65 Barracuda daily driver

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I picked it up today and it's not perfect, but I decided to stop complaining and to start enjoying instead! It was already getting dark when I got back, but here's one quick photo:

barracuda.jpg
 
Looking forward to seeing some better pictures. Hope it turned out better than before
 
looking good, bro. My headliner was a bear too. Still is a little wavy after 5 years of So. Cal sun (garaged most of the time) color sanding and buffing will really help, might even get some of the specs out. Overspray on glass is no big deal, scrapes right off with a blade. My dash had a pad but it was flat black behind it. Paint behind the grills semigloss black. Looks a little strange to see red paint behind the grill.
 
Thanks, guys!

Today I put on the window trim:

2016-03-04%25252016.35.32.jpg


And started on the window weather stripping. The inner ones fit great, but the outer ones should be rubber, but they are felt and they don't fit. Well, the last clip doesn't fit:

2016-03-04%25252016.53a.jpg


Do you guys know where I can find the rubber ones and without paying another 100 bucks?

Also, I installed a mirror on the passenger side for hectic L.A. freeway traffic and parallel parking...

2016-03-04%25252017.37.02.jpg


2016-03-04%25252016.56.29.jpg


Tomorrow it's time for the bumpers...
 
I want to keep the Barracuda as original as possible with one or two exceptions...:

2016-03-04%25252021.06.15.jpg


The semigloss paint is a little more glossy than I thought. Maybe it gets flatter when fully dry.

2016-03-04%25252021.07.00.jpg
 
I'll bet you are turning some heads in L.A. I think your car looks awesome. In reference to adding mirror, my Formula S doesn't have any exterior mirrors. I have the car totally disassembled and there are no holes drilled for mirrors. That is something I will have to add after painting. Have a wonderful day.
 
Thanks! Both doors (I bought them off craigslist, because mine were rusty) didn't have holes either, so I had to drill them myself. Unfortunately I did the driver side first and then realized the passenger side had to be an inch further back, otherwise you couldn't really see anything in it. I doubt it's noticeable, though.
 
Strange that mirrors must have been an option. Go figure.
 
Strange that mirrors must have been an option. Go figure.

Yep, either style driver's side mirror was optional (twin post manual or remote). Passenger side twin post was either dealer installed or owner installed. Mirrors matching the driver's remote came later around 67 or 68 or so.
 
The outer weatherstrips are also felt, so what you have is correct.


[[/B]QUOTE=65barracudaLA;1971157841]Thanks, guys!

Today I put on the window trim:

2016-03-04%25252016.35.32.jpg


And started on the window weather stripping. The inner ones fit great, but the outer ones should be rubber, but they are felt and they don't fit. Well, the last clip doesn't fit:

2016-03-04%25252016.53a.jpg


Do you guys know where I can find the rubber ones and without paying another 100 bucks?

Also, I installed a mirror on the passenger side for hectic L.A. freeway traffic and parallel parking...

2016-03-04%25252017.37.02.jpg


2016-03-04%25252016.56.29.jpg


Tomorrow it's time for the bumpers...[/QUOTE]
 
I thought it was crazy about the mirrors until I remembered seat belts were in the front, but not the back. Even though they were there, you didn't have to wear them. After getting accustomed to them, if you ride in an older classic car that doesn't have them, it really feels strange. I have order a new set for mine, front and rear, but they haven't come in. Need to check, ordered like 2 months ago.
 
The outer weatherstrips are also felt, so what you have is correct.

The ones that were on the car, when I bought it were rubber (but too far gone). And that's not necessarily the issue- the last clip does not match the last hole. And the rubber ones are longer. Of course I could put them in and break off or ignore that last clip, but I'm not sure how long that's gonna last.
 
The song said it never rains in southern California, but after living there I know that isn't so. Look around for someone parting out a car and you may find what you need. I know the whiskers I bought do not have the rubber ones, but mine are good so I will use them. Also put an ad under parts wanted. Good luck
 
Got the PLYMOUTH letters back on the trunk. Somehow the M sits a little higher than the other letters. Not sure why, I used the holes that were there, but I used a different set of letters. I still have the letters that were on that trunk lid that I bought from one of the guys on the EVBC (Early Valiant and Barracuda Club) email list. Did they change from 65 to 66?

2016-03-06%25252017.41.19.jpg


All weekend long I was looking for the damn bumper bolts and finally found them two hours ago in my tool box. So I finally installed the front bumper, which is not in a great shape. I have another one, but it's also not great. I might have to look for another bumper, but it's good for now.

2016-03-06%25252018.03.46.jpg


I still have to straighten and paint the center grille and paint everything behind the grille black.

The rear bumper is in a closet and I have not been able to get it out- there are too many parts in the way... If anyone needs a driver side fender, deck lid, doors etc, let me know. They are all not in great shape, but better than others that I have seen. I will probably sell all these parts at the Chrysler Performance West Spring Fling in Van Nuys in April. Might have to borrow a truck to get them all in there.

Speaking of doors, the driver side window regulator was getting stuck every half turn or so, which was very annoying. Luckily I still had the doors sitting around and it was a lot easier than I thought to swap them out. Now the window rolls up and down smoothly.

2016-03-06%25252019.31.05.jpg


That part, where the window crank bolts on, was pretty worn out and lose, but it's riveted in there and you can't even take it out or apart to see what's wrong.
 
So today, after it stopped raining, I finally had time to install the rear bumper. One of the bumper rubber spacers was pretty much gone:

2016-03-11%2B17.08.04.jpg


The other one was in pretty good shape:

2016-03-11%2B17.07.53.jpg


The problem was that the "good" one made the bumper stick out too much on that side while the bumper was touching the body on the other side. So I removed the thing and drilled a hole through a smaller piece of rubber I had laying around and that made it align much better:

2016-03-11%2B18.14.56.jpg


Now, for the first time in about 2 years, the Barracuda is street legal again, including the license plate light (I never stopped driving it, though)... Well, I guess to be completely street legal, I still need to reinstall the windshield washer. I might get to it tomorrow...
 
Car looks great. Happy to see the progress.
 
That can't be good:

2016-03-18%2B120419a.jpg


I was not going to replace the shoes, because I'm planning on installing Kelsey Hayes disc brakes. I'm still missing a few parts for the disc brake conversion, but I guess I need to do it soon
 
That can't be good:

2016-03-18%2B120419a.jpg


I was not going to replace the shoes, because I'm planning on installing Kelsey Hayes disc brakes. I'm still missing a few parts for the disc brake conversion, but I guess I need to do it soon

If you're not ready to do the Kelsey Hayes swap yet, I have one side of a set of the 1.75 in shoes that would replace your cracked shoe.
 
@65 Dartman: Thanks, I don't think I'm gonna change it. The shoes are cheap and easy to get, but I hate working on drum brakes...
 
I pretty much haven't made any progress on the car lately, but I've been working a lot and was out of town for a while. Today I decided to put at least the hub caps back on...

barracuda.jpg
 
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