Mopar virgin checking in with new 1969 Barracuda - with questions.... ;)
Thanks so much for asking, Spike! It's been very slow-going but there is progress to report. It was determined that the engine needed to be rebuilt, so a completely new 318 was installed. The guy (Andy) who's working on the fish said he felt the engine that was in the car was not original, so I went along. Mind you, it is difficult for me to manage this operation from 10,000 miles away, and since the engine was completely free to me, I agreed to it. Andy is very busy; apparently too busy to check all the codes on the block, heads, etc, so there's still this little doubt in my mind, or perhaps hope, that the engine was in fact the original engine to the car, and if it was, I mourn its loss. I am a super huge history buff and the possible loss of the original engine tears me apart. However, on the plus side, the new engine was free of charge, so I have to move on. So the Cuda has a new 318 installed, and is up and running again.
The blue fish has also been painted and put back together. The bumpers were straightened and rechromed. I'm sorry I don't have a good picture but this shows where we're at now. New tires will be installed soon (Andy told me he didn't feel anything wider than 215/60 14 would work on my rims), and they will be BFGoodrich white letters. I'm keeping the original rims because I think the turbine hubcaps look awesome. They are not installed yet in the picture.
I'm really looking forward to getting this wonderful car over to me in Europe very soon. It's been over 2 years since I bought it and I haven't driven it yet!! Imagine waiting so long. It should be shipped within 2 weeks so I should take delivery of it before winter sets in. I am very excited about that!
Thanks so much for asking, Spike! It's been very slow-going but there is progress to report. It was determined that the engine needed to be rebuilt, so a completely new 318 was installed. The guy (Andy) who's working on the fish said he felt the engine that was in the car was not original, so I went along. Mind you, it is difficult for me to manage this operation from 10,000 miles away, and since the engine was completely free to me, I agreed to it. Andy is very busy; apparently too busy to check all the codes on the block, heads, etc, so there's still this little doubt in my mind, or perhaps hope, that the engine was in fact the original engine to the car, and if it was, I mourn its loss. I am a super huge history buff and the possible loss of the original engine tears me apart. However, on the plus side, the new engine was free of charge, so I have to move on. So the Cuda has a new 318 installed, and is up and running again.
The blue fish has also been painted and put back together. The bumpers were straightened and rechromed. I'm sorry I don't have a good picture but this shows where we're at now. New tires will be installed soon (Andy told me he didn't feel anything wider than 215/60 14 would work on my rims), and they will be BFGoodrich white letters. I'm keeping the original rims because I think the turbine hubcaps look awesome. They are not installed yet in the picture.
I'm really looking forward to getting this wonderful car over to me in Europe very soon. It's been over 2 years since I bought it and I haven't driven it yet!! Imagine waiting so long. It should be shipped within 2 weeks so I should take delivery of it before winter sets in. I am very excited about that!
