1965 barracuda "stuff"

[bigtymin209]

Hello all, i am a new owner of a 65 barracuda, slant 6, auto, factory a/c, manual brakes, shifter on the floor. I know you are the most knowledgeable bunch in the world when it comes to the early A's. so i had a few questions. I want to build a daily driver, I plan on adding EFI either via megasquirt or a TBI system depending on what year motor i pickup, But i also want power disc brakes, power steering and to keep my A/C. can i fit all this under the hood with a 360 or and i stuck with the 6? I know the car was never meant for duals so i have a Y pipe i picked up years back that i will use and although it wont be a wheelie poppin car i do want it to move on down the road. Im not a rockafeller so im leaning towards the most cost effective way so any suggestions on building a reliable driver would rock!

Sam

 

[cosgig]

First of all, welcome to FABO there, Sam!! Now, I see no reason not to be able to fit A/C, power disc brakes and anything else under the hood with a 360! Dimensionally, the 360 is exactly the same as a 273, which was an option in 65, and could be ordered with A/C and power brakes! Physically, its totally possible to run all of the year correct components on a 360, but as you are probably well aware of, many of the newer components such as A/C are much smaller than the OE stuff, making for easier installation, increased efficiency and ease of maintenance! Sure, it costs more to buy the latest A/C systems, but when you weigh the cost against finding original 40 year old parts hat no longer work with the current fluids available, and are vastly inefficient in comparison, you'll find that its really better to by the new system than try to use the old!!

Now, duals are certainly a must for a 360, as you will be coming up against limited exhaust options! The stock V8 mainfolds do not port match with the 360 heads...headers are expensive for even the shortys, and unless you go the Dakota OE manifolds from mid-90's pickups, you are going to be giving up a ton of $$$ or power running a Y-pipe, which will not be correctly bent for the Dakota manifolds anyway!!

I make a trans crossmember conversion that allows duals to be run much the same as the later A bodies, and ill include a pic for reference! It allows whatever exhaust you run to pass through the crossmember area without having to go under the passenger side, which is not even cut out for clearance! Whether you decide on headers, Dakota manifolds, or something new nobody has heard of yet, the crossmember situation would still need to be addressed!!

Or....you could keep the little 6 and hop the heck out of that thing!! The Cox Brothers racing gang is running high 9's with their slanty!! Anyway you decide to go, you have a great little car, and one of my favorites!! Am I biased?? Maybe, but I love early A's!!

Have fun with your new car and welcome again, Geof

 

[65cuda360]

It'll all fit.

 

[bigtymin209]

B E A UTIFUL! i will keep everyone posted.

 

[C130 Chief]

Yep,it all fits with long out of production factory parts or readily available spares http://www.engine-swaps.com/Pages/ProductsYear/63.66aBody.html Exhaust is a bit more of a challenge, and some other esoteric hardware.

 

[BillGrissom]

The factory HiPo 4 bbl "Commando" engine in 1965 had a unique exhaust with a single rear tail-pipe. I understand the engineers tested individual dual pipes and that gave less HP. You can find photos and info here. A company even sells new repro's as I recall. I don't recall if they had a pipe on the R side under the tranny support (cut-out in post #3). That was a 273 engine, but it spins at higher rpm than a 360 so HP and exhaust flow is fairly comparable. However, w/ a 360 you must deal with the different manifolds issue, or make custom headers.

Many people run disk brakes with a manual master cylinder, even the heavier 67+ cars, and even with big block engines. That saves space, cost, and complexity, but you can get power boost setups cheap ($170 ebay). For disks, you can get the rare & expensive factory Kelsey-Hayes setup, all new kits from Wilwood, SSBC?, and others, or a much less expensive kit from Scarebird that leverages Chevy & Toyota parts. You have to know if you have 9" or 10" drums, since the spindles are different and all kits re-use your spindles. Except, if you change to a 73+ setup, which replaces the spindle and requires a new upper control arm (or adapter bushing). Some change to an after-market tubular one. There are kits w/ all new parts for that. Another front-end upgrade is a sway bar and 65 is different than 67+ cars. A thicker torsion bar (T-bar) is almost requisite for a V-8 swap.

For AC, I wouldn't fool with the big-beast factory RV2 compressor (post #3). It is so heavy that they put thicker T-bars in AC cars. You can get brackets for a 360 for the common Sanden compressors that most rodders use. Finally, if your "360" is the 5.9L Magnum engine, most run the factory serpentine setup w/ AC on it. That is the cheapest way to get EFI, and many keep the matching tranny (must cut trans tunnel) since OD improves mileage and highway cruising.

 

[65cudalover]

My 65 Formula S has a nice 318 in it and runs with anyone! My first early A 66 Barracuda had a really well built 318 that ran low 12's in the quarter mile so consistent, that I was second in street class two years in a row. My current baby ran 15 second on the button when she went down the quarter mile. It has AC when the windows are down and I go fast enough! Anyway I do have the disc brake kit SSBC and it works great with 14"rally wheels. She also has been upgraded to modern u-joint driveshaft and 8 1/4 rear. It is very reliable and goes fast as one would care for on the road everyday I drive it. Also Mopar electronic ignition kit makes it start and run very nice too. Simple things you can do for performance and it all fits nice, no need for headers dual exhaust makes nice sound and performance. In fact will be cruising to Chicagoland Mopar Club meet next weekend up north almost to the Wisconsin boarder . From my place a nice 45 minute ride cruising on a Sunday from work after changing cups in the early morning so the golfers will have a nice fresh hole to putt into! So I put in a CD and cruise Santana rocking load and me smiling all the way! Oye Como Va!

65Cudalover

 

[66fs]

You can run the "64" to "66" exhaust manifolds on 340 or 360 heads. You should port the Drivers side to match the ports in your head. You can run the "71" 340 360 passenger side manifold, it is nearly identical to the 273 PS manifold except larger ports and passages. The outlet and bell are also larger.