1969 barracuda project "ratfish"

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firechicken

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asheville nc
I just scooped up a 69 cuda /6 auto from a guy down the road. I noticed it under a tarp in his yard and talked to him about it. He had driven the car from 1972-2007, as a daily driver. He claims to have personally put 500k on the car, changing the engine 15 times. He stopped driving the car after blowing out both upper rear shock mounts and the driver side rear leaf spring mount when going over an under construction railroad crossing too fast. (you can't make this stuff up). Anyway, the car sat for the last 7 years and then it came to me. This car has had a hard life, it has cracks in some pretty crucial places thanks to the previous owner using it as a work truck and hauling hundreds of pounds of tools and lawnmowers in it daily. (again, not making this stuff up). The car is in bad shape, basically parts car status. But I see it as a perfect ratrod platform. I was able to sweettalk the guy into throwing in a ton of extra parts in with the car, i have a complete 67 and 69 front clip and hoods, two extra fenders, a drivers door, extra gauge cluster, 3 steering wheels, 3 bumpers, v8 k-member and motor mounts, & misc. engine parts. Not a bad start considering the car is complete minus the headliner! My plans are to pull a good running 360/904 combo from a van or motorhome and drop them in and go cruising, cosmetically it will remain rat status, at least for a while. I am going to expose as much original paint as possible and fake the original finish on the front end of the car that has been replaced (sorry patina purists). I work a lot so this will be a slow project, but i promise to keep posting pics when i make progress. Step 1: get the doors, trunk, and hood to open and close properly....a bigger job than you might expect as you will see from my pics to come

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Sounds like a fun project! I plan on running my Duster with its worn and weathered original paint. Maybe its just me but I think there is something cool about a clean patina look...
 
I should have mentioned this initially but this is a LOW BUDGET build, as is ratrod tradition. There will be spraypaint, rivets, and scrap yard metal work involved. I will not be doing this the right way. However, i will be doing things the wrong way the right way. Stay tuned for cheap backyard fixes to some of our shared a-body problem areas.
 
A big "Atta-Boy" for you ! Have fun ! lovin it.
 
Rat rods are awesome, and it's a great place to use a lot of creativity. Can't wait to see what you do with it!
 
rat rods are a wonderful thing. a lot of folks don't like them because "they should be restored". but what about cars that are past the point of resto? doo doo do doooo! rat rodding to the rescue, saving rods from the crusher one rust bucket at a time!
 
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