May purchase 65 Barracuda

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MichaelG

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Has the 4 bbl V8 and 4 speed. Said to be all original. My question is are there any bolt on power adders worth considering for this V8?
 
May need a few more details, the 273/4bbl will push that car pretty good.
The sky is the limit,pending the budget.
I know one gentleman that is installing a 5.7 hemi in his 65.
 
Tooljunkie said:
May need a few more details, the 273/4bbl will push that car pretty good.
The sky is the limit,pending the budget.
I know one gentleman that is installing a 5.7 hemi in his 65.
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No desire to replace engine. Being unfamiliar with the 273 wondering if there's much of anything to do to it
 
There is all kinds of stuff you can do with the 273 4 speed. If it's a 273 Commando, it's already matched up to the car very well. There are all kinds of cam applications, cylinder head mods, intake mods, headers, differential types and ratios. Hang out on this forum and don't be shy about asking questions, bunch of great, helpful folks here.
 
You mention that it's all original so that must mean something to you yet want to modify it with bolt on performance parts? Not that it matters.... just curious. Anyway, there is most every type of modification for the 273 that there is for any other V-8. There are a few differences that make some items harder to find or more expensive but most are or have been made. The heads for the 64-65 have a different intake bolt size and angle so intake manifolds are a bit hard to find. Headers are a very tight fit in these cars so only a few are made and fairly expensive. Otherwise whatever you can buy for another car is typically available for an early A with a 273. The 273, 318, 340 and 360 are all the same engine family so there is a fair amount of parts overlap. The 273 four barrel is a pretty decent engine to begin with so if it is healthy you may not want to change a lot.
Are you talking about things like igniton upgrades or carburetor, or........... Or are you talkig turbo, blower, nitrous......?
 
grimreaper said:
You mention that it's all original so that must mean something to you yet want to modify it with bolt on performance parts? Not that it matters.... just curious. Anyway, there is most every type of modification for the 273 that there is for any other V-8. There are a few differences that make some items harder to find or more expensive but most are or have been made. The heads for the 64-65 have a different intake bolt size and angle so intake manifolds are a bit hard to find. Headers are a very tight fit in these cars so only a few are made and fairly expensive. Otherwise whatever you can buy for another car is typically available for an early A with a 273. The 273, 318, 340 and 360 are all the same engine family so there is a fair amount of parts overlap. The 273 four barrel is a pretty decent engine to begin with so if it is healthy you may not want to change a lot.
Are you talking about things like igniton upgrades or carburetor, or........... Or are you talkig turbo, blower, nitrous......?
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Simple things like, carb, ignition, headers(probably not). Being ignorant to this engine and car I thought I'd ask where people have "been there, done that" and get sound advice. If I get it and it is what it's claimed to be I'll probably be inclined to leave it alone HOWEVER sometimes there's simple suggestions like improved timing curve or ignition box etc
Knowing that they were 10.5/1 compression I would guess premium fuel with some booster is probably needed if the engine hasn't been touched
 
I believe they make a "lead substitute" for our older engines, however I've been running the new stuff (87 octane unleaded) in my slant six's with out difficulty. I ran unleaded gas in my V8 Commando before I sold it and don't remember any difficulty. But lately there has been a lot of talk about what unleaded does to the older engines. Most people who are going to hot rod them now, will go to hardened valve seats and different valves. I'm sure there will be some more comments about the type fuel and disadvantages of the unleaded fuel to follow. Have fun with your Barracuda, I have two 65s that are in a restoration mode.
 
I use a Pertronix Igniter II in place of points and use a Flamethrower coil to that allowed removal of the ballast resistor and adds more punch to the spark plugs. Also use a Timing Limiter Plate from 4secondsflat.com. It allows you to increase initial without causing too much mechanical timing.

Oh, and a mini-starter from a mid 90's Ram and my 66 Barracuda starts up very quickly each and every time!!
 
Under the AB on the fender tag you should find the numbers 31 if its the high perf. 273. Under the C should be a 2 for a formula S car. There should be a rectangular cutout on the left rear valance panel for the exhaust resonator if it's an original high performance car.
 
Yeah a 6-71 and Pro Shot Fogger.
 
Does it have a tach? That would be an "S" code..is there a 2 under the 'C' on the fender tag? Best thing for these cars is better exhaust IMHO (true duals with no Y pipe) followed by disc brakes up front and a dual circuit Master cylinder. If you want to delve a little deeper, that single plane intake is not the best. A modern dual plane would work better but won't fit those heads unless you alter the bolt hole angles in the AL intake, it's been done with a hand drill and some hardened washers under the smallish intake bolts of the 64-65 heads. Some modern "302" code heads will get you hardened valve seats, a similar quench head and the standard bolt angle for any aftermarket intake. I like the Performer 318/360 on the small 273 as well as the LD4B small port high rise dual plane. Most of the other aftermarket intakes have 340/360 port sizes that will fit but will not match up and will possible leak if you dont use the correct intake gasket. The high compression pistons on this engine will suffer under todays crap gas. You can help with some thicker .060 head gaskets but not the best option. A slant will run on most anything flammable with its low sub 8 CR. The 4bbl 273 is at the opposite end: needs good gas to run safely, ping will kill. A '67 318 is a great motor to look for as its really a bored out 273 with standard bolt angle heads and the same crank register (automatic) as well as balance (manual). It has much more low end torque and is just shy on peak HP of the 273/4bbl. You can move the top end and cam and lifters/valvetrain over to the 318 and make a cheap 318/4bbl or get a better matched solid cam, or keep stock hydraulic valvetrain of 318 and get a small hydraulic cam. Just don't go crazy on the cam as the small displacement makes the performance cams "peaky" giving a soft bottom and a narrow power band. The 360 with the same cam will be totally different.
 
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Hope you guys don't get tired of my questions. I've only owned one other Mopar, 1965 Coronet 383/4 speed
Which 4 speed was this Barracuda born with?
Were all 13" wheels or was 14" available and would this be the large bolt pattern?
 
It would have come with an A833 but one with a flange output to hook to the ball and trunnion style u-joint. 14" wheels were available but would have been the 5 on 4" small bolt pattern.

No problem on the questions.....you've got to learn somehow. There are many knowledgeable folks here with probably hundreds of years of cumulative experience.
 
If it's an original 273 4 barrel 4 speed car, no way in heck would I put any power adders on it. Maybe if it was a Chevy, but not a Mopar and especially not a Barracuda. If it's original, I would leave it like that. Now maybe if it was a slant six Valiant, that would be different, but an early Barracuda "I" would want to leave as original as possible.......maybe some day two stuff like mags and what not but no power adders. It would be a shame if anything happened to the engine.
 
grimreaper said:
It would have come with an A833 but one with a flange output to hook to the ball and trunnion style u-joint. 14" wheels were available but would have been the 5 on 4" small bolt pattern.

No problem on the questions.....you've got to learn somehow. There are many knowledgeable folks here with probably hundreds of years of cumulative experience.
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Yea, just looked up the drums and they are all small pattern. I wonder if 9" or 10" drums
 
I've also been trying to assess the value. I was surprised to see from a few sources that they seem to be in the low/mid $20K range if pretty nice. I have no idea if they are in much demand.
I'm actually talking to the owner on a trade, mine is probably worth a little more but the Barracuda looks like a fun car with the 4 speed. I don't think I would be interested if it were auto.
He's been out of town and I'm going by pictures right now.
 
A 20K estimate might be a bit high. I think it would have to be nearly concours show to be that high. 14-16 might be closer for a really nice car but no telling without inspection. Hard to tell on demand too. There is more demand than a few years ago and the folks who like them seems to be increasing. A hipo 273 with 4spd Barracuda really is a fun car.
 
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Almost forgot, is there a VIN or other engine stamping easy to see to verify if original engine?
 
Mopars didn't put a vin on the engine until 1968. You will find the engine casting number and the date, which should correspond to the year of the car, cast into the left side of the block.
 
the 273-4 was available as an optional engine in a non-formulas S Barracuda.

as stated above, look at the AB code on the fender tag
 
There is no way to verify "numbers matching" as was said. You can only verify that it was supposed to have what's there (data tag) and the dates on various parts that would be acceptable for a car built when that one was.
Any mods can be done. As an early A some thing s cost a bit more because it's smaller and tighter than later A bodies ('67 and later). Because the "highest power" engine was only a 275hp engine, the rest of the driveline is weaker than later As. Small bolt pattern factory stuff only - but aftermarket parts in key areas allow for larger bolt pattern wheels/tires. Wheel wells are small - so expense may not be worth it if you're going for size.
 
To answer the original question - Yes.
I think the first area for performance would be the exhaust, especially the drivers side manifold, and going from the stock single to dual.

As for value I think $8,000 would buy a rather nice early Barracuda.
 
SSVDP said:
To answer the original question - Yes.
I think the first area for performance would be the exhaust, especially the drivers side manifold, and going from the stock single to dual.

As for value I think $8,000 would buy a rather nice early Barracuda.
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I think the above reply of $15000 or so is probably pretty close, around here in SoCalif under $10000 don't usually have an engine at all and are basically rusty junk. Prices here are crazy. However I think I'm going to pass on this car, my car (streetrod) is upwards of $28000 to $30000 although I'm asking $25 cash, I don't mind taking a slight bath but this one may be too far off.
 
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