Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
I started piecing together most of the parts for the radiator wall today. The initial fit was too tight so I slivered off more material from the flat steel. Unsatisfied with how sturdy the wall felt after tacking things together I swapped out the 14 ga. steel for 12 ga.
BEFORE & AFTER
After switching to the 12 ga. steel the wall seemed to be as steady as the original (maybe even sturdier). The picture above looks very plain but keep in mind that I'll still need to fabricate a battery box which will be attached to the inside and an overflow tank that will be attached to the outside. I may have to mount the vacuum canister (for the hideaway headlights) beneath the battery too. In addition, I'll most likely have to bore some holes through the wall for wiring and vacuum lines.
The passenger side will probably get the horn mounted on the outside in order to keep the engine compartment less cluttered.
The overall appearance is OK so far but I need to make sure the grill assembly will still clear everything. I'll also need to make a few filler pieces for the sides of the frame to the bottom cross-member. I'll try to minimize the number of fastening points by bolting through the upper support and then adding a few tabs lower down.
The overflow tank from MEZIERE will necessitate a couple of stand off brackets to prevent clearance problems like we ran into with the radiator. We'll get matching caps for the two.
I started piecing together most of the parts for the radiator wall today. The initial fit was too tight so I slivered off more material from the flat steel. Unsatisfied with how sturdy the wall felt after tacking things together I swapped out the 14 ga. steel for 12 ga.
BEFORE & AFTER
After switching to the 12 ga. steel the wall seemed to be as steady as the original (maybe even sturdier). The picture above looks very plain but keep in mind that I'll still need to fabricate a battery box which will be attached to the inside and an overflow tank that will be attached to the outside. I may have to mount the vacuum canister (for the hideaway headlights) beneath the battery too. In addition, I'll most likely have to bore some holes through the wall for wiring and vacuum lines.
The passenger side will probably get the horn mounted on the outside in order to keep the engine compartment less cluttered.
The overall appearance is OK so far but I need to make sure the grill assembly will still clear everything. I'll also need to make a few filler pieces for the sides of the frame to the bottom cross-member. I'll try to minimize the number of fastening points by bolting through the upper support and then adding a few tabs lower down.
The overflow tank from MEZIERE will necessitate a couple of stand off brackets to prevent clearance problems like we ran into with the radiator. We'll get matching caps for the two.
