68 Barracuda Coupe "It's Alive!!"

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Dorian

dorian
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
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Location
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Ca
I have been meaning to start this for over a year now, well I guess better late than never! LOL

Anyways, it all started 3 years ago when I came across my 68 coupe right hear in town. I have been wanting a 68 for quite some time and always found them far far away. Getting married and having twins then buying a house and starting a new career as an apprentice sheet metal mechanic always seemed to put my dream of a 68 on the back burner. Well one day I was driving home on a Friday and this is what I saw:


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It was a 68 Barracuda Coupe 318 automatic. What I had been looking for for years and hear it was. It was definitely a sign. I knocked on the door and talked to the guy. He wanted $5000.00 because it was a 68, you know the story, in 68 they came out with the HEMI blah blah blah etc. Thanks Barrett Jackson. ( If I ever see Jackson I am going to kick him in the nuts)

Anyway I was able to talk him down to $4500.00 and I gave him $100.00 down and said I would get the rest from the bank on Tuesday seeing that it was the long weekend.

I knew the guy, he had a rep of finding cars like this and that he was a hardnose to deal with when it came down to price. I also knew that if I shook hands with him the deal was written in stone. It just so happened a guy came down from Red Deer and offered him $5000.00 and Dan said he already shook on a deal and the car was no longer for sale. The guy even offered him more and Dan still refused.

So I come home to talk to my wife and told here about the car and see said go to the bank on Tuesday and see what they will do. I was there at 10am Tuesday morning and got a loan for $4500.00. Then I got it in cash and payed him in $100.00 bills. I always wanted to do that!

So it sat in my driveway for over a year and a half as I started to collect parts for it. Many of the parts came from FABO members, thanks to all who sold or even gave me parts!

Then one day at the track I was helping a buddy of mine with his funny car and we started talking about my cuda. His son and I were always butting heads and while we were talking his big mouth son said "you should just sell that POS because you will never finish it!"

Well here was this kid who had no idea of how much it cost to build a car on your own, he has never done one on his own dime. And he goads me into saying That I would have the car ready for the next race. Well that was 2 weeks away, boy did I open my big mouth.

He laughs at me and says that I will never get my car done let alone race at the track!

So I am wondering over to another mopar pit that has 5 or 6 real nice cars and a friend of mine, Herb who is kind of the team mechanic is working on one of the cars so I jump in and lend a hand. After the work is done I tell him about my dilemma and he says do you have the parts to finish it? I told him that I have most of them but that I have about $5000.00 in my racecar account. Herb said that should just about do it.

So that night after the races we pull it into his shop and he goes over it and we make a list of parts still needed.

that's enough of the story for now I will continue it next time. For now here are a few pic to keep this going.


Here she is in Herbs shop where the 2 week transformation begins...

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Ya I know there is surface rust everywhere that will be taken car of for now I just wanted to get it to the track!

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Looks like you got a nice car to start with.You ever notice how the guys with nothing like to run their mouth.Keep us updated.318,340,360,383,400,440??What is it going to be? Jim
 
Holy crap, this is awesome!
I'll keep it short......

Man that white plain Jane car sitting there for sale looked like a big, fresh canvass didn't it?
I can remember when mine looked just like that in f-8 green.

Just make sure that kid don't call you "chicken" and you do something really rash like Marty McFly.

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"What are you?........C-H-I-C-K-E-N????????"

Butthead.LOL.
 
and the story continues...

Herb tells me that he never liked it when someone says" It can't be done" it just makes him work harder at it. So we make a list, check it twice and get started on the Cuda!

Here is the 383 4 spd with inline shifter. I even had the guys at the machine shop squeeze me in for the engine machining. Just a simple block clean and hone and make sure that everything is ok. That is Herb in the background.

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While the engine was in the machine shop I drove up to Calgary ( I was going there for a family thing) and bought a new polyurethane front end kit. Next I went to my local parts dealer and bought all new front brakes etc. Oh ya during this same 2 weeks I bought a 250.00 donor car for a lg bolt pattern front end conversion, 75 Dart and we ripped it out and rebuilt it.

Here are some pics of that:

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notice the hole for the clutch set up that Herb drilled...


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Herb has many cars and parts, what I was not able to buy in time he sold me out of his parts collection. 4 speed pedal assy ( he took my auto setup in trade), 4 speed driveshaft and other misc parts.

I always kid him about his "mezzanine" which is above the engine on the stand in earlier pics. This is where he stores his Private Collection! LOL
I asked him if he had a decent intake for the 383 so I could put my borrowed (from my brother-in-law Mark) 750 holley on it and he looks at me for a second and glances up at his mezzanine and says "wait here a minute"

Herb goes upstairs and comes down with the oofenhauser/edelbrock adapted low rise dual carb intake with matching carter 625's and asks do you think this would look ok on there?

I laughed and said sure well your at it I may as well ask for a 6 pak set up for a 383 because I can't afford the dual setup either! Herb looks at me and says, I have a 6 pak setup if you prefer!

Herb then says I will loan you this setup for now and maybe sell it to you later... I wasn't going to say no to a gift like that! I almost asked for the 6 pak but my heart said don't get greedy here! LOL

Herb is one in a million I tell ya.

In the mean time I had bought 4 Dana 60's from a guy for 600.00 and sold one to my buddy Ian and kept one for myself and sold the other 2 to Herb for 300.00. But that is the next installment of the 2 good 2 be true saga...

here is a sneak peak of my Dana 60...


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Here is a few more of the Dana 60...

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Here it is in the car...

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So it must have been meant to be because I scored the Dana's and then ordered the Spool, 35 spline axles and all the related parts as well as scored a deal on the disc brakes and hardware.

My buddy Ian and I then shortened both rear ends, his and mine for our cars in 2 nights and as soon as the parts showed up we put them together and installed it out at Herb's.

i cannot say enough about friends!!!!!!!
 
-68383GTS (Jim)
-sold me a new Comp cam still in the plastic!
-1968340S (Chris)
-sold me taillight assembly's
-Suzqdavis7
-sold me a Drivers side taillight
340Dart(Fred B)
-GAVE me complete all the Hurst V-Gate Shifter rods to get my car going!!

and two other members who I can't remember their names:

the first guy sold me a complete set of Competition Engineering 3 way adjustable shocks that were brand new for half price, he lives in Saskatchewan .

and the other member lives in Texas and he sold out a whole bunch of stuff on our site. I got a set of TTI headers for 1/2 price as well. They were never used and he gave me a great deal.

Thanks to all of you for helping me in my journey and to those that I probably forgot.

I believe in FABO and will always sell parts to members for low prices because we are like a family and that is how family works!!
 
what an awesome effort!!

keep up the good work Dorian, it might just get me excited enough to do a bit on my own projects :D

Dan.
 
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This is Herb working on the front suspension


I will include a few more pics for your viewing enjoyment


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Here it is at the track... With alot of help and late nights we made it to the next race. I arrived at the track at 8pm Friday night.

You should have seen the look on my buddy's son's face.


Priceless

I never rubbed it in and he still doesn't talk to me! oh well.


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We have plans for it this year. Herb has some more things that time did not allow us to do so I look forward to it and I will update you all when it happens.
 
Wow that blew me away start to finish. That kid must've coughed up feathers seeing that. You showed class by not to going over and thanking him profusely for his remark that 'inspired' you to get the job done. But you didn't have to...the results say it all.
 
Yes he was, if you notice I stalled it as I pulled up. My brother in law was videotaping and I seen him from the corner of my eye. LOL you can even see me shake my head, I was so nervous because I had just passed my buddy's son as I was pulling up from the staging lanes.
 
Congrats on a good pass! I know how it is to have friends. My Duster came from one friend in trade for a 71 Twister I had. He took his 4.88s out, and his .509 cam, put in my 270/.420 Edelbrock Performer cam and my Carter 625 AFB on so I could drive it to and from work. I met another guy that replaced my 625 with the Holley 750 it has now, replaced the Edelbrock with a MP 284/.484 cam, put another set of 4.88s in the rear ( I aquired another driver at the time ) and raced it at Texas Raceway for the weekend drags in the NE class. I don't remember if he ever actually won, but when we parted ways, He left everything but the 4.88s. My Duster wouldn't have been anything but for good friends.

j
 
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