MA MOPAR BIT ME AGAIN or SO MANY MOPARS, SO LITTLE TIME

[Basketcase]

even more reason to do it!

 

[1967 'cuda]

I finally got the oval air cleaner on the Barracuda. I painted the chromed lid orange so that it would look more like an original Mopar piece. It barely clears the opening in the hood. I still have to fabricate a bracket to attach the lid to the base. Although I had wanted to center the 'Cuda decal on the lid, it didn't want to lay flat because the lid has a small peak in the middle. So I compromised by positioning it just above.




And I finally got my new mailbox put up.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Maybe I'll finally put up my weather vane tomorrow.

 

[george68hemirr]

Cool....would look awesome too

 

[69hemibeep]

The weather vane is cool :cheers:

 

[george68hemirr]

air cleaner looks great too

 

[bobtile]

Wow! that mailbox sure adds some color to your neighborhood. The air cleaner looks great.

 

[Basketcase]

lookin good

 

[1967 'cuda]

I heard back from Mike at MRL. The 408 is almost ready for the dyno.

 

[1967 'cuda]

OK. I never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the house but after draining my antifreeze into a bucket with no bottom I'm really thinking that I'm starting to slip. I finally got around to pulling the 318 out of the Barracuda. - This is the first time I've ever pulled an engine and transmission together. I didn't have a plug for the tailshaft so the shop floor looked like a slaughterhouse. At $8 a bag for oil dry, this is starting to get expensive. The 408 should be here within a few weeks. Meanwhile I need to get everything else done on the car before it arrives. (subframe connectors, driveshaft loop, driveshaft, transmission, new fuel line, detail the underside of the hood, finish modifying the new air cleaner, headlight relays, etc...)

 

[1967 'cuda]

I'd been gathering parts for awhile before the tear down. After pulling the motor, it was time to yank that 7&1/4 rear and put in the Dana. I hit my buddy up in Rising City for a pair of the larger leaf spring pads. That dinky 7&1/4 had much smaller axle tube diameters.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I'm still trying to get the Duster ready to go racing this year while I'm working on the Barracuda. After reading the NHRA rulebook it looks like I've got a lot to do. Apparently the car is too fast to run the roll bar and it will need a full cage. The fire suit won't be legal for that speed either. If I read correctly, I'll have to use a 5 layer suit. My belts are out of date and the helmet doesn't have a prayer of being OK'd. My son finally brought his SRT over from Iowa. It's got a few flaws but considering he bought it as cheap as he did, it's in great shape.

 

[ACME A12]

Great thread on the Barracuda. Being a Duster guy, I'd like to hear more about the '72. And what's up with the Valiant grill that's in it? Inquiring minds want to know...

:jester:

 

[1967 'cuda]

Great thread on the Barracuda. Being a Duster guy, I'd like to hear more about the '72. And what's up with the Valiant grill that's in it? Inquiring minds want to know...

:jester:

Thanks ACME, the story on the Duster is pretty short. Last year while I was searching for parts on eBay I came across the ad for it. I wasn't really in the market for another car at the time but the price was reasonable enough that I put a bid on it and won.

I haven't drag raced since running brackets in my original Roadrunner back in the 70s. And back then the quickest I ever ran was a 13.28. I was never a hard core racer. I took the car out a half dozen times just to see if the modifications I was making were making any improvements. My intention was always to build the nostalgia Duster funnycar that's been parked at my farm if I wanted to get more serious. But when this 9 second Duster showed up online I ended up with it.



I don't actually know how fast it will go. The previous owner had a pair of drag cars. This Duster and a Dart. Their Dart was wrecked when it left the line crooked and smashed into the guard rails. It was actually the 9 second car. But they pulled the engine and transmission out of the Dart and put them in the Duster. Basically the same set up with a few differences. They had been running 4.88s in the Dart but the Duster has 4.56s. The Dart was running a 4500 stall converter and the Duster has a 3800 stall in it. The Duster has been back-halved with a narrowed Dana and coil over suspension. That Valiant grill was already on the Duster when I bought it.

Since purchasing it, I replaced the ripped up low back buckets with new high backs. The Hoosier slicks were used up so I mounted new Goodyears. There were a few wiring issues that I had to repair. I replaced the warped factory interior door panels with new aluminum ones. I know I have to change the front wheel studs still, replace the seat belts, reinforce the seat and seat belt mounts, and modify the bars. I'll probably have to add a transmission shield to be legal.

If I get the car out to the track, it will be the first time in over 30 years for me.

 

[ACME A12]

Very cool! I am so digging that Duster Funny Car...I just need the address of the farm...:basketcase:

'72 Duster sounds like a blast also. One of those repop shark tooth grills is exactly what that old girl needs...:cool:

:jester:

 

[1967 'cuda]

Before I install the new engine I want to try to get the rest of the 'need to do' list taken care of. One thing was to install subframe connectors. U.S. Cartool makes the nicest ones in my opinion. Theirs conform to the undercarriage and are meant to be welded the full length. I decided on the Barracuda to fab a simpler design because I got lazy and didn't want to tear out my whole interior again.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Luckily the engine compartment isn't a disaster. A little clean up and re-detailing and it should be good to go.

 

[1967 'cuda]

The fiberglass hood that I've had on the car never had a 'finished' bottom side. It still had the unfinished rough fiberglass texture to it. Now is a good time to take care of it. I started by sanding down the high spots and removing the paint with a DA sander. There were areas that were too low to be able to sand smooth. I mixed up 16 ounces of fiberglass resin and used it as a filler.



I plan on painting the bottom side black again, but I'm going to try installing some adhesive vinyl (chrome finish) in the hood's recesses.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I've got the driveshaft loop ready to install but I'll wait until I get the transmission back in.

 

[1967 'cuda]

After smoothing the bottom side of the hood, I used a roll of red rosin paper to make my templates for the vinyl that I'll be applying later. The areas that you see the paper on now are the areas I'm planning on covering. I realize that this will be far from a stock appearance, but that ship has sailed a long time ago. I hope it looks alright when done.