'68 Barracuda Formula S Fastback Restoration Background
Part Five--Assembly and Mechanical
Figure 23 Section of K-Frame removed due to damage and Brazing repair.
Figure 24 K-Frame after metal work to repair previous damange and poor repair.
The damage to the K-Frame lead me to think through a number of issues with the Barracuda that were mysteries since I purchased it. The hood had the ’67 standard Barracuda slotted inserts instead of the 340-S inserts that most Formula S cars had. There was an obvious weld repair on the front frame longitudinal in front of the upper A-Arm that I never could explain. And during assembly we found that the radiator core support was brazed in place and was at least 3/8” further back than stock based on measuring undamaged A-Bodies vs mine. Unfortunately, the core support could have been replaced by AMD if we knew that it was not in the right position at that time.
To address the core support being out of place, I had to select a radiator that had dual 10” fans offset that would allow the ‘70+ water pump to fit without hitting the radiator fan. The single electric fan I was using interfered with the water pump pully bolts. I found that Engineered Cooling Products had a radiator that had both the cooling capacity and dual fan arrangement that worked.
The front suspension was upgraded with Energy Suspension LCA urethane bushings, new LCA pins with lubrication holes, LCA stiffening plates and offset UCA bushings to increase caster. From my 383 Barracuda restoration, I kept the 383 torsion bars having used 1.03” bars in that Cuda. The 1.03 bars worked very well with the heavier 383 and the 0.89 bars . The stock 340 bars are 120 lbs/inch spring rate while the 0.89 bars are 130 lbs/inch. Although the 1.03” bars are popular, the have 230 lbs/inch spring rate, so that may be a lot.
I am using ‘73+ A-Body disk brakes with ‘78+ police car 11.81” rotors and pin-style calipers. They were originally mounted to the rear for sway bar clearance, but I switched to the Hellwig 55917 1.25” bar which is bent to have clearance for the brakes mounted in front of the spindle which is the stock location. These large diameter brakes have massive stopping power.
Figure 25 Front suspension with Hellwig sway bar and modified mounting tab.
For many years I ran 235-60x15 BFG Radia T/A’s on the front of the car. However, with fresh LCA bushings and mounting the calipers to the front, I somehow lost about ½” or more in tire clearance. I ended up having to go to 215-60x15 BFG’s to get enough clearance to the lower front fender edge.
Figure 26 Front tire clearance with BFG 235-60x15 Radial T/A tires.
Figure 27 Fender clearance with 225-60x15 BFG Radial T/A's.
The rear suspension used Mopar A-Body oval track springs with 1” lift. These springs require a slightly different spring perch which I got from Mancini Racing (AE Engineering) #MREAR118KIT which all lowering the ride height by 1.5” which we did. For rear brakes, I adapted the Jeep Liberty rear disk brakes to the 8 ¾ rear using the Mopar Action article which details this swap. The rear disk brakes look good with the Weld Pro Star rims.
Figure 28 Rear axle with Jeep Liberty rear disk brake conversion.
Figure 29 Rear disk brakes and Weld Pro Star rims with 255-60R15 tires.
Part Five--Assembly and Mechanical
Assembly and Mechanical Work
The paint work was seemingly the easy part as now the assembly had to start. Some of it went smoothly and some was fraught with difficulties. I wanted to have a solid suspension, so I upgraded the LCA’s to urethane bushings and had stiffening plates welded in. These looked nice. I also purchased the K-Frame Reinforcement kit. This is where it got interesting. While prepping the K-Frame for welding, the technician found that there was a huge amount of brass slag inside the K-Frame. WTF? On further inspection, it appeared that the K-Frame was severely dented at one time and made to look new again with brazing. Not the ideal repair approach.Figure 23 Section of K-Frame removed due to damage and Brazing repair.
Figure 24 K-Frame after metal work to repair previous damange and poor repair.
The damage to the K-Frame lead me to think through a number of issues with the Barracuda that were mysteries since I purchased it. The hood had the ’67 standard Barracuda slotted inserts instead of the 340-S inserts that most Formula S cars had. There was an obvious weld repair on the front frame longitudinal in front of the upper A-Arm that I never could explain. And during assembly we found that the radiator core support was brazed in place and was at least 3/8” further back than stock based on measuring undamaged A-Bodies vs mine. Unfortunately, the core support could have been replaced by AMD if we knew that it was not in the right position at that time.
To address the core support being out of place, I had to select a radiator that had dual 10” fans offset that would allow the ‘70+ water pump to fit without hitting the radiator fan. The single electric fan I was using interfered with the water pump pully bolts. I found that Engineered Cooling Products had a radiator that had both the cooling capacity and dual fan arrangement that worked.
The front suspension was upgraded with Energy Suspension LCA urethane bushings, new LCA pins with lubrication holes, LCA stiffening plates and offset UCA bushings to increase caster. From my 383 Barracuda restoration, I kept the 383 torsion bars having used 1.03” bars in that Cuda. The 1.03 bars worked very well with the heavier 383 and the 0.89 bars . The stock 340 bars are 120 lbs/inch spring rate while the 0.89 bars are 130 lbs/inch. Although the 1.03” bars are popular, the have 230 lbs/inch spring rate, so that may be a lot.
I am using ‘73+ A-Body disk brakes with ‘78+ police car 11.81” rotors and pin-style calipers. They were originally mounted to the rear for sway bar clearance, but I switched to the Hellwig 55917 1.25” bar which is bent to have clearance for the brakes mounted in front of the spindle which is the stock location. These large diameter brakes have massive stopping power.
Figure 25 Front suspension with Hellwig sway bar and modified mounting tab.
For many years I ran 235-60x15 BFG Radia T/A’s on the front of the car. However, with fresh LCA bushings and mounting the calipers to the front, I somehow lost about ½” or more in tire clearance. I ended up having to go to 215-60x15 BFG’s to get enough clearance to the lower front fender edge.
Figure 26 Front tire clearance with BFG 235-60x15 Radial T/A tires.
Figure 27 Fender clearance with 225-60x15 BFG Radial T/A's.
The rear suspension used Mopar A-Body oval track springs with 1” lift. These springs require a slightly different spring perch which I got from Mancini Racing (AE Engineering) #MREAR118KIT which all lowering the ride height by 1.5” which we did. For rear brakes, I adapted the Jeep Liberty rear disk brakes to the 8 ¾ rear using the Mopar Action article which details this swap. The rear disk brakes look good with the Weld Pro Star rims.
Figure 28 Rear axle with Jeep Liberty rear disk brake conversion.
Figure 29 Rear disk brakes and Weld Pro Star rims with 255-60R15 tires.
