Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

[sireland67]

So did you get your shop built?

 

[1967 'cuda]

So did you get your shop built?

Sorta..... - The structure is up, the concrete is laid, doors are on. It was supposed to have been totally done last Spring but the city put me WAY behind schedule. I injured myself trying to work on insulation (so that's not done). I don't have electrical done. I don't have my windows installed. I don't have my furnace installed. I don't have my attic mezzanine storage area built. No gutters yet. etc, etc,...

 

[bkd]

What about the Funny Car you were working on...what happened to that? Inquiring minds want to know and yes you may have a lot of funny cars but the actual FUNNY CAR LOL

 

[Cuda68Scott]

STILL IN THE GARAGE!!

Why..... I oughta come over there and slap some sense back into you! By now your Cuda should have been DONE and you should be getting a 2nd mortgage to pay off all the traffic tickets you'd been shoving in your glove box.

I'm REALLY disappointed! When I managed to crawl my way back to FABO I was looking forward to hearing how well you endured your 1st cavity search, details about your 1st cellmate, and what it took to get your car back out of impound.

Just keep in mind that parents are relying on you to provide them with the stories of bad examples for future generations. Finishing the Cuda is practically your sacred duty!

Lol John, well…um, um, it’s actually all your fault that my cuda is often a shelf for empty Amazon boxes before recycle barrel day pickup! If I had an overachiever example like you to follow it would have been done long ago!! After reading your completed “to do” list, I think you may have accomplished more during your medical sabbatical than before! By the way, is the 67 Cuda still running OK?

 

[1967 'cuda]

What about the Funny Car you were working on...what happened to that? Inquiring minds want to know and yes you may have a lot of funny cars but the actual FUNNY CAR LOL

I'm sorry to report that the funny is still sad. It's been deteriorating in my back yard since mother nature decided to drop that tree on it. There were a few people that contacted me expressing a desire to buy it but I suspect I wouldn't get much for it as it sits now. I haven't made any arrangements with them to come see it because I'd like to finish my shop first and then try to put it back inside. There's a chance I might attempt repairs to the body yet.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Lol John, well…um, um, it’s actually all your fault that my cuda is often a shelf for empty Amazon boxes before recycle barrel day pickup! If I had an overachiever example like you to follow it would have been done long ago!! After reading your completed “to do” list, I think you may have accomplished more during your medical sabbatical than before! By the way, is the 67 Cuda still running OK?

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. Somewhere (probably in Arizona) there's a group of unemployed and easily impressed youth considering the purchase of used Priuses while listening to hip-hop through their earbuds. If only they could be inspired by the sight & sound of a '68 notch rumbling down the street.

Who knows? Maybe they'd realize there's more to life than playing X-BOX in their parent's basements. They might even hear the similarity of fingernails on a chalkboard with hip-hop and start listening to Rock-n-Roll.

It's possible they'd develop a desire to have a Mopar of their own and get jobs so they could afford to build one. They'd become too busy to turn to vandalism or theft. Their new found interest wouldn't leave enough extra money for them to support a drug habit. Birds would start chirping. The sun would shine.

SIGH. Ya, I think it's time for you to head back to the garage. In fact, it's your patriotic duty!

 

[1967 'cuda]

Here's a few snapshots of my enclosed trailer. I wish it was bigger but it does have running water, interior lighting, a compressor, electric winch, electric tongue jack, and a finished interior Including cabinets with aluminum deck plate floor.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I don't have much to show of the shop yet.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I do have a few images of one of the digital pinball machines. This one has a computer processor in it and a hard drive with over 100 pinball tables on it. It's surprising how close it feels like a mechanical machine.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Oh yeah. I also managed to build Teresa's grandkids a couple of two-seater go-karts last year. I painted one florescent orange and the other florescent green. They even had head & tail lights. Unfortunately without a completed shop to store them in, the sun's UV rays really eat that paint pigment. I'll need to do a re-spray on them now.

Small projects kept me from climbing the walls while I was minimizing garage time. I also managed to buff out a bunch more trim work for various buddies. (- including a '56 Chebby)

I really could use an extra 2 foot more tongue length on our open trailer yet. So far I just started using a 1 foot hitch extension, but it didn't make the improvement I was shooting for. I had custom made tire covers made for each trailer. They were surprisingly inexpensive. The new spare tires/wheels are padlocked beneath the covers to prevent theft.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I did manage to find a roll bar for the dually. A while back a new sinister plan crept into my brain.

I don't know if anyone else has ever attempted it before but I want to try to do a Dodge MACHO paint scheme on a Club cab dually. - Hence, the tire cover design on the one trailer.

The dually still had the old 16.5" wheels on it and I ended up buying 6 painted 16" wheels to replace them with. I also found some decent 16" tires as well. The roll bar is chrome but I'll strip it so I can match the MACHO theme.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Even when I can't get stuff done, new ideas/projects keep me from having a chance to catch up. - Has to be some form of ADHD. (Advanced Dodge Hyper Dementia)

 

[1967 'cuda]

Even during the crappy health period I went through, we did manage to maintain (and increase) our annual Halloween displays.

The year before last I constructed a 40'X90' tent building in the backyard. Despite 100s of yards of tethering anchors the Fall winds kept damaging the tarps. We gave up on trying to build another temp structure that big again. The past few years we reached around 400 trick-or-treaters.

We used the enclosed trailer last year as a movie theater (it's got it's own heat & air conditioning).

Everyone really appreciated having a location to warm up these past few years. Last Halloween people waited in line to get to our front door for over 15 minutes with it stretching up to 2 blocks away. Lately I've considered giving up the tradition because of the expense and amount of work involved. - But I truly enjoy seeing how much fun all those kids have when they show up.

 

[sireland67]

Even during the crappy health period I went through, we did manage to maintain (and increase) our annual Halloween displays.

The year before last I constructed a 40'X90' tent building in the backyard. Despite 100s of yards of tethering anchors the Fall winds kept damaging the tarps. We gave up on trying to build another temp structure that big again. The past few years we reached around 400 trick-or-treaters.

We used the enclosed trailer last year as a movie theater (it's got it's own heat & air conditioning).

Everyone really appreciated having a location to warm up these past few years. Last Halloween people waited in line to get to our front door for over 15 minutes with it stretching up to 2 blocks away. Lately I've considered giving up the tradition because of the expense and amount of work involved. - But I truly enjoy seeing how much fun all those kids have when they show up.

Its all about making the kids happy.
We don't decorate alot, but I am very generous on giving out candy.
The wife will take the grandkids around the neighborhood, I hand the candy out and make pizza's for the grandkids and their friends.
I figure filling them up with pizza after trick or treat is way better than them getting full on candy.
Plus I like pizza.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Its all about making the kids happy.

We don't decorate alot, but I am very generous on giving out candy.
The wife will take the grandkids around the neighborhood, I hand the candy out and make pizza's for the grandkids and their friends.
I figure filling them up with pizza after trick or treat is way better than them getting full on candy.
Plus I like pizza.

I hate to make it sound like I'm not a heartless %&#@hole but you're right. It is about the kids. (I'll deny ever saying that unless tortured) I skipped all the car shows, swap meets, drag & circle track races for over 4 years but I couldn't let myself disappoint all them kids.

 

[1967 'cuda]

A number of years back FABO made upgrades to it's site software and it wiped out a lot of the info in user's threads. Due to the huge amount of content I had on my restorations (here) I was pretty upset. It made it almost impossible to enjoy photo intensive builds that began before the update.

Well, the weather here has been less than optimal for my progress with the shop. - So, I've been trying to restore as much of this thread's original content as I can. Some links no longer work. And although I was able to fix most of my posts, I wasn't able to edit (repair) some replies to this thread made by other members.

I may not be finished quite yet but I think it should be pretty easy for folks to read from the beginning now.

As I was working on it I was able to reminisce about the crazy stuff that's gone on. You guys are a hoot!!

 

[1967 'cuda]

I didn't get many pics of the new shop as it was being constructed but here are a few.

The whole back yard was (is) a mess. Until I really finish the shop it's not going to get much better. You might have noticed that I added amber blinkers on the dually.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Ii got a really good price on this used 2-post lift. It looks rough in this photo but I stripped it down before repainting it. Mechanically it was in great shape but it had a 3 phase motor on it. To avoid the cost of replacing that motor, I purchased a phase converter. I printed replacement labels/decals for the lift so it looks like new now.

The lift originally was used in a GM plant and has a 7,000 lb. capacity.

 

[1967 'cuda]

The other day I came across a photo of the 1st drag car I'd ever painted. If I recall correctly, the owner was running a 440 in the Duster. Photo was probably taken in the late 70s.

 

[1967 'cuda]

This is a few photos of my buddy's '71 Roadrunner (actually a GTX) racing up at Marion. Spence and I helped install the stripes. This is the same car I'd installed carpet, headliner, and gauge panel in.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I hate this lingering cold weather. I NEED to get my shop finished already! Anybody out there willing to donate labor? I still have to complete the wiring.

 

[1967 'cuda]

A topic I usually avoid is my ownership of non-Chrysler products. Maybe FABO needs a wall of shame area for members to hang their heads when posting other cars. While searching for photographic evidence that I was nowhere near Epstein's cell when he (cough, cough) suicided himself, I came across a few images of my '69 Chevelle.

To offer evidence to investigators that I was nowhere near New York (at the time he decided to calm Bill & Hillary's concerns) I thought I'd post them.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I feel awful.
My absence from FABO wasn't planned. Due to personal issues I took leave for a long time. During the past few weeks I've been trying to catch up with the stuff I'd missed while I was gone. - And I have a long way to go.

I didn't mean this post to be about me. I just found out that Abodybomber passed away while I was gone.
I cried.
To those here that knew him, I share your grief. Anyone who didn't, when you come across his posts, smile knowing there have been really good guys here and say a prayer for him.

 

[1967 'cuda]

4spdragtop where are you? I'm trying to touch base with the old 'Wild Bunch' and can't seem to access your profile info anymore. I'm hoping you'll stumble across this and say 'hey'. After hearing about Abodybomber I'm concerned about a number of folk now.

 

[1967 'cuda]

In my quest to corrupt the minds of any impressionable youth out there That stumble across this thread, I've decided to remind them of an automotive magazine called CARtoons. It was one of the twisted reading pleasures I enjoyed as a juvenile delinquent.

For years it was a bad influence on kids. Without it's existence the world could have benefited from a gigantic increase in socially compliant adults hugging trees. No one would have chosen to live a life with grease beneath their fingernails. Creative ingenuity would have been better spent on finding new ways to make broccoli taste like chicken. A new utopia could have emerged.

But, as fate would have it, the little known magazine did exist. -And it helped to fuel a movement. Heads full of mush (like mine) were warped into disregarding common sense. We began to scoff at practical conventional hobbies and embrace the idea of bleeding knuckles, oil stained driveways, and collecting traffic citations for noise complaints.

I'm here today to announce that I just purchased the latest issue of CARtoons.

Now, that wouldn't be big news to this forum except for one of the cartoon strips inside.