[WANTED] Any parts to get my Cuda good gas mileage (other part listed)

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'CudaChick

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hi! So I'm looking to be able to drive my 1966 Barracuda to Los Angeles, from Northern California, 9 hours away. I know most definitely that I need a radiator, so if you have one out of any car that you know will fit a 225 Slant Six AUTOMATIC 3 speed, I'll buy if it's a good price.
also looking for any other part that help my car get better gas mirage and make the drive. Ideally I'd like to drive it down and back once a week or once every two weeks, for 3 or 4 days then come back up.
Now, is this Recommended? Are older car just not safe anymore? I'd love to drive my Cuda down, so please, any info to help me, (who's on a low budget) driving to la would be appreciated. Ideas, thoughts, info, advice, or parts for sale for cheap I'd be interested in! Please private message me, just seems to be more easy for me.

also, parts I'm looking for:
Idler arm
Rear tail light lense set (all) and bulbS
15 inch wheels and tires combo, for 5x4" small bolt pattern not 4.5"!!
Starter relay
Locking gas cap
Petronix
One barrel Holley carb
Gas sending unit for inside tank

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I have a rad from a 66 belve it does need one of the brackets re soldered to the top of the tank.
 
Save the old lock ring for the gas tank sending unit, the new ones are too thin and will not seal properly...
 
Pertronix is nice, but you can scrounge a factory electronic control unit and wiring harness out of anything post '73 in a junkyard and buy a slant six distributor for an Aspolaré for way cheaper. Also, you should be getting 20+ to the gallon out of a stock slant in a car that light. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't drive your car anywhere you want. It's a car.. All I own is old rusty junk, and I'll drive any of them anywhere. Safety? More important than worrying about what your car will do in a crash, is maintaining your brakes, tires, and suspension so that you can avoid a crash. Flush your brake fluid once a year, and if you're running stock 9" drums, you can consider upgrading to disc.. The Kelsey Hayes setup is the easiest to install on your car instead of the later big bolt pattern stuff. If you're happy with your drums, or poor like me, there's modifications you can do to your drum brakes to better vent them and keep them cooler. PM me for info
 
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here in san jose half way point , lol . got a rad from a 71 dart sl/6 auto with a should . i made some 15x8 rears with 225/70-15 t/a's(27'' tall) on them for mine 69 dart not shear they will fit your early a body . but i still have more 15x8 outer rims bands to build more with , uses the center from the stock 14'' rims . have some of them as well .

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don't forget a wax job , for less air drag , and if you can draft using other vehicles to break the wind ahead of you . careful although big rigs make a hell of a tale wind in there draft , got to be close to limit the effects . make it a safe traveling trip . life is short , keep a smile on , and it shines .
 
I might even dial in a few more degrees of ignition advance, and double check that the point gap is right.
 
If you are gonna make a bunch of trips, this is a great opportunity to experiment with cruise timing.
Many years ago I had a similar opportunity.
So what I did was figure out a way to positively locate my throttle opening so that it would maintain a given setting. Then I made a trip to baseline the mpgs. Then I increased my cruise timing several degrees, and repeated the test. And so on it went until the mpgs peaked, and no additional timing helped. As the timing went up, so did the mpH, so after every trip I readjusted the staged throttle stop I had built, to drop the mpH back to the baseline. When the timing was finalized, I started leaning out the cruise AFR, a little at a time,once per trip;until the engine screamed for mercy, or until she started losing mpHs.
The device I built was nothing more than an adjustable spring-loaded throttle-stop. It was built from an 8 inch length of coathanger wire bent into an S.The S had a very shortleg and a much longer leg; more like a J with a little u stuck on the short leg. The depth of the J was about 1.5 inches and the u was maybe 1/2 inch.
I drilled a hole in a nearby metal-strut (it mightabin the dipstick suppot strut;it was 20 years ago) to act as a guide, and something to stop against.I found in my stuff-drawer an old-style Marrette (wire connector for household wiring). These have a removable brass collar with a set-screw. I found a small one just the right size to slide over the long leg, which I then inserted into the hole.I then draped the J-Loop over the throttle arm;u-end up.I opened the throttle about 1/3, slipped the bottom of the J up to it,locked the setscrew against the metal-strut, and let the throttle close with it's normal closing spring, which I never changed in any way. Then I took a heavier duty spring and hooked one end into the little u. The other end I stretched out back towards the metal-strut, where I drilled a small hole to accept it. Voila, throttle stop!
So now up to 1/3 throttle everything works exactly normal. But then the throttle pin hits the J-hook it stops. If you press a little harder, the throttle continues to open, against the second spring. You control when the stop engages, by resetting the setscrew, and you control the extra pressure required by adjusting the auxiliary spring tension. The whole thing can be removed in a minute, and nothing else has to be changed, and the device does not loose its functionality so long as you do not mess with the stop-collar.
So now to get an initial setting, you just leave the stop-collar slightly loose, and sneak up to your desired cruising speed, stop the car and lock the set-screw. Then prove it took.
To make very fine adjustments, I put a stack (maybe 6)of very thin metal washers on to the long leg, last, and slid them up next to the stop-collar, before finally inserting the coathanger wire into the anchor-hole.If the speed goes up from time to time, I just remove a washer,which engages the stop a tiny bit sooner.
I would have posted a pic but no camera.So sorry.
You can use it for cruise control too! But it does not compensate for hilly terrain :(
 
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AJ, that's a nicely detailed description you posted! I forgot to mention that driving with a vacuum gauge is pretty fun and neat......except people may honk at you when you take off, from trying to maximize your vacuum and mileage.
 
I have a couple of slant 6 radiators you can have one for free, if you make the drive. Im near Berkeley just off of I-80.
 
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