1964 Plymouth Barracuda Build CAUTION Resto Mod

[1971Twister]

1964 Cuda, how do I decode my fender tag??

Last fall I decided I had the muscle car itch again. I've always loved the look of B bodies, and some of the A bodies. Well since my budget was low I looked to A bodies. Found a craigslist ad for this car for $5000, saw it was listed before for $6800.







I figured I could haggle the guy some. According to his listing the car was in storage from 1974-2012 and all it needed was exhaust. Had the factory push button 904, limited slip rear end, but was swapped with a 360.

I showed up to look at the car and first thing I noticed was that the paint was old and cracking, the hood was full of bondo and the driver's side was buckled. The car ran, but rough, and there was only manifolds and that was it on the exhaust. The car had a huge dent on the passenger door and the trunk lid took a shot too. I decided right then and there that I didn't want the car for what he was asking. So I told the guy I didn't want to insult him with what my offer was.

Got a text later in the day from him saying he had to get rid of it because he was out of cash and had nowhere to store it. (He was a Chevy guy and figured the car would be cheap to build). He said no one has ever made him a cash offer and he didn't want to trade it for a rust bucket pos daily driver. So I told him best I could do is $2500 cash. He said no. So I went out with my nieces and nephews to a fall festival. No cell service there or anything. So when I get back to cell service area I have 10 texts of him negotiating with himself until he said $2500 and he'd deliver it. Next day it was mine.

How she currently sits:



What I've done to it so far:

Replaced the hood with a good used unit (flat black for now)
Dougs Headers
Mopar Performance Aluminum Right angle oil filter adapter and short filter
New Plugs, Wires, cap and rotor, and coil
New fuel pump
Carb Rebuild
2.5" Exhaust (wanted to duals but ran out of time)
Park Cable Replaced
Grounded 2nd Field Loop on Alternator so it would Charge
Newer Mini Starter
Replaced Stripped Oil Drain Plug
Added Front Bumper

List to do this summer:

Rear Leaf Springs (Factory ones have reverse arced, have SS springs but not sure if I want to use them)
Shocks all around
Front sway bar
Replace Radiator (OE one weeps, was supposedly sealed once)
Front Disc Conversion (LBP 74+ A Body Style)
Locate or repair rear trunk lid
Swap passenger door (have a good one already)
HID style sealed beam headlight conversion

Long Term Modifications:

Sub Frame Connectors
Torque Boxes
Front end reinforcement (J bars?)
Mini Tub with Spring Relocation 3" inward
9" Rear Axle Swap
5.9L Magnum or new Hemi Swap or SRT-4 Swap Still Deciding
5 or 6 speed manual swap (Have a T5 WC needs re-assembly)
1.03" Torsion Bars
Bilstein Shocks
Rear Disc Brakes
Modern Front Bucket Seats and harnesses

2004 Dodge Ram Dark Gray Exterior Color
Chrome Pieces redone Satin Black
65 Dodge Dart Front Clip swap with 64 dart Front Bumper and Lower Valance
Black Interior Change
Redo Instrument Cluster with modern gauges but keep retro bezels



Should keep me busy well into my 30's (26 now).

 

[nerd racing]

Do a search in the early A body section. never decoded mine.

 

[nerd racing]

Got 71 Imperial shocks installed. I was hoping to put in the rear sway bar but there were no existing holes in the frame rails.

So then I decided to put on the wheel adapters and bullitt wheels on the back axle.

Picture shows the corrosion but they were a really good deal. Planning on redoing them later on.

I think they look great so far!

Looks good with more rubber out back. Sure beats the 13's that were on it!

I tried to install my filler neck grommet but the ebay seller sent me the wrong part. Hopefully getting the right one shortly.

 

[nerd racing]

All 4 wheels and front disk brakes installed:

I can't get over how much different the wheels make the car look. It's crazy.

I need to adjust the toe quite a bit though. The wheels look to be off by inches. I'll do the straight pins and a tape measure method to set it close enough to drive it to the alignment shop.

I also need to adjust the front fenders a little bit. One clears no problem and the other rubs when turning. That particular fender has a dent in the lower front like they may have hit something and tweaked it. I'm going to straighten it and see what that does. The rubber on these tires is almost as wide as 2 of the 13's that were on there.

 

[simsinater]

Still have this car? I would love to see some updates!