Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback

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I'm beginning to think that Nebraska may end up being the last stronghold and mankind's best chance to survive what's inevitably coming. After reading the post from 66340SEDAN I figured I should do a little recon.

It's much worse than I could have imagined. What was originally a gopher issue has snowballed. It wasn't a big surprise when their squirrel cousins joined their ranks. But an internet search has revealed several other species setting up camp around the U.S.

Badgers have gotten a toe hold in Wisconsin and Michigan is beset with Wolverines. They seem to be infiltrating our colleges. No doubt it's an attempt to turn our own young against us.
 
It is worse than you thought, we have been infiltrated by artichokes at a local community college:
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HOLY CRAP! I never did care for veggies!

On the bright side, artichokes (and broccoli) only scare me when they appear on my dinner plate.

- On the other hand I recall my mother telling me "Those vegetables won't kill you." whenever she served them to me as a kid. It would be the ultimate irony if she was wrong.


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I was pleasantly surprised with the braided hose I bought. It was the JEGS store brand. The last time I'd bought some of it, - the braid wanted to expand so much that it was really hard to assemble. This last batch I got behaved more like the expensive brands. - Quick, easy, hardly any finger pokes.

I picked up some more carpet for the area behind the front seats. Even though I'd stretched and glued vinyl over it I wasn't happy with the outcome. The package shelf area turned out nice but the floor section wrinkled from the adhesive.

Weight and cost were factors in carpet selection. Wally World sells a cheap cut pile 3' X 6' roll of black carpeting in their automotive section for around $8. It's not very heavy and is easy to cut. - Ideal for trunks and projects such as my Duster.
 

I managed to knock a few items off of my 'to do' list last night.

The new rear carpet is in.

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The fuel line plumbing is done for the new fuel cell.

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The ground cable is now attached to it's new frame location.

While I was at it I sanded off the black paint from the oval air cleaner I have. I polished it and sprayed it with tint. I haven't given up on the idea of making a tray assembly beneath the air cleaner but wanted to see how this would look first.

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Looks more complete in the *** end,now. The air cleaner looks good tinted , never seen one that way before.( Still using the V.H.T. ? ) Used the Jeg's A.N fittings last time ( Worked fine, didn't feel as well made as Russell/ Aeroquip , to me) How did you , like them ?
 
Looks more complete in the *** end,now. The air cleaner looks good tinted , never seen one that way before.( Still using the V.H.T. ? ) Used the Jeg's A.N fittings last time ( Worked fine, didn't feel as well made as Russell/ Aeroquip , to me) How did you , like them ?

I used DupliColor Metalcast paint. It was cheaper and I didn't have as many problems with fisheyes or runs.

I see that the JEGS fittings are labeled 'MADE IN CHINA'. They don't seem to be as hard as the ones from Earls, Aeroquip or Russell. It's easier to mar them with a wrench. They went together easy but I noticed that I had to be very careful when I assembled them. When you screw the threaded part into the braided line they had a tendency to push the braided line back through the sleeves. I assume the sleeves are not as tight of a fit as the other brands.
 
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The Duster still has rust bubbles on the deck lid, the rear quarters, the bottom of the doors and fenders. The good news is that it's all in areas that are painted black. It would probably be possible to do repair work on all of those areas and blend it back into the current paint. Although I'm considering fixing it, I do need to get moved on to other projects.

I still need to wire my front blinkers, tach, and headlights. I also need to finish attaching my belts. Now that the car is running I'm thinking about ordering a windshield and taking it in to have it replaced. I don't like the idea of handling it by myself.

The Roadrunner is going to come in soon. I'll try reprogramming the FAST 2.0 system one more time. If I can't get it de-bugged, I'll revert the timing controls back to the MSD.


 
The Duster still has rust bubbles on the deck lid, the rear quarters, the bottom of the doors and fenders. The good news is that it's all in areas that are painted black. It would probably be possible to do repair work on all of those areas and blend it back into the current paint. Although I'm considering fixing it, I do need to get moved on to other projects.

I still need to wire my front blinkers, tach, and headlights. I also need to finish attaching my belts. Now that the car is running I'm thinking about ordering a windshield and taking it in to have it replaced. I don't like the idea of handling it by myself.

The Roadrunner is going to come in soon. I'll try reprogramming the FAST 2.0 system one more time. If I can't get it de-bugged, I'll revert the timing controls back to the MSD.



Glass : If not familiar with it, ramp it out. J.M.O, if you have the coin.
 
I had out of state company today so I wasn't able to spend time on the cars. I did buy a windshield off of eBay for $119 with free shipping to their nearest outlet (60 miles away). It's new o.e.m. glass.

With the holidays here I doubt I'll be getting much done for awhile.
I need to concentrate on garage cleaning again. Before I bring the next car in I'll try to finish up some of the other piddly items on the Duster.
 
Last night I stayed up late playing Scrabble with Teresa, my sister from Colorado, and one of my boys from Des Moines. It was a mini Christmas. And even though Teresa and I did not exchange presents with each other yet, we did with my sister and my son.

My sister knows that I have an affinity for collecting dragon pictures by Randal Spangler and clay sculptures that match his style. I know that this is getting pretty far of course on a car thread but I thought I'd share some pictures.

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A buddy of mine had called me up to ask if I wanted to ride along with him to check out some cars that a guy wanted him to restore. I went to see what he had.

I guess the guy is somewhat a famous artist that creates bronze statues that are shown all across the U.S. I had seen a war memorial he had done that was truly impressive and was eager to see what all he had in his shop.

It turns out that the guy is an avid hunter and taxidermy is one of his hobbies. He had a trio of 1940 Studebaker coupes he wanted restored. His father had been a Studebaker dealer in the 50's and he had a collection of over 40 cars (mostly Studebakers).

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Mixed in with his cars were several projects he was working on including a T-Rex, a velociraptor, lions, eagles, horses, etc...


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When I got back from the trip checking out the Studebakers I had a box to open up. A shipping company had dropped it off and apparently it was from my sons. I had talked with Spencer about various things that would be cool to have.

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A lift would be cool but without a taller ceiling we'd be limited on how high we could raise a car.

I had purchased a Multiplaz welder and used it a few times. It was good for welding items on a bench top but awkward to use elsewhere. It worked similar to oxy-acetylene welding but the gun was sort of bulky. The good things about it were that it didn't use expensive expendables such as gas and it was capable of welding aluminum. The last time I went to use it the welding gun developed a short inside and it crapped out on me. I had regretted not investing in a wire welder instead.


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I was shocked! Spencer had been scheduled to work through Christmas and wasn't able to come home from Iowa. - But apparently he was able to send me the biggest present I've ever gotten.

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I guess he even ordered a new helmet to go with it.

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It even had a bag to store the new helmet in.

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The adjustable headband looked complex but was easy to adjust and comfortable.

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I'm used to my chin operated helmet but the controls for this auto darkening look like it should be able to be set however the wearer wants.

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Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh!

I had spent the last few days researching where to buy expendables for the new welder. I still needed a bottle of C25 and some welding wire.

The most economical route for a cylinder turned out to be a 5 year lease program offered by Island Supply out of Grand Island, Nebraska. Even though they required a $270 deposit on the tank, they return the full amount to you at the end of the lease if you return the bottle. The first fill was half price also.

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I prefer the copper coated wire for it's corrosion resistance and it seems as though it glides better through the liners. Of the several brands that they handle they recommended Hyundai wire. They promised me that the quality was equal with all of the more expensive brands and it ran 1/3 cheaper.

One other thing that I needed to do was to change the style of plug so that it would match the 220 outlet in the garage.

I always dread cutting up something that is new. To avoid messing with the molded cord on the welder I decided to make a long extension cord that would act as an adapter instead. The wall receptacle already matches my compressor so I didn't want to change it.

I didn't have any major projects ready for welding but I did have the right zoomie header tubes that needed to welded for the hemi. The welder worked flawlessly.

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So far I haven't tried the new helmet. I still like the chin activated helmet that I was used to using and wanted to make sure the welder was functioning first. I'll try out the new helmet some day down the road.

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