Am I crazy for doing this on a 65 Barracuda ?

[Kemper]

Hello ffolks. I haven't been on in a while.

I have this 65 Barracuda that runs and drives good but in need of a better look and most importantly a need to keep it from deteriating more. This is a Commando car with automatic. I also have a similar car with a 4 speed that I'm going a more professional route and have done much of the work to.

I am going with a satin finish on this one and otherwise making it look original with original parts as needed. I didn't want to tear another car down and stick a bunch of money in it. This one sits in my driveway and I really want it to look good. It's all about presevation though and I don't want any more damage . So, I'm doing this car front to back and putting the original parts back on or where they were missing. I am using my second best parts that I have on hand and not swiping anything from my 4 speed car .

I'm pretty well done with the front clip and have everthing I need and other than some flashing in the paint I really like how it is looking. This is an alternative to looking at a car and thinking it would take 30k to do a restoration ( and it would ) . I'll only be putting hundreds into this car and not near the labor of a typical rebuild.

 

[pa340dart]

Nope not crazy at all
A man has to have at least one good driver

 

[Kemper]

Nope not crazy at all
A man has to have at least one good driver

This car runs and drives very good and I've benn driving it around over the years but haven't done anything to it.

Before I acquired it it had the motor rebuilt, heads and valetrain changed to run on unleaded fuel. I have a couple of these motors in my shop that I rebuilt and kept original .

 

[pa340dart]

Just picked up a 65 s6 auto on floor heater delete Cuda in June
Right now dealing with a rusty coolant system and a mayo coated valve cover (plugged breather/pcv)
Have some pics on here
Found it very hard not to tear into every little thing
Previous owner had a square back alt installed with a non Mopar VR of course it’s not charging
Some wiring hacked and brittle
Runs and drives but correcting the bugs one at a time

 

[Kemper]

Looks nice and solid.

 

[Kemper]

These hoods are usually a problem because the factory didn't prime or paint the area of the front lip. I would clean out best I could and pour some rust converter in there with the hood uoside down. Turn upright,squish it around and drain and do the same with primer. This car I had to patch an area that rusted out but treated my other one before it rusted through -

 

[FISHYPETE]

As the title asks, it’s a Barracuada, so you’re as crazy as the rest of us

 

[65dartcharger]

As the title asks, it’s a Barracuada, so you’re as crazy as the rest of us

You got that right Pete

 

[CudaJason]

Before you start sanding on it, try taking a buffer to a section of the paint and try to brighten it up. You’d be shocked at how good it may come out. Plus it’s the cheapest and quickest way to get it looking better.

 

[Kemper]

My car is coming across nicely for what it is. Remember the goal is to have it looking good and with a satin finish that makes it look I guess what you would call evenly faded but no visible damage.

There is no way to avoid the flashing in the paint at this point and once I have it all coated in and looking good otherwise I'm considering a light wet sand and then a mask and shoot over with the same satin finish but a can product thinned properly and shot with a quart spray gun.

I've more professionally painted a couple cars in the past using conventional methods and I know what it takes to do that. This is a front to back " preservation " putting original parts on that were missing and putting the car back together as I go. I don't need another shop full of parts and unfinished projects.

I'm currently at the point of spotting the door and I sanded it and checked a couple areas and respotted them . I'll sand those areas a little and the door will be ready to shoot and move on to the other one. Some things you have to watch is to be sure you don't have any build up or anything that doesn't look original in areas such as window rubbers and stainless moldings where they contact the car. Keep those looking good . I do pop off the stainless trim next to the windows and on top of the quarters. Will also remove taillights as I go.
I'm only doing parts of the door jamb area and doors. If i do the interior I will remove weatherstrips as needed then.

 

[jeff alder]

White is a very forgiving color from a body work standpoint. Both of the cars look pretty darn solid. Karrin and I have a few mostly 1965's. We like the early ones because they can be bought for reasonable prices and still have a wonderful little car. The front clip is looking much nicer. When you get the old girl all one color the before and after pictures will be nice. We had a white 67 back in the 80's but no white ones left anymore.

 

[Kemper]

White is a very forgiving color from a body work standpoint. Both of the cars look pretty darn solid. Karrin and I have a few mostly 1965's. We like the early ones because they can be bought for reasonable prices and still have a wonderful little car. The front clip is looking much nicer. When you get the old girl all one color the before and after pictures will be nice. We had a white 67 back in the 80's but no white ones left anymore.

I guess I haven't posted a pic of the front lately. Yes, I straightened and painted the grill back to original. Pushed out one headlight trim best I could . Replaced the bumper with one I had and ordered some different parking lights . I have a nice set but they are for my 4-speed car and I'm not stealing parts from that.
I need to take a small brush and paint satin black the grill areas by the parking lights . Yes, white is very forgiving and satin white is very, very forgiving. Not a good pic and the areas in the paint are just shadows.

 

[jeff alder]

I guess I haven't posted a pic of the front lately. Yes, I straightened and painted the grill back to original. Pushed out one headlight trim best I could . Replaced the bumper with one I had and ordered some different parking lights . I have a nice set but they are for my 4-speed car and I'm not stealing parts from that.
I need to take a small brush and paint satin black the grill areas by the parking lights . Yes, white is very forgiving and satin white is very, very forgiving. Not a good pic and the areas in the paint are just shadows.

View attachment 1716442278

when you get your Commando 273 4 speed car on the road there is no turning back. That is my favorite A body Mopar of all time to just tool around in.

 

[Kemper]

when you get your Commando 273 4 speed car on the road there is no turning back. That is my favorite A body Mopar of all time to just tool around in.

I need to get a pic of that up sometime . I have the front clip I professionaly prepared and primed, as well as the engine compartment. I posted a pic of the rebuilt engine earlier in this thread. I also have the 4-speed transmission in the same condition. I restored and detailed the entire brake system as well as the wheels and hubcaps. I also did the radiator and driveshaft including a new trunion front u-joint joint.
Redid the steering wheel and column and painted with the correct blue as the factory. Also many other parts .

It needs lower quarters replaced and I have new ones and there is a fairly good dent in the side of the car. There is also an area on the rear frame rails where the spring attaches that looks like it needs something done. I didn't really want to replace the metal and do the major body myself, although I could. I had the guy from the body shop come and look at what it would take to replace the metal and get the car in primer state . He said he would check with his guys and see if anyone wanted to work on it. Evidently there is a difference in working on newer cars vs older ones.

He got back to me and gave me a price of 16k . I know that seems high, but they would do the same quality work as they do on new ones and they probably have plenty of work otherwise. But I don't want to stick 16k into it ,certainly not at this point . My priority is preserving this car I'm working on as I'm tired of looking out in the driveway and driving it around looking like it did.

 

[jeff alder]

I need to get a pic of that up sometime . I have the front clip I professionaly prepared and primed, as well as the engine compartment. I posted a pic of the rebuilt engine earlier in this thread. I also have the 4-speed transmission in the same condition. I restored and detailed the entire brake system as well as the wheels and hubcaps. I also did the radiator and driveshaft including a new trunion front u-joint joint.
Redid the steering wheel and column and painted with the correct blue as the factory. Also many other parts .

It needs lower quarters replaced and I have new ones and there is a fairly good dent in the side of the car. There is also an area on the rear frame rails where the spring attaches that looks like it needs something done. I didn't really want to replace the metal and do the major body myself, although I could. I had the guy from the body shop come and look at what it would take to replace the metal and get the car in primer state . He said he would check with his guys and see if anyone wanted to work on it. Evidently there is a difference in working on newer cars vs older ones.

He got back to me and gave me a price of 16k . I know that seems high, but they would do the same quality work as they do on new ones and they probably have plenty of work otherwise. But I don't want to stick 16k into it ,certainly not at this point . My priority is preserving this car I'm working on as I'm tired of looking out in the driveway and driving it around looking like it did.

Sometimes they will over quote work they really don't want to do. Or price it high to see if the owner will jump. Most of the early A Barracudas in good shape are lucky to bring 16K for the entire car. That's why we like them. Good car very affordable!

 

[Kemper]

Sometimes they will over quote work they really don't want to do. Or price it high to see if the owner will jump. Most of the early A Barracudas in good shape are lucky to bring 16K for the entire car. That's why we like them. Good car very affordable!

Yes, and if they really don't want to do it they may not properly treat the areas that don't show.

 

[Kemper]

Doors are done but waiting on lock gaskets before installing panels. I only did partial jambs at this time and will do the rest when I do the interior.

Beltline trim back on as well as door handles and mirror . Also detiled Commando emblem installed. Kinda different putting stuff back on as I go but nice to not have more stuff sitting around. Some of this will be easy to pop back off if I decide to do a light wet sand and shoot another coat of satin with a cup gun.

Also just a little clean-up and reinstalled sill plates and door pillar seals. Cand do more when I do interior. You can use I believe it was RTV black sealant to refurbish those seals . Just make sure you wipe clean after applying before it dries . It just freshens up the rubber where no cracks are so don't get any build up there.

 

[Kemper]

Took off rear bumper. PITA but I got it off. Those threads sticking out about 3/4 take a beating over 60 years. Someone may have a better method but I used 6 point sockets to reduce the chance of stripping off the heads of the bolts and the nuts. I sprayed WD 40 on the threads.

They loosened fairly easy but would get hard to turn to the point of " Don't keep going " and I would turn them back in and took some rough sandpaper around the threads and resprayed with WD 40. I could see the rust I loosened washing the rust off. I then would turn out some more but stop when getting to that really hard part . I then repeated this procedure as needed which was 4 times on a couple of them.

In my younger years I would have gotten a longer bar and turned them till something happened. What would have happened would not be nice.

 

[jeff alder]

Break out the Kroil oil for those rusty nuts and bolts! Wd 40 is a great all-purpose lubricator, but the Kroil oil will get you home with the rusty stuff young or old.

 

[Kemper]

Break out the Kroil oil for those rusty nuts and bolts! Wd 40 is a great all-purpose lubricator, but the Kroil oil will get you home with the rusty stuff young or old.

I'll check into that. I probably need something around more suited for this stuff.

 

[jeff alder]

I think you will be impressed at the difference...and hope it helps with the 60-year-old rust!

 

[Kemper]

I think you will be impressed at the difference...and hope it helps with the 60-year-old rust!
View attachment 1716444008

I'm confident it will be better than what I have around here.

 

[CudaJason]

Kroil is a great one for sure. I also use GIBBS brand penetrant. I have been using it to spray on and protect Magnesium wheels for years, but it has always worked better than any other penetrant i have ever used.

 

[Kemper]

I'm going to take a few moments to explain where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to do in this thread and on this " restoration "
First of all I'm a retired finish painter here in Farmington Mo. I painted trim packages in new homes as well as did stain and poly work, paint matching, texturing , repaints in existing condos and other dwellings etc. I know that cars are not homes and realize there is a difference in products used as well as in applications.

What I really enjoyed over the years was working for different people under different circumstances and was just as comfortable doing a repaint in someone's trailer home from the 60's as I was in doing work in million dollar homes. So, take this for what it's worth and keep an open mind in regards to what may be practical under your circumstances.

I have a similar car that I'm taking a different approach on . I have body panels from Layson's that I purchased and those will be put on that car in the future when I get back to that project if not, they will go with the car regardless. This build I hope will be helpful to either the person that doesn't want spend the large amount it takes to restore a car to factory specs and also for the person that has other priorities for their money. Either way it is for the person that wants to keep their car, drive their car and preserve their car from further damage by doing nothing.

You can call this experimental if you wish,because I haven't seen this done before to this degree . This is more than taking spray bombs to your car where you're only doing minimal repairs that won't hold up very long. I think this will have a long life and that will depend on how well you take care of your car after the " restoration " You will see things here that are debateable . Anything I do an arguement can be made to do it a different way , but keep in mind all those different ways add up and will put you into a different position on how much time and money and you may want to do some things differently.

Hard to keep this short but will try. You can do this restore inside or outside of a shop . You can for the most part have an " in the car or on the car " approach . I am spending a little money on putting the original missing parts back on the car rather than spending that money on more expensive ways of doing things. I am trying to put a minimal amount of money into this project in comparison to the results.

First of all I am using Rust Oleum satin finish 2X Ultra Cover primer/ paint from Menards. These paints have evolved over the years and are not the same as in years past . Make sure you are not dealing with a shiny surface . Wet sand any glossy paint as you don't want to get paint or overspray on that. Adhesion is key and working with this satin I found overspay is not a problem on areas you have painted. When this car is " done " I am going to pop off easily removeable items, lightly sand , mask and shoot a final light coat of satin , yet to be determined paint over the entire car , This will take care of any flashing in appearance you will have and allow you to put a similar type product on.You don't neccesarily have to do this final step but It will take care of the flashing issue. Satin is becoming popular in new vehicles and that is what I am aiming for . You can shine a light down the side , spot putty any imperfections you may have missed and touch up before shooting over the entire car . You can shoot gloss for the final coat if you prefer but I'm sticking with satin .

Enough ( probably too much for now ) so I'll post some pics here and show a couple things things. This shows where I masked off when shooting the top. I will wet sand that transition down later but note the screwdriver in the pic. I took that screwdriver and press fairly hard trying to scrape the paint off at that transition and it is really tight and I had no luck in scraping it off. Also Is a pic of an antenna hole I repaired without welding in new metal. That is just a rough sand on that showing that the fiberglass does not have to be spread out . Fiberlass is put over fiberglass mesh after metal around that hole was in a " bowl " condition made to accept it.

 

[CudaJason]

I love the approach you're taking on this. Its's exactly what i have been doing for years now on several cars. doing it this way lets you enjoy the car and not worry nearly as much as having a super restored perfect paint car you are afraid to drive because of a rock chip or a door ding. Ill be doing the same thing soon on my white barracuda having gotten all the mechanical stuff back in order after being off the road for many many years, tackling the rust and finish issues. I'll be watching this thread for sure!