Ben's 1970 Barracuda

[falcben]

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! 

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. 

[xx88man]

That's a really cool Barracuda...I love the rarity of the 383 4-spd w/AC.  Great car to restore!!     

[falcben]

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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[falcben]

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.

[RUNCHARGER]

Someday I'd like to find the guy that thought vinyl tops were such a good idea.

[falcben]

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!!!

[falcben]

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!!

[Cuda Cody]

Looking good.  Keep up the great work.     

[6bblgt]

Are you planning to save the numbers off the cowl?

[anlauto]

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

[falcben]

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.

[falcben]

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.

[falcben]

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.

[xx88man]

Looking good.....nice work Ben!

[Chryco Psycho]

 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