Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

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Basement is looking good John. Sorry to hear about your teeth (jaw) still giving you problems. Did you ever get the dilemma with the county, moving the cars all sorted?
 
Basement is looking awesome,
Glad you got some antibiotics, I think that advisement from me came a few months ago.

If it makes you feel any better I am eating salsa and chips every day for lunch.
Along with a huge sandwich.
Both of us had teeth pulled at the same time.
 
Basement is looking good John. Sorry to hear about your teeth (jaw) still giving you problems. Did you ever get the dilemma with the county, moving the cars all sorted?

It's still an ongoing struggle. Pretty one sided. I have to get rid of everything in town that I doesn't fit in the garage except the truck I'm driving & Teresa's Sebring. Between the weather and being sick, I haven't gotten finished moving cars yet.

I swear I've never seen such an influx of ultra left wing liberals as there has been here over the past 10 years. I imagine that there are a lot of folks on this site that align themselves with the Democrat party but I've never understood why. In my opinion they're like a plague. They move into places that were conservative communities and want to take over by attacking anyone that doesn't fit into their cookie cutter view of how life should be. I don't know if they like to be called the 'elite' but it's obvious that that's what they consider themselves to be.
 
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Basement is looking awesome,
Glad you got some antibiotics, I think that advisement from me came a few months ago.

If it makes you feel any better I am eating salsa and chips every day for lunch.
Along with a huge sandwich.
Both of us had teeth pulled at the same time.


Thanks Sireland. From a financial stand the last thing I should be thinking about is creating a man cave but you have to keep in mind that I am sort of an idiot. After my second heart attack I started to want to fulfill a bunch of my 'do it some day' wish list. I guess I've had the feeling that I'm living on borrowed time.

Glad to hear that things are better with your teeth!

I was doing much better a month ago. With only half a set of chompers I was still able to eat normally (more or less). It took me almost a month from the time they pulled those teeth before I was eating some solids. This last go-round is related to the rest of the dental issues but it really flared up big time just a week ago.

I know I should have taken your advice sooner but I kept hoping that most of the initial swelling (after they pulled my teeth) would subside on it's own and the rest would become a non-issue after they pulled my remaining teeth. That last doctor I saw believes I'll never get rid of the infection entirely until those remaining teeth are gone.

I'm probably one of the worst procrastinators you'll ever find. If the pain hadn't become unbearable I'd probably still be putting the dentures on hold.
 
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It's still an ongoing struggle. Pretty one sided. I have to get rid of everything in town that I doesn't fit in the garage except the truck I'm driving & Teresa's Sebring. Between the weather and being sick, I haven't gotten finished moving cars yet.

I swear I've never seen such an influx of ultra left wing liberals as there has been here over the past 10 years. I imagine that there are a lot of folks on this site that align themselves with the Democrat party but I've never understood why. In my opinion they're like a plague. They move into places that were conservative communities and want to take over by attacking anyone that doesn't fit into their cookie cutter view of how life should be. I don't know if they like to be called the 'elite' but it's obvious that that's what they consider themselves to be.

I couldn't agree with you more.
The Liberal infection must stop before we loose this country for ever. :protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest:
On another note, I'm sure I pissed off a few Liberals when I test drove my car. Did you get a chance to see the video I posted on my page?
 
I couldn't agree with you more.
The Liberal infection must stop before we loose this country for ever. :protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest::protest:


I'm afraid it's a trend that'll be hard to defeat. Most conservatives I know aren't confrontational and tend to just want to be left alone. On the other hand, the liberals I know tend to be actively involved in other people's business. I believe there's generally that difference between the two groups and the loudest voices will prevail.

On another note, I'm sure I pissed off a few Liberals when I test drove my car. Did you get a chance to see the video I posted on my page?

I most definitely watched the video! It was a fairly short test drive. - Reminded me of back in the day when guys would take their cars out for a romp and then back them into their garages before the cops showed up! LOL!
 
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John posted:I'm afraid it's a trend that'll be hard to defeat. Most conservatives I know aren't confrontational and tend to just want to be left alone. On the other hand, the liberals I know tend to be actively involved in other people's business. I believe there's generally that difference between the two groups and the loudest voices will prevail.
100 percent in agreement here,John. Trust me ,California's no better....
 
100 percent in agreement here,John. Trust me ,California's no better....

The other day I was trying to find a guy's contact information so I could call him. When I searched his name I came across an online forum where a bunch of the local Dems were bashing him right and left. I couldn't believe they had the gall to write some of the things they did. They openly called him a fat bastard, a bum, scum, etc... Why? Because he had a bunch of old junk Fords on his property in town. They claimed he was a blight to the community and should be run out of town.

I'd known Randy for several years. There's no question that he's far from a flashy dresser and he's poor at keeping his property up. But he's also one of the nicer people you'd ever meet. He'd bend over backwards to help any of those folks out that were calling him names if they needed it.

Those same people added in some Bush-bashing in with their comments. Their party affiliation is hardly a secret. A few folks wrote in trying to defend Randy's rights and were mocked. None of them offered to help him clean things up.

Now, I know that I try to keep things fairly orderly on my property and I wouldn't mind seeing Randy do better with his. But the seething hatred these people have shown disgusts me. It just made me further resolve to find a place to live where folks are nicer.
 
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I always say that every day I work on something it feels as if I'm back in school. This pinball project is no different. I've had to spend hours online looking for parts suppliers and after finding each one I've had to search through their inventories for any parts that will work with the old 1963 SWING ALONG machine. It's a lot easier to find stuff for newer Bally machines than for the early Gottliebs.

Most of what I want to do is cosmetic but I do want to replace those stubby 2" flippers with some 3" ones. I thought it would be simpler to do than what I'm finding. I may have to make some hybrids. The ones I ordered were being sold as key chains but they are actual Gottlieb flippers.

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Another mod I'd like to make is to replace all of the old light bulbs with L.E.D.s. There are several that are already burnt out anyway. I'm hoping that I can swap the 'pop bumper' tops with these flashier units.

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I've tried to figure out an easy way to change the locations of the lighting behind the back glass. Half of the locations are perfect but if I could move some of the rest it would look better. I'm considering some strip lights (L.E.D.s) that I'll have to adapt to the existing sockets. They'd be thin enough to fit without having to do any deep routing of the back board.

It may seem like a minor mod but these translucent post stands will look a little more high tech than the old opaque ones. They should help to reflect more light too.

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I'm afraid it's a trend that'll be hard to defeat. Most conservatives I know aren't confrontational and tend to just want to be left alone. On the other hand, the liberals I know tend to be actively involved in other people's business. I believe there's generally that difference between the two groups and the loudest voices will prevail.



I most definitely watched the video! It was a fairly short test drive. - Reminded me of back in the day when guys would take their cars out for a romp and then back them into their garages before the cops showed up! LOL!

Well John, the quick drive was sort of just that. Quick out and back behind the garage door before anyone got a look and before any stuck in the air noses called the cops for an un licensed car with no exhaust making runs up and down the road.
Most all my neighbors are great and have no issues with anything I do but it only takes one.
I figured I was better safe than sorry. I'll get the car licensed soon as well as the exhaust done, then I'll make longer trips to dial in the linkage, carb and timing. Till then I'll just troll the Abodies website.
I pray that your tooth/mouth situation improves. Just be sure to continue posting your hobbies. They are great reads. :glasses7:
 
Well John, the quick drive was sort of just that. Quick out and back behind the garage door before anyone got a look and before any stuck in the air noses called the cops for an un licensed car with no exhaust making runs up and down the road.
Most all my neighbors are great and have no issues with anything I do but it only takes one.
I figured I was better safe than sorry. I'll get the car licensed soon as well as the exhaust done, then I'll make longer trips to dial in the linkage, carb and timing. Till then I'll just troll the Abodies website.
I pray that your tooth/mouth situation improves. Just be sure to continue posting your hobbies. They are great reads. :glasses7:


I'm really glad you took the time to capture the video. It's always neat to see footage of first time drives - especially for us guys following the build threads. Up until they finally hit the pavement a person is never sure if some projects will ever get completed.

My maiden voyages are usually a little longer. I'm not satisfied until I've heard the cops have left the doughnut shop.

I get disgusted with myself when I don't have actual A-body updates to write about. I know that life gets in the way and I do try to keep busy with as much car related stuff as I can but I really miss the wrenching when I'm away from it.
 
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I'm really glad you took the time to capture the video. It's always neat to see footage of first time drives - especially for us guys following the build threads. Up until they finally hit the pavement a person is never sure if some projects will ever get completed.

My maiden voyages are usually a little longer. I'm not satisfied until I've heard the cops have left the doughnut shop.

I get disgusted with myself when I don't have actual A-body updates to write about. I know that life gets in the way and I do try to keep busy with as much car related stuff as I can but I really miss the wrenching when I'm away from it.

John ,life happens.. This is a place to post expression, good or bad.. Blow your steam off here, you happen to be articulate enough ,to be enjoyable.That's rare,John..
 
John ,life happens.. This is a place to post expression, good or bad.. Blow your steam off here, you happen to be articulate enough ,to be enjoyable.That's rare,John..

Thanks bomber. I know there's been times I really felt the need to vent. When I was younger there were a number of things that I was too timid to tackle. I was too ignorant of the way things work to feel confident I wouldn't screw them up. I'm not much smarter now but access to the internet helps me to figure out how to get things done.

My interest in cars formed at an early age. I always drooled over the cars I'd see in HOTROD magazine. Even though I followed some of their advice on component selection, I used to farm out the majority of the work to others. Over time I realized that there were guys out there that were building their own cars out of dilapidated garages with just the bare essentials for tools. Some of their work was crude but they often had really innovative ideas. A lot of them continued to build more cars and they seemed in competition with themselves to increase the quality of their subsequent builds.

I enjoy reading so many of the build threads here. There are guys here that have amazing skills and produce cars that are absolutely show worthy. There are others that are new to the hobby but still manage to assemble cars that are nicer than most of what I ever saw in the magazines years ago. I'm not sure which threads I like to read more. - There is definitely an appeal to the budget builds.

My pinball project continues to be a learning process. Over all, it's not as complex as a car build, but it still has me scratching my head. It seems that no matter how I try to pinch pennies I always run into 'mission creep'. I bought the one machine so cheap that I never figured I'd have much in it. - But I'm already seeing it as a money pit. I'm afraid that by the time I'm done I probably could have bought a second 'nice' machine. The light bulbs aren't really expensive but there are 80 of them. I thought the flipper mod would be really cheap but I may have to change out the entire mechanisms. Those fancy pop bumpers that I ordered are over $100. I wanted to add in a handful of Johnny Lightning Top Fuelers under the glass but they'll likely run me about $10 each. I see the cash spigot opening a little farther with each idea. :banghead:

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Hey John, haven't been in here a lot lately. Thought I'd check on you. My daughter had two teeth pulled yesterday so I thought of you.

I think a schematic is probably necessary to do any serious work work on that pin ball machine ... I know I'd put a lot of effort into finding one and I'm an electronics engineer.
 
That looks complex.....

I'm lucky for the most part. Almost everything functions as it should. The game credit indicator is screwy, there are a bunch of burnt out bulbs, and the coin changer doesn't work but it is set on free play. It reminds me of a lot of industrial equipment that I used to work on when I did electrical/mechanical maintenance in factories. I'm much more comfortable with relay logic than with the newer machines that use the computer boards. I was told that parts are readily available when I bought it.

Most of what I'll be doing is going to be cosmetic.
 
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Hey John, haven't been in here a lot lately. Thought I'd check on you. My daughter had two teeth pulled yesterday so I thought of you.

I think a schematic is probably necessary to do any serious work work on that pin ball machine ... I know I'd put a lot of effort into finding one and I'm an electronics engineer.


One of the first things I did was look online for a schematic. - No luck so far but I'm sure I'll track one down eventually. All of the relays seem to function as they should. The mechanical side gets more complicated. I've been checking out the game credit indicator and it appears that someone has already messed with it. There are some pretty funky gears, brackets, and levers that may not be assembled correctly. Without a diagram I'm not sure.

While I was on eBay yesterday I came across a nifty Dart tee-shirt. - Just the ticket for some of you Dart guys. I'd love to get a Dart myself but it'll probably never happen.

http://www.musclecarapparel.com/dod...e=shopcom&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ShopCom

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I'm really glad you took the time to capture the video. It's always neat to see footage of first time drives - especially for us guys following the build threads. Up until they finally hit the pavement a person is never sure if some projects will ever get completed.

My maiden voyages are usually a little longer. I'm not satisfied until I've heard the cops have left the doughnut shop.

I get disgusted with myself when I don't have actual A-body updates to write about. I know that life gets in the way and I do try to keep busy with as much car related stuff as I can but I really miss the wrenching when I'm away from it.

A-body is just a pile of steel, have not touched mine since March when I got it running.
I started I think twice since then.

I am about a scatter brained as you on projects, now I am painting my willys, next week who knows? Maybe working on the house, do some winter camping?
I am kind of a free spirit.

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A-body is just a pile of steel, have not touched mine since March when I got it running.
I started I think twice since then.

I am about a scatter brained as you on projects, now I am painting my willys, next week who knows? Maybe working on the house, do some winter camping?
I am kind of a free spirit.

That Willys looks like quite the project. For a second there I was hoping you were doing a '33 or '40 coupe. Now, a blown Hemi in that 4-wheeler would be sweet!

There are a bunch of things that divide my attention. I'm sure it's true of everyone on the site. When it comes to posting, I try to rein myself in on projects that don't have a car connection. - Even still, I know I've gotten off track with things such as the house remodel.

The Barracuda still needs work completed. I never got around to swapping converters yet. :banghead:
 
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I finally got around to cutting some replacement pieces for the plastic ones that were on the machine. I had some 3/16" lexan left over from one of my other projects and I figured it would be a good place to use it.

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I still have to decide what images to apply to them and then print them out on some adhesive backed vinyl. They look cloudy now because the protective film is still on them. The pinball never actually touches them so I shouldn't have to put a protective overlay on top of them. The main board surfaces tend to get paint chipped from them so when I do the floor I'll put some protection over it.

On these pieces I just cut, there is a 4 color theme. The light below the yellow ones comes on when you hit the yellow target. The same is true with the red, green, and purple pieces. So, I should stick with some form of color scheme similar to the original pieces otherwise the targets won't seem to make as much sense.




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That Willys looks like quite the project. For a second there I was hoping you were doing a '33 or '40 coupe. Now, a blown Hemi in that 4-wheeler would be sweet!

There are a bunch of things that divide my attention. I'm sure it's true of everyone on the site. When it comes to posting, I try to rein myself in on projects that don't have a car connection. - Even still, I know I've gotten off track with things such as the house remodel.

The Barracuda still needs work completed. I never got around to swapping converters yet. :banghead:

For as much as I have in it, I could have bought my buddies 41 glass willys roller.
It was a nice tubbed aftermarket frame, with a new glass body.

A hemi in that cj willys would be suicide, it is pretty much stock except for the tires and lift kit, and it is scary at 45 mph, with the Ross steering and 9" drum brakes.
I once had it on a slight down hill run, with my buddy holding the GPS hit a whopping 54 mph. The flat head was wound tight.

I do have a complete adapter kit that bolts to the trans to install a SBC, but the flat head is cool, plus it is a fresh rebuild I did, bored .080", balanced 1952 Keiser Supersonic.
Compression was bumped from a stock 6.8 to 8.4 with custom Egge pistons.
Stock the flat head made a whopping 60 hp.
 
For as much as I have in it, I could have bought my buddies 41 glass willys roller.
It was a nice tubbed aftermarket frame, with a new glass body.

A hemi in that cj willys would be suicide, it is pretty much stock except for the tires and lift kit, and it is scary at 45 mph, with the Ross steering and 9" drum brakes.
I once had it on a slight down hill run, with my buddy holding the GPS hit a whopping 54 mph. The flat head was wound tight.

I do have a complete adapter kit that bolts to the trans to install a SBC, but the flat head is cool, plus it is a fresh rebuild I did, bored .080", balanced 1952 Keiser Supersonic.
Compression was bumped from a stock 6.8 to 8.4 with custom Egge pistons.
Stock the flat head made a whopping 60 hp.


I'd still be lying awake at night after passing on a '41 Willys. It sounds like the CJ ought to be a blast. - Just don't take it out on any 90' inclines like I've seen guys do. What year is it?
 
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It is a 1948 with a mixture of parts from WWII until present day.
A little automotive trivia, during WWII Ford and Willy's both made jeeps.
Willy's was a MB and Fords were GPW's parts were interchangeable between them, but Ford put a small "F" stamp on every part they made.
 
I'd still be lying awake at night after passing on a '41 Willys. It sounds like the CJ ought to be a blast. - Just don't take it out on any 90' inclines like I've seen guys do. What year is it?

I passed on a restored early 60's Drag master rail/chassis/ drivetrain, (freshly cage certed,bright pink panther paint, Olds rear end,) ,back in '94( Bakersfield's March Meet ,retro) .. Freshly registered /glide small block set up.. 1800 bones,had the cash in pocket.. That one, the 55' two door Two Lane Blacktop clone( stored it a decade..) ,and a '41 Willy's coupe, are the body styles,I truly cherish. I leave it ,there..
 
Well John it's been a little over 9 months since we originally talked about that 'Cuda I bought. It's been sitting in my garage. I'm just now starting to get motivated on her. So I think I will be starting a thread.
There was a time I thought I might never get to it! I hope things are going well for you today.
 
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