1969 Barracuda Restore Project

[69barracudavert]

Hello,

I have had my Barracuda sitting in a garage for may years (Was previously my late father's). It was last running in the late 1980s and then parked. My dad started the top end tear down and never finished. There was always another car he acquired and took his time.

I have move the car to my location now and finally have some time to work on it, just very limited on money with the kids.

The car is a 1969 Convertible with the 318 and an automatic. The exterior is in fair shape but will need a paint job and rust spots fixed. The interior needs to be completely redone, since rats made it their home for a number of years. My first step will be to remove the seats (that need to be reupholster) and tear out the carpet.

I am looking for direction on the engine and transmission. I am thinking of rebuilding the 318, but would like to beef it up some. I have thought about a replacement crate engine of bigger size but again don't know where to start with that route (and I am sure it would be cheaper to rebuild the 318 with some additions). I am looking for advice on the suspension and rear end as well and exhaust. I also want to look at bigger wheels and low profile tires, the ones I am used to with my late model TransAm.

I have just started my research and online surfing to restore this car. Are there any decent places to start looking for replacement interior parts such as door panels, arms, kick panels, and dash.

As far as my experience goes I am limited. I have rebuilt my 1985 IROC 305 TPI engine from the block up and rebuilt the 700R4 tranny. However, I have never done a full restoration and this will be a great experience.

I will start with one dark picture of the car coming off the trailer. I will upload more later.

Thanks

 

[RTom]

Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

[toplscuda]

My advice is to get it running first a crate motor can be a easy and cost effective way to start. Then tackle a project at a time on it. If you tear it completely down it can be a hard road to stay focused on getting it back together. If it is drive able then it keeps your interest in it

 

[KosmicKuda]

Welcome to the club.

AMD is getting a pretty good selection of sheet metal for the 2nd gen cudas.

Legendary Auto Interiors has upholstery kits available. You can install them yourself.

Protect your grilles and deck trim with your life. Consider yourself lucky if yours are nice.

A 69 Barracuda originally came with the small wheel bolt pattern, 5 lugs on a 4" diameter B.C. The standard wheel back in the day would have been 14" x 4-1/2. The optional wheel was a 14" X 5-1/2". The small bolt pattern limits your wheel choice as there are few options. If you convert to the larger Mopar 5 X 4-1/2" B.P., there are a LOT more wheels available.

The car most likely has 10" drums front and rear. If you have the optional front discs, that is a plus. 70-71 Mopar Rallye wheels look good on these cars and are available in small and large B.P. in 14" and 15" diameters. Not huge but how are you planning to use the car?

The 904 tranny can be used with any Mopar small block 273, 318 and 360 if it is in good shape. A 318 costs as much to rebuild as a 360 so you'll have to decide. Cheaper to find a running small block than to rebuild.

You most likely have a 7-1/4" rear end, the smallest and weakest out there. If you up the power, that will most likely need to be changed. If you go with a big block that will mean a lot of additional upgrades with added $$.

You will get as many opinions on what to do with your car as there are members here. If it was me I'd concentrate on getting it running and driveable and go from there. The front and rear suspension needs to be checked out. Nothing wrong with a Mopar suspension in good shape, far better geometry that the period Ford and GM stuff. I will never build a Mopar without the Moog offset upper control arm bushings to get more caster.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a car that is mostly "restored". There are so few of these around that it will tend to stand out regardless.

My opinions and worth about 2 cents.

 

[69barracudavert]

Hello all again,

Thanks for the replies and for the direction Kosmic. I definitely want to get it running. My wife coordinated the transportation of the car to get it to me as a surprise. But she wants it in running condition. I definitely want to fully redo the car but it will take years and I will have to do small things at a time. I wont be able to strip it bare and build it up at one time with my kind of funding. As Toplscuda says I may definitely get stalled and I wouldn't want this to be passed down to my oldest not running as was in my case.

The interior and engine I would say is my priorities with the suspension a close second behind or with the engine rebuild/replace. So that the car can be operational. The wheels and paint are further down the list, but a must do.

I will start searching for a 360 running replacement as I consider what I am going to do with the 318.

Thanks for the help and I will have many more questions within the other forums. I will keep this post updated as I go.

Here are a few more pictures.

 

[69barracudavert]

And now since the rain has stopped here is a picture of the left over engine, with all the other pieces in boxes.

 

[69barracudavert]

Just a few pictures after removing the seats and carpet.

 

[65dartcharger]

Seems like a great project to start out with. Good luck!