65 Barracuda Potential Project

[MonkeyTrev]

Sooo I just went and looked at this 65 Barracuda. It’s a factory 273 commando 4spd car. I put in a $650 offer on the car. You may notice the VIN tag is gone. The owner swears it’s inside the car on a box somewhere. I dug today but couldn’t locate it. I will have to apply for a new VIN in the state of TN.

The original soft interior components are gone, but it still has all the metal and chrome pieces for the interior.

The body is actually pretty solid. And features all the missing components inside the car.

The original engine is missing and it comes with a trans out of a B body (I just looked up the number).

How hard is it to hunt down an an early a body A833?

Can I make some decent cash on the b body trans ?

I’m kinda just looking for some guidance on if I should pull my offer or not.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

It’s got the factory sway bar which I know is a popular item and not very common. Additionally I counted 6 leafs in the rear so I think maybe this car had the HD suspension added to it but it’s not on the fendertag.

 

[JDMopar]

Were you able to see up under it to see if it has an 8 3/4 rearend in it? It's a project, for sure!

 

[MonkeyTrev]

Were you able to see up under it to see if it has an 8 3/4 rearend in it? It's a project, for sure!

It’s got the factory 7.25

 

[brodphish]

FYI the 8 3/4 was first available in 1966 (at least in A bodies) and I’ve heard they’re hard to find. I believe the axles are narrower than any other 8 3/4. Moser Engineer makes a replacement for $4,500 (ouch) I think.


The 7 1/4 axles won’t handle more than a built 273 engine. Which is fine for me I’m starting a 273 build for a 65 this week. I recently had the 7 1/4 diff cover off and the gears and other hardware is pretty spindly.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I think I would leave that right there.

 

[junkyardhero]

I think I would leave that right there.

x2

that looks like a parts car or money pit of epic proportions.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

I think I would leave that right there.

What if I already have two parts cars that feature most of the missing components?

 

[MonkeyTrev]

x2

that looks like a parts car or money pit of epic proportions.

What if I own 2 parts cars already that feature most of the parts this car is missing?

 

[RustyRatRod]

What if I already have two parts cars that feature most of the missing components?

You can what if yourself right into the poor house. Get get the POS. It's your money. You DID ask for advice.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

You can what if yourself right into the poor house. Get get the POS. It's your money. You DID ask for advice.

I appreciate your input. I’m leaning towards pulling my offer and looking for something else.

 

[junkyardhero]

What if I own 2 parts cars already that feature most of the parts this car is missing?

the most i'll say is that from the pics it has at least $650 worth of parts (with that B body trans).

are the floors solid? the lower 1/4's are obviously toast. the front radiator cradle looks mangled, so i'd be concerned about an accident at some point-- the RF fender being off kinda leads me to believe that.

like, why was the door off it? why was it parked? what happened to the motor & trans? looks like it's had a re-paint, so who knows what else is lurking...

is it an *actual* formula S car?

there's a lot of considerations besides i have a whole bunch of parts for it.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

the most i'll say is that from the pics it has at least $650 worth of parts (with that B body trans).

are the floors solid? the lower 1/4's are obviously toast. the front radiator cradle looks mangled, so i'd be concerned about an accident at some point-- the RF fender being off kinda leads me to believe that.

like, why was the door off it? why was it parked? what happened to the motor & trans? looks like it's had a re-paint, so who knows what else is lurking...

is it an *actual* formula S car?

there's a lot of considerations besides i have a whole bunch of parts for it.

Not an S car.

I believe it was damaged by the owners cousin a long time ago. It was repaired and then repainted. That is when the engine was removed and never put back in/ran/ drove again.

The foot well areas will need some patches but other than that is looks solid.

The frame was solid front to back.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Some guys love collecting parts cars. If that's what you want, go for it! Do what makes YOU happy. But if you ever want to actually drive something around, I recommend finding something much better.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

Some guys love collecting parts cars. If that's what you want, go for it! Do what makes YOU happy. But if you ever want to actually drive something around, I recommend finding something much better.

Yeah, that’s kinda the boat I’m in. I’d love to pick it up for the parts, but I think I’m gonna look for something better.

 

[j par]

RUN....

 

[MonkeyTrev]

Update on the car

I messaged the seller and informed them that I am going to have to pull my offer. They respond by telling me that their father refused to take anything less than $800 for the car so

So the search continues for a 65 or 66 commando barracuda.

 

[RustyRatRod]

RUN....

Very well summed up. lol

 

[65TerrorCuda]

Update on the car

I messaged the seller and informed them that I am going to have to pull my offer. They respond by telling me that their father refused to take anything less than $800 for the car so

So the search continues for a 65 or 66 commando barracuda.

You dodged a bullet. Take a while to sell off those parts but the shell I wouldn't touch

 

[junkyardhero]

Not an S car.

I believe it was damaged by the owners cousin a long time ago. It was repaired and then repainted. That is when the engine was removed and never put back in/ran/ drove again.

The foot well areas will need some patches but other than that is looks solid.

The frame was solid front to back.

not an S car would be a HARD pass for me unless i was scooping it as a parts car, and even then considering it's missing **** that makes it valuable-- namely the big ticket stuff like a motor and trans and a 8.75 rear my offer would be scrap value.

people don't just take motors out of cars for no reason. especially if they've just repaired and repainted them. that don't pass the sniff test to me.

Update on the car

I messaged the seller and informed them that I am going to have to pull my offer. They respond by telling me that their father refused to take anything less than $800 for the car so

So the search continues for a 65 or 66 commando barracuda.

you dodged a bullet on that one hombre. let the dreamers keep that pile and you keep that dough in your pocket till something better-- MUCH better rolls along.

 

[go-fish]

What if I own 2 parts cars already that feature most of the parts this car is missing?

Do you have to have a Commando car or would any 65 work?

 

[MonkeyTrev]

Do you have to have a Commando car or would any 65 work?

I really am looking for a commando car. I own 3 65 barracudas and 1 of them was a factory commando car but I stupidly in high school chopped the car up and turned it into a drag car.

So I am trying to find a second commando car to restore.

 

[MonkeyTrev]

not an S car would be a HARD pass for me unless i was scooping it as a parts car, and even then considering it's missing **** that makes it valuable-- namely the big ticket stuff like a motor and trans and a 8.75 rear my offer would be scrap value.

people don't just take motors out of cars for no reason. especially if they've just repaired and repainted them. that don't pass the sniff test to me.


you dodged a bullet on that one hombre. let the dreamers keep that pile and you keep that dough in your pocket till something better-- MUCH better rolls along.

I’m going to see if the seller would just sell me the front grill section. It’s literally perfect.

I might also see about picking up the front sway bar and the 4spd shift bezel. Not often you see the factory chrome bezel for the 65 4spd cars.

 

[MadScientistMat]

This is a parts car, and if the seller is insisting on over $800 he will probably be holding onto it for a long time.

 

[Kenneth Kraft]

What if I already have two parts cars that feature most of the missing components?

That might work if one of them has a good, solid basic structure. Your blue one looks like it has a lot of body cancer...but I can't tell for sure. If the floor, trunk, etc. are rusted out, I wouldn't restore that body.