68 H-code 'cuda - needs just about everything

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Gag_Halfront

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My Barracuda is a 68 383 car. When I got it, there was no motor, trans, driveshaft or radiator. For my first go at getting it on the road, I'm more concerned with just getting parts that work and fit without hacking the car up than making it numbers matching perfectly correct.

A few questions for those who've been around the block a few times:

As I'm looking for parts for this thing, can anybody offer any insight what to specifically look for or avoid? I found a 383 from a 69 B-body. Will this motor work? Will any old big block 727 work, even like... out of a truck or something? Will a driveshaft from any other car work or will I need one custom made? What radiator should I try to find? Is there one from some other car that will work good for a big block Barracuda or should I go with some kind of aftermarket aluminum job?
 
Gag_Halfront said:
My Barracuda is a 68 383 car. When I got it, there was no motor, trans, driveshaft or radiator. For my first go at getting it on the road, I'm more concerned with just getting parts that work and fit without hacking the car up than making it numbers matching perfectly correct.

A few questions for those who've been around the block a few times:

As I'm looking for parts for this thing, can anybody offer any insight what to specifically look for or avoid? I found a 383 from a 69 B-body. Will this motor work? Will any old big block 727 work, even like... out of a truck or something? Will a driveshaft from any other car work or will I need one custom made? What radiator should I try to find? Is there one from some other car that will work good for a big block Barracuda or should I go with some kind of aftermarket aluminum job?
Click to expand...

The A-body 383 -440 blocks use a unique left side motor mount ( if your car has the A-body Big Block K-member still in it). It mounts with a engine mount bracket that wraps arround the front of the motor and has two bolts that screw in from the front into the block. Some engines will allready have these two holes, some will have the bosses there but not be drilled and tapped, and some do not have the bosses at all. You want to avoid this type block. If i can get to the storage I'll take a picture of the holes. Most BB 727's will work as long as it is the slip in rear yoke type. The driveshaft you'll have to measure what you need after the motor/trans is in.
 
Look for a block that has two bosses on the front of the engine just above the oil pump. There were many mid 60`s C-body cars that had those same bosses on their engines. You can drill and tap them if they`re not already done. If your car is an automatic then the driveshaft you`ll need is going to be very rare indeed and getting one custom made is likely your only choice. If it`s a 4spd. you should be able to use one from a small block or big block car but that would still be hard to find. Big blocks also have a specific torque shaft as well. 727 transmissions do have different tailshafts and I think it`s the short shaft that used in trucks and you`ll need one from a car. Get a radiator from a 67-69 V/8 equipped car with A/C and you should be fine. Check out Schumacher Engine Swaps for motor mounts and a set of headers that won`t break the bank. Original manifolds are rare and expensive. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
The short tail 727 is 4WD only. All others used the same length parts, including a-bodies.
 
Awesome. Great info, guys.

As for those unique motor mount holes, if I do have to drill and tap them, how deep should they be?
 
I wouldn`t go more than an inch or you might get into the water jacket. Perhaps another member here will chime in with an exact measurement.
 
SGBARRACUDA:

I'd really appreciate that. I have a hunch the motor I'm picking up won't have them and I really don't want to hose a good block.

Thanks,

-- David
 
I measured the depth of the holes off my original 383 block that goes to my 69 383-S fastback. Both are approx. 1.2 inches in depth.
Rod
 
I recently converted my (original slant-6, 3-speed) 69 Barracuda to a 440/4-speed OD street terror. I used the new Lakewood scattershield designed for the A-body BB. It was a ton of work and cu$tom fabrication. I would go with auto trans next time. From my research Ma Mopar didn't ever offer the 833 trans with a BB motor in the factory built A-body cars. With my 3.91 rear ratio, first gear is almost unneeded.
I used a stock (1968 M code) BB K-frame with spool mounts, BB B/E Body exhausts, BB tortion bars, electric puller fans and water pump, a 26", 4-row radiator from a 440 engined motorhome, everything bolted right in. I had to move the frame-side z-bar pivot a bit down and back to align with the Lakewood pivot, manual steering, master brake cylinder "off set" & 4-bolt adapter with the stock vacume booster. A new Edelbrock air-gap manifold, Holly dp and low profile paper filter fit with no hood clearance issue. I bought a 2.5" "nascar" driveshaft off Ebay for $79 and the seller cut it down and welded it for an additional $29.

If your car is in decent shape.. you might seriously consider doing a stock resto or selling it to someone who wants an original M-code car and buying or building your hot rod. You'd get more hot rod for your dollar that way. M-code Type S cars are pretty rare and much more valuable as original than highly modified.

69 446 B'cuda coupe
69 340S B'cuda convertable
68 318 B'cuda coupe
 
Lots of factory big block four speed cars, but none with 440s (but I think Mr. Norm had some with his 68 GSS cars). No such thing as an "M" code Formula S, either. The OP has a 68 "H" code (383) Formula S. The spool mount k-member is NOT from an original big block a-body, it was an over-the-counter Direct Connection part that was introduced around 1975 and has been copied by a whole lot of us over the years.
 
CudaNut said:
I recently converted my (original slant-6, 3-speed) 69 Barracuda to a 440/4-speed OD street terror. I used the new Lakewood scattershield designed for the A-body BB. It was a ton of work and cu$tom fabrication. I would go with auto trans next time. From my research Ma Mopar didn't ever offer the 833 trans with a BB motor in the factory built A-body cars. With my 3.91 rear ratio, first gear is almost unneeded.
I used a stock (1968 M code) BB K-frame with spool mounts, BB B/E Body exhausts, BB tortion bars, electric puller fans and water pump, a 26", 4-row radiator from a 440 engined motorhome, everything bolted right in. I had to move the frame-side z-bar pivot a bit down and back to align with the Lakewood pivot, manual steering, master brake cylinder "off set" & 4-bolt adapter with the stock vacume booster. A new Edelbrock air-gap manifold, Holly dp and low profile paper filter fit with no hood clearance issue. I bought a 2.5" "nascar" driveshaft off Ebay for $79 and the seller cut it down and welded it for an additional $29.

If your car is in decent shape.. you might seriously consider doing a stock resto or selling it to someone who wants an original M-code car and buying or building your hot rod. You'd get more hot rod for your dollar that way. M-code Type S cars are pretty rare and much more valuable as original than highly modified.

69 446 B'cuda coupe
69 340S B'cuda convertable
68 318 B'cuda coupe
Click to expand...

I know for 67 383 GTS Darts that 228 were made with automatic and 229 came with 4 sd.
 
I'm assuming CudaNut was referring to a 69 Barracuda with the 440 Cuda option not coming with a 4 speed (I don't know if this is true or not).

Clearly.... We all know the 383 was available with a 4 speed in an A-Body.
 
After looking at the info on GTS registry. All the M code 440's were console shifted 727 torqueflites.
 
Yup ,all "M code" cars were automatics. If they offered 4 speeds in the M codes that would`ve warranted a Dana rear end and I don`t think Mopar wanted to go that extra mile. I don`t know of other body styles or years, but after researching my car I know that Chrysler made 552 `68 383 4spd. cars- "H code".
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
I'm assuming CudaNut was referring to a 69 Barracuda with the 440 Cuda option not coming with a 4 speed (I don't know if this is true or not).

Clearly.... We all know the 383 was available with a 4 speed in an A-Body.
Click to expand...

With as much mis-information as was in his post, you really can't tell.........
 
I meant to say 833's weren't a factory offering with "RB" engines.. in A-body cars. I bought my K-frame, spool mounts, HD tortion bars and anti-sway bar as a kit from DLI Enterprises here in Northridge over 10 years ago. Dick said it had come from an M code car and was the best way to go for a street car. I'm pretty sure it was a DC kit. I built the 440 in 2006-7 as therpy after heart surgery. Most of 2008 was spent studying special edition A-body Barracudas and most of this year has been putting it all together. My car was the last project for John and the crew at Blue Sky Dynamics in Torrance, CA. They did most of the final assembly, frame connectors, 4.5x5 Yukon axles, front disc conversion, 4-speed OD, battery relocation and electrical cleanup and educated me about some of the limitations and possibilities. The body is newly straightened and painted the original light metalic green. What remains is mostly interior work and finding a pair of 205 60 R15 Firestone Indy 500's, (discontinued) to match the rear 255's.
 
Well, Dick probably got his info crossed (most of the drag racers I have come across really didn't know the street cars very well and what they did know has been forgotten over the years). The spool mounts first came out in 73 on a-bodies and 74 on big block passenger cars (except maybe b-bodies). So, there is no way they could have been original to an M-code car.
 
Ok. I've got a second motor that addresses the problem of the un-tapped bosses. It already has them done. Special bonus: It's the right date code for my car! w00t! Thanks, hadahemi!

So. next question: Are the H-code A body exhaust manifolds the same as a B or C manifold? If there _is_ a difference, will they still work even if they're wrong?
 
No, the manifolds are different. I don't have pictures of all to show, but they are different.
 
Ditto to what Jim Lusk said. Listen to him because he is 100% correct on both the K-Frame and manifold issues.
 
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