1966 Plymouth Barracuda - Commando 273 V8

Finally got a '66 Barracuda with a factory 273 Commando V8! Traded a 1974 Plymouth Gold Duster /6 5 days ago for it.

The Story...

Saw an awesome Mopar individuals post on Facebook, on the Mopars of Utah group showing he had 2 Barracudas for sale. One was a white '65 Barracuda, couldn't recall if it was a 273 car or not, anywho, the floor pans were gone and the whole vehicle looked like a complete mess... The second was a deep dark blue '66 Barracuda with a 273 Commando V8.

We arranged a time to meet where he kept his stanch of Mopars about a month ago or so, showed me what he had and what was for sale. At the time there, he had 2x '65 Barracudas, and 2x '66 Barracudas. He has a Formula S '66 that's undergoing restoration in his huge garage, in there also lies a '68/'69 Dodge Charger, and a '71 Duster (Drag car). He also has 2x '65 Dodge darts, one with a Commando 273 V8, the other couldn't recall.

So after being amazed by the amount of Mopars he had, he showed me the blue '66 Barracuda that I was very interested in, fired it up by bypassing the ignition cause of some wiring issue, and man oh man did it run very smooth. Couldn't keep it running long by putting gas in the carb. He said he couldn't keep it running cause of some issue with the factory 4bbl carb/needing a rebuild. Has a 904 automatic, floor shift. 7 1/4" rear end...

Took a very good look all around the 'beauty' and there wasn't any major issues with frame rust, but rather just surface rust. Lower rear quarters are gone (typical for a Utah vehicle...), has a ghetto trailer hitch on the back, both front fenders on the top closer to the window had patches of metal welded in place because for some reason there's a pocket in that area that gets crap in it and eventually rusts out.. Interior is 100%, shot. Luckily everything was mostly there, despite the rocker/trim panels + headlight bezels/trim rings.. Drivers floor pan is almost gone. This car came with a factory vinyl top, not sure how rare that is, but never seen one in person with it. The previous owner (guy before the current owner at the time, also believed to be the original owner, now makes me the 3rd) didn't really know what he was doing, so there's a ton of stupid that needs to be fixed. Car hasn't been garaged for 20 years, but was under a huge tree that offered a lot of shade, better than nothing there I guess... Seen worse, when I bought a different Plymouth Duster, same story, sat 20+ years, no shade, bought it unfortunately, and became known as The Ruster. Good thing that one's long gone... '66 Barracuda also has a clean title + vin tag still attached, yay!

So next week he came by my place and took a look at the Duster, really it was the better car overall, but a '66 Commando 273 Barracuda took much more appeal to me despite its present condition. He was really digging the Duster with the 225 slant six, even took it for a ride.

Couple of weeks or so passed without word, and then finally he got back with me and decided he wanted to trade Mopars!

The Now...

So I was really happy there wasn't any money involved, just a straight swap. I'll make it official on here and say that this is, my last project. I already have a '65 Barracuda that's been 80-90% restored, just got to get carpet, seats, and engine bay done and it'll be complete. Also have another blue 1965 Plymouth Barracuda that may be going to a family member.. Still debating on that one...

Link to my nearly restored '65 Barracuda:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1970997600

So this is where I'll keep y'all up to date on the progress of the 1966 Plymouth Barracudas restoration! So far all I've done is make it look a little more appealing as it sits in the driveway and not in the garage because of other projects that need to be finished... Good thing I got a car cover for it. Tons of crap and dirt came off after a long power wash.. For fun I took some mothers wax to a spot, and man oh man, I've never seen so much oxidized paint in my life... Waxed one side and it helped it look better for the now. Has 2 rally wheels on the rear, painted red for some reason... and 2 steelies on the front. All 14's, and all shot. The only real good part of this vehicle, body wise, is that there is not one imperfection on the roof, not one dent, just surface rust. Seems weird how early A bodies don't rust like the later, don't know if they used different metal or what back then, but whatever they used/did, they made it right.

So I got a rather long list planned out for this ride... Fun fact, the title was never taken owner ship by the guy before me, so the original owner's name on it was, Orin Hatch. I freaked out when I saw that name, but the real Utah Senator's name has 2 r's in Orrin. Thought that was kinda funny though.. Anyways, major things that have to be done, interior, floor pans, body work, fix some stupid, carb rebuild, fluids to be changed, new wheels, brakes, new gas tank, and a lil' bit of love along the way. So, it'll be a fun LAST project, and hopefully turn out in the end! Mopar or No Car.

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