67 Barracuda convertible, suspension rebuild
I own a '68 Barracuda. One of the first things I did was weld in the complete chassis stiffening kit from US Cartool. Its relatively easy if you have a mig welder, but not so much if you don't. First things first will give you a solid platform to build on.
There are plenty of mobile welding guys that can weld up the parts in a few hours in your driveway once you get it all prepped and ready for them. It will take the better part of the day to prepare, longer if you pull the front fenders off to install the under fender bracing, but that is not necessary. (you can skip this part and just use the subframe connectors and tie the front frame rails together until you are ready to prep and respray the inner fenders due to burning off some paint.) It's not that hard of a job, but takes another weekend.
When installing the under fender braces its also the time to weld the shock towers solidly to the inner fenders. Mine had a few spot welds and about half of them were tearing loose. That was with a slant six in there.
The prep is easy and consists of have the undercarriage steam cleaned or do it your self with some elbow grease and some Castro Purple Power cleaner, removing the seats and carpet, grinding down to bare metal the areas that the parts will be welded to. I used a large rubber mallet on the floor and an angle grinder on the subframe connectors to help close up the gaps for welding in a few hours.
Once you do this, the car will be ready for a suspension and brake rebuild. The difference in how solid the car feels going down the road is epic, and it really contributes to how well the car feels while driving.
1" torsion bars, two driver's side 2800 lbs Super stock Springs, sway bars and Bilstiens will take care of the suspension. I used Koni's.
For the brakes, you have to decide if you are going to switch to the big bolt pattern wheels or not. If you do, you may want to find an 8 3/4 for the rear. call Dr Diff and order up his econo rear disc kit that uses the Mustang GT rear discs. For the front, the '73+ spindles and the police/taxi rotors match the rears well. I use a cast iron master cylinder with a less than 1 inch bore. The bias is perfect just like that. No proportioning valve is needed.
Later put in a 408" EFI stroker motor and a built 200r4 OD trans and let the fun begin. It took me 14 years to get to this point, but the ride along the way was not bad.
Project creep at its best!
I own a '68 Barracuda. One of the first things I did was weld in the complete chassis stiffening kit from US Cartool. Its relatively easy if you have a mig welder, but not so much if you don't. First things first will give you a solid platform to build on.
There are plenty of mobile welding guys that can weld up the parts in a few hours in your driveway once you get it all prepped and ready for them. It will take the better part of the day to prepare, longer if you pull the front fenders off to install the under fender bracing, but that is not necessary. (you can skip this part and just use the subframe connectors and tie the front frame rails together until you are ready to prep and respray the inner fenders due to burning off some paint.) It's not that hard of a job, but takes another weekend.
When installing the under fender braces its also the time to weld the shock towers solidly to the inner fenders. Mine had a few spot welds and about half of them were tearing loose. That was with a slant six in there.
The prep is easy and consists of have the undercarriage steam cleaned or do it your self with some elbow grease and some Castro Purple Power cleaner, removing the seats and carpet, grinding down to bare metal the areas that the parts will be welded to. I used a large rubber mallet on the floor and an angle grinder on the subframe connectors to help close up the gaps for welding in a few hours.
Once you do this, the car will be ready for a suspension and brake rebuild. The difference in how solid the car feels going down the road is epic, and it really contributes to how well the car feels while driving.
1" torsion bars, two driver's side 2800 lbs Super stock Springs, sway bars and Bilstiens will take care of the suspension. I used Koni's.
For the brakes, you have to decide if you are going to switch to the big bolt pattern wheels or not. If you do, you may want to find an 8 3/4 for the rear. call Dr Diff and order up his econo rear disc kit that uses the Mustang GT rear discs. For the front, the '73+ spindles and the police/taxi rotors match the rears well. I use a cast iron master cylinder with a less than 1 inch bore. The bias is perfect just like that. No proportioning valve is needed.
Later put in a 408" EFI stroker motor and a built 200r4 OD trans and let the fun begin. It took me 14 years to get to this point, but the ride along the way was not bad.
Project creep at its best!
