Frnknsteen's '67 Barracuda

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Frnknsteen

Frnknsteen

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Spencer, IN
Ok,... So I thought I would start a restoration thread for the '67 Barracuda I picked up, even though some of the work has already been completed.

I have already determined that I kind of suck at documenting the work I have done with pictures. I'm finding that I get so focused on what I am doing that only after I have completed the work do I think to myself,... "Hmmm,... I should have taken some pictures while I was doing it".

So,.... Some of the start of this will be listing things that I have done, and attaching whatever pictures I may have taken, or pictures that my wife was smart enough to take while I was working.
 
Thank you, I am ready to see a new restoration thread :thumbsup:
Welcome aboard this great site, if I missed you in the welcome wagon thread :welcome:
 
To get the story started,.... I was driving a Plum Crazy Purple 2010 Challenger R/T while my '69 Charger is being rebuilt. I got tired of having to bring the Challenger to the repair shop or dealership every time there was either a recall or an issue that needed the computer to be read.

So,.... Sold the Challenger and started looking for an older Mopar to drive and play with. I had always liked the 67 - 69 Barracudas and 67-71 Darts so that is where I focused.

I ended up stumbling across a Craigslist ad for a 1967 Barracuda. It was a project that had been worked on for years. Found out after purchasing it that it hadn't been licensed for 9 years and only driven to test things out as the previous owner and his Dad did different things to it.

Base information is it was originally a slant six automatic car. Previous owner converted it over to a 4 speed. Motor is a 1977 400 from the block #'s. The previous owner couldn't find the documentation folder for what all was done to the motor, but said they put in new pistons, had some machining done to the block and heads, and put a larger cam in it. The transmission was pulled out because he said it was making noise, but the bellhousing was still in so we were able to start the motor and check it out. Everything checked out so we bought it and brought it home. Photos are from previous owners place and bringing it home

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Picked up the car and brought it home! First thing we did was look into finding out what the issues were with the transmission. After doing some research and learning, I determined it was worth a trip to Brewer's Performance in Ohio (about 3 hours from me here in Indiana), so I loaded all the transmission parts in the back of the Suburban and headed for Brewer's where I met Wayne.

First off, let me say that the guys at Brewer's were great!! I strongly advise going to them if you need anything they have to offer. Wayne came out to the truck with me and looked at my transmission and all the parts I had. He checked out the transmission and didn't see anything glaring, so we determined we would resurface the flywheel, put a new clutch, pressure plate and bearing in it and see how it performs. He looked at my linkages and had some concerns with what was used, so he set me up with the proper parts to put it back to how it should be.

Here's the pictures I have of putting the clutch back in to get ready to reinstall the transmission (10.5" McLeod clutch and pressure plate). Had to remove the "Over-Center" spring with using the diaphragm style pressure plate (which was a pain to get out!!)

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Got the transmission put back in and it was time to start hooking up all the linkages.

OH-OH!! Things aren't lining up! I learned quickly what kind of struggles people on here go through trying to make the Z-Bar for the clutch linkage fit into the same space as the headers need to be. Turns out there was a reason Brewer's were confused at what I had for linkage parts. Factory stuff didn't fit with headers installed. Previous owner hodge-podged A-body and B-body parts, along with some modifications to make everything "Kind of" fit. Attached is a picture showing what the previous owner did, and a red arrow showing where the pivot ball should have been.

We ended up going with what the previous owner used for now, to at least be able to test out the transmission. Had to modify the fork rod with some creative heating and bending to be able to drive the clutch fork without binding.

Picture shows the cut-out and custom plate the previous owner did to relocate the Z-bar components to work as needed. It's ugly, but it works. I will go back and remount the Z-bar components correctly and modify the Z-bar only as needed this winter. Hole with red arrow pointing to it shows where the pivot ball SHOULD be with the bracket mounted out in the wheel well.

Everything works so I can at least take it for a drive and test out the transmission!

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Looks like a fun project. I can definitely relate the the picture thing.
 
Took the car out for a drive and,....

GOOD NEWS!!,.... Transmission works fine!
BAD NEWS,.... ?? Driving the car is too scary to do other than a quick transmission test!!!

Previous owner never touched anything on the front suspension. Everything but the tie rod ends needed replacing, and I mean everything! Torsion bars were original .82 slant six torsion bars and were cranked up to max just to keep the front end up in the air.

So!,.... Back to our friends here on Forabodiesonly to do some research on front end parts. Ended up ordering full suspension rebuild kit, 1" torsion bars, and sway bar kit from Firm Feel. Didn't take any pictures, but here is the car on the lift getting the front suspension replaced.

Winner for scariest moment during that task,..... Breaking off the 1/2" Eccentric bolts in the UCA!! Turns out a 1/2" breaker bar and 4' floor jack handle (used as cheater) can overcome rusty control arm bolts, but not without a loud bang! No damage to anything, but it was surprising!!

New front suspension and torsion bars installed. Car lowered to set ride height, and everything tightened up sitting at ride height. Special thanks to information from others on here letting me know to tighten at ride height so bushings are tightened at their nominal position to avoid damaging them. All Good!!!

I will say that steering is pretty tight with all new components, but with everything greased well, and driving it, it is starting to settle in and relax a bit. After doing some reading,... I found out that is pretty common,... especially with Moog components.

EDIT.... Swapping out pics to block out plate #

View attachment 1715108580

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Lift Pic.jpg
 
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toplscuda said:
Looks like a fun project. I can definitely relate the the picture thing.
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Thanks! Yeah,... I'm hoping to get better with the pictures!

Speaking of which,... Notice in the front view of the car on the lift, the bare metal spots in the wheel well....

Note to self and others,.... I don't care how careful you are, even if you hang blankets off the fender and over your shoulders,.... firing up a sandblaster to clean up the suspension mounts makes a mess!! It was reasonably controlled, but talk about being in the middle of a sand storm!! :wtf: What we do for our rides!! Right??
 
Yes on the sandstorm. I am still blowing sand out of places I would have never imagined it getting in to on my car.
 
So the last, most recent thing we have done is fix the exhaust and get it aligned.

Car had 2 1/2" straight pipes coming back from header collectors, through Flowmaster 40's, and dumped right before the rear axle. Didn't sound bad??.... But definitely didn't sound good. AND it had a nasty drone at about 900-1200 RPM from the exhaust bouncing off the road and back up into the bottom of the car.

Took it to a local exhaust shop originally looking to just remove the dumps and run it out the back. Turns out the header flanges were bent from welding and were leaking badly. Ended up asking them to just run all new pipe out the back. Went with 2 1/4" aluminized pipe through Magnaflow mufflers and out the back. Fitting the right side over the axle and out past the gas tank was a tight fit, but they did a great job. They were meticulous about getting everything tucked up in, even, level, .... Awesome job by them!!! Went with 3" stainless exhaust tips to finish it out.

Sounds good to me!! AND,.. From idle up through about 65 on the highway,.... No more drone!!

Alignment was a success. I will attach before and after specs once I can scan them in and attach.

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Exhaust Pic.jpg
 
toplscuda said:
Yes on the sandstorm. I am still blowing sand out of places I would have never imagined it getting in to on my car.
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The sad part is it's not just on the car!! I don't know how it got there but had to clean out everything from ear, nose, I think even the butt crack!!! :rofl:
 
Frnknsteen said:
The sad part is it's not just on the car!! I don't know how it got there but had to clean out everything from ear, nose, I think even the butt crack!!! :rofl:
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Yea, I've learned that you have to use masking tape to tape off your sleeves, waist, neck, etc or you're going to be in the shower for a while!! NO DUCT TAPE ON CRACK!!!

Treblig
 
1977 400 + 4 speed...did the 400 receive a steel crank, or was there a lobbed off input shaft and adapter pilot bearing?

I went through that nightmare with a '73 Charger Rallye 400 4 speed years ago, previous owner had swapped a cast crank 400 in, chopped the input shaft of the transmission, and left no bushing so it kept going through clutches. I ended up finding an uncut transmission and a steel crank for the 400, many hours and $ later it was finally together as it should have been.

If they did keep the cast crank and lob the tip of the input shaft, there's a late model bearing you can use in place of the bushing. From a Dakota I think? I can't remember...wish I'd known that back them, would have saved tons of headaches.
 
I believe they kept the cast crank, because you hit it spot on. Approximately 3/4" was cut off the front of the input shaft and they had installed the adapter roller bearing in the space the nose of a torque converter normally sit.

Wayne at Brewer's Performance caught that right away and set me up with the correct adapter bearing. Upon getting home and looking at it again, that same adapter bearing had already been installed.

Thanks for the info though. It hadn't occurred to be that the crank not having been bored for a pilot bushing being the reason they did it. It all makes sense now. Not sure I like the idea of a cast crank in there, but I don't drive as hard as I would have when I was younger.

Guess if I have issues and have to go through the motor, I could have my spare 440 steel crank turned down and call myself 451Cuda-2! :lol:

Thanks for the information! That hadn't clicked in my head!
 
Would a 1972 400 have a steel crank in it? I have a buddy that is clearing things out and has a '72 400 complete motor I could get for pretty reasonable amount. Almost thought about buying it in case I ever wanted to build a 451 motor ( I have a spare steel crank from my 440).

I also have a spare complete '68 383 motor I could build and put in it if needed.
 
Frnknsteen said:
Would a 1972 400 have a steel crank in it? I have a buddy that is clearing things out and has a '72 400 complete motor I could get for pretty reasonable amount. Almost thought about buying it in case I ever wanted to build a 451 motor ( I have a spare steel crank from my 440).

I also have a spare complete '68 383 motor I could build and put in it if needed.
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'72 400 has a chance to be a 230 casting - and if its casting date is pre 10/10/71 it's a winter block and has the thickest main webbing of any big block Chrysler. You definitely want to check it out and if it's buildable go ahead and buy it as any 400 is good in my book.

It has a chance to be a steel crank - if it was in a muscle car with manual transmission. Not likely as most 400's were in C bodies with 727 and got cast cranks. The steel crank in 400's was basically a 383 unit balanced for the 400 rotating assembly.
 
Thanks Cuda....

The guy I would be getting it from has a '72 Charger with a supercharged 440 that he is building into a pro-touring type setup, so I'm guessing it was the one that originally came in his Charger. Very possible that a '72 Charger could have a motor built before 10/10/71, so I will check into that. He has the motor out and stored in his garage so it would be very easy to look and see if the crank is bored for a pilot bushing.

Is there a way to confirm it is a steel crank from outside the motor? Stampings on the Flywheel flange maybe?

He has offered me the complete 400 (complete from oil pan to carb, but no pulley brackets) and an extra set of 915 (?? I think that's what he said) closed chamber heads for $700, and has a set of big block HP exhaust manifolds he would throw in for a bit more.

Sounds fairly reasonable, don't you think? I have been holding off a bit because I don't really NEED them as I already have a 383 and a complete 440 sitting under my work bench. The 440 is designated for my Charger though, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to have one more! :thumbsup:
 
Frnknsteen said:
Thanks Cuda....

The guy I would be getting it from has a '72 Charger with a supercharged 440 that he is building into a pro-touring type setup, so I'm guessing it was the one that originally came in his Charger. Very possible that a '72 Charger could have a motor built before 10/10/71, so I will check into that. He has the motor out and stored in his garage so it would be very easy to look and see if the crank is bored for a pilot bushing.

Is there a way to confirm it is a steel crank from outside the motor? Stampings on the Flywheel flange maybe?

He has offered me the complete 400 (complete from oil pan to carb, but no pulley brackets) and an extra set of 915 (?? I think that's what he said) closed chamber heads for $700, and has a set of big block HP exhaust manifolds he would throw in for a bit more.

Sounds fairly reasonable, don't you think? I have been holding off a bit because I don't really NEED them as I already have a 383 and a complete 440 sitting under my work bench. The 440 is designated for my Charger though, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to have one more! :thumbsup:
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u should be able to tell a steel crank from a cat crank by looking at the balancer .
 
Frnknsteen said:
Thanks Cuda....

The guy I would be getting it from has a '72 Charger with a supercharged 440 that he is building into a pro-touring type setup, so I'm guessing it was the one that originally came in his Charger. Very possible that a '72 Charger could have a motor built before 10/10/71, so I will check into that. He has the motor out and stored in his garage so it would be very easy to look and see if the crank is bored for a pilot bushing.

Is there a way to confirm it is a steel crank from outside the motor? Stampings on the Flywheel flange maybe?

He has offered me the complete 400 (complete from oil pan to carb, but no pulley brackets) and an extra set of 915 (?? I think that's what he said) closed chamber heads for $700, and has a set of big block HP exhaust manifolds he would throw in for a bit more.

Sounds fairly reasonable, don't you think? I have been holding off a bit because I don't really NEED them as I already have a 383 and a complete 440 sitting under my work bench. The 440 is designated for my Charger though, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to have one more! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

400 cast crank balancer - notice the counterweight
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400 steel crank balancer - no counterweight
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I checked with the guy with the 400, and it didn't come out of his Charger. It came out of a 1972 Newport, so it likely has the cast crank as 451Cuda said. That being said,... I'm still going to check it out and see what the casting date says, as if it is before 10/10/71 as Cuda says, it would still be a good strong block to have. Just might be able to get it a little cheaper if it has a cast crank.
 
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