. Might be overkill, but I'd rather over engineer the solution than get caught with my skivies down around my ankles and end up with a pile of scrap. I will absolutely install frame connectors to ensure it all stays together. Ride improvement will be a nice benefit but a strong midsection is most of my concern.

Too bad there isn't a build thread. I've seen some really good ones that remind me of what's possible. Only one I've seen that I believe is worse than mine is the one called the "Come back Cuda" that was put back together after an accident. The AMD installation center did that one and woah boy, it was bad. Someone T-boned it and folded a rocker. The rest was poorly done body work which the owner didn't know about (auction buy I think).

The first one I saw after buying my car and realizing how bad it is, was by Shelbydog on the other forum (CC). he did a lot of work, in his garage, on jack stands. Probably about the same a you honestly. Some creative solutions. He was building the car to drive, not win a concourse show, but in the end, it turned out really nice. Turned it into a pace car clone. As I recall, he replaced a frame rail, firewall, floor, quarters, tail panel, trunk etc. he even had to fix the drivers side of the windshield frame. All on the floor or on jack stands.

Jigs didn't always exist and people have been doing this stuff without them for many years. I'm not that confident in my abilities, so I'll most likely build one just to be on the safe side. The trick for me is going to be NOT to get caught up in it's "design" and just "git-r-done".


-=C

[Cuda416]

Your's looks easy. Took me 6yrs. Mine is a cuda but a 3SPD manual also.

Did you keep the 3 speed in it? 3 spd non-cuda verts were about 115 in production in '70. I'd imagine a "Cuda" with a 3 spd would be almost non-existent.

[1ownr]

I have a '71 3 sp 'cuda . 

judy

[anlauto]

Your's looks easy. Took me 6yrs. Mine is a cuda but a 3SPD manual also.

Did you keep the 3 speed in it? 3 spd non-cuda verts were about 115 in production in '70. I'd imagine a "Cuda" with a 3 spd would be almost non-existent.

I restored this 318 3spd Barracuda....but as you might have guess, it now spouts a 4 speed behind a 360.

[Cuda_mark]

I'm in the middle of finishing off my 70 Vert. A couple of notes:
- A lot of "stuff" is one year only 70 specific. It depends on how detailed you want to get but, for example, the trunk floor pan is different on a 70 vs 71-74. And not all 70's were different, depends on when they were built.
- Some of the hard to find vert specific parts - the rear interior panels, if you want originals. Almost impossible to find nowadays. Also, the top weatherstripping if you want originals. I've heard that the aftermarket stuff doesn't fit very well. If you have usable weatherstripping on your top, make sure you treat it like unobtainium. And, of course the glass is all vert specific but you can run into sets of that. I have a driver quality set of clear glass if you need it.

Also, @Convertcuda Ken makes rear quarters that are exact copies of original vert quarters. You might want to look into those. Ken also is a wealth of knowledge on convertibles so, if you need anything, reach out to him.

[Cuda416]

I restored this 318 3spd Barracuda....but as you might have guess, it now spouts a 4 speed behind a 360.

I'm just gonna go ahead and say publicly that looking at the cars you have done on your web site, is frickin' inspirational.