Restoring a 65 Barracuda
I am in the midst of a complete restoration on my 1965 Barracuda Formula S. I feel sure anyone who works on vintage cars will agree that searching/researching solutions for parts and services can be a major consumer of time and effort.
I have used threads posted in FABO in the past for answers and ideas, so Im passing along a couple of things I have learned.
ORIGINAL RADIO
The radio wasnt working when pulled and another radio I purchased on ebay worked long enough for a bench test then quit. Fellow FABO member cudajim offered to have a look at them and said if he couldnt fix them there would be no charge for his service. If they turn out to be repairable then the repair charges would be very reasonable and he would notify me before making the repairs.
It seems most radio repair businesses want to restore the radio and thus charge $200 or more for a basic AM radio. Well, there are other options.
Both radios were mailed and within a few days the repairs were done at a very reasonable price. I am one satisfied radio owner. Thanks Jim
(note: Jim fixed both of my radios for less than half of the cost to restore one radio) Thanks Jim for solving this problem.
SPEEDOMETER GEAR
I put a few road miles on the car before beginning the restoration and the speedometer was working fine with no strange noises or behavior. However, when I removed the gear from the transmission, I found the nylon teeth badly worn and damaged. The speedometer cable housing had a small kink and caused some binding on the cable itself. I suppose the excessive wear and damage on the gear came from the cable not rotating freely.
For the 4 speed transmission and 3:23 rear, my parts book listed part number 2204360 for a gear with 21 teeth. After several failed attempts to locate an NOS or good used one via my usual internet and other source sites, I began to worry about finding one. (note: in 1966 Chrysler changed the speedometer gear to a different design and some of these gears are reproduced, but alas not 1965 and prior)
Northwest Transmission Parts in Winchester, OH (937-442-2811) can cut new nylon gears to order. I gave them the application and factory part number and they said, No problem, we can do it. Northwest also had the o-ring and small seal that fits the inside the housing. Price for the gear, seal, o-ring and shipping was about $65.00.
One glitch- Northwest reproduced a beautiful gear, unfortunately they reversed the gear angles. When I called to report the problem, they were very accommodating and ask me to return the gear and a new one would be cut. For good measure, I sent my old gear as a sample and a new correct gear was returned which fits prefect.
Problem solved (note: allow 3-5 weeks to get a new gear cut)
INNER FENDER SPLASH SHIELD SEALS
It seems the rubber inner fender splash shields are readily available for most mopars from various vendors. I found the exception to be early A body cars such as my 65 Barracuda. YearOne doesnt list the shield seals and when I called Laysons, they told me none were reproduced for the 65 A-body. Quoting the salesman, If they were available, wed have them.
Assuming no shields seals were available, I began searching for the materials to make a set. Restoration Specialties and Supply in Windber, PA (814-467-9842) has a large selection of rubber moldings, seals and gaskets for all makes and models of cars and trucks. The great news is, their online catalog
http://www.restorationspecialties.com/splash shield seals.htm lists all the inner fender splash shield seals for a 1965 Barracuda. I ordered the seals and they snapped right in place
good as new.
Below is a picture of the car I'm restoring taken before the restoration began. I will post more pictures later.
If FABO members find this type of restoration information useful, I am, in the future, willing to pass along my experiences with other problems and solutions for:
Positive battery cable
273 HP valve covers
Plastic rechroming
Rubber bumper kits
