Gagster's '68 G Machine

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Gag_Halfront

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This car has a somewhat strange history. The story as it was told to me:

The original owner was aparently a semi-pro drag racer back in the sixties in the south. He bought this 1968 Formula S fastback new for his wife. for a whopping sum of $3661.56!

Title.jpg


After a while, he got the itch and decided to race it. The inner fender wells are cut out for fender headers *GRR*. I think the car also ended up with a big block. Anyway... Eventually the guy started exploring other hobbies like learning to fly. One day, when he was doing some side work flying fresh fish from somewhere in Mexico to a little restaurant in Texas. One day, some nice gentlemen from the DEA decided to pay him a visit when he landed, and then he went away for a long long time.

Apparently, before he went up the river, he gave the car to his good friend to keep safe for him until he got back. The motor and trans were yanked and sold, and the car sat outside in Mississippi collecting rust and moss until the son of the good friend eventually traded it to me along with a basket case Industrial HEMI motor for my '78 Formula Firebird.

So anyway, The car is pretty far gone. The interior is almost entirely trashed, the body has surface rust all over, bondo in the right quarter, some penetration rust just in the corner of the front fenders, holes in the front inner fender wells for headers, and to top it off, some jerk stole my hood!

With all that in mind, I'm going to build a G-Machine style car out of this thing. As you can see in the pics, I've already started taking off some of the trim (which is in really good shape, thankfully) and stripping out the interior. It's going to get an AlterKtion, a Chassis Engineering "Top Gun" four-link rear, and a modern power plant to the tune of about 450 horse.

I'll attach a few more pics here, but the rest are in my gallery. I can't post pics straight out of my gallery because my webserver is just not fast enough to keep up. So here are some from photobucket, and you can see the rest including interior and exterior at http://gallery.halfront.com/1968-Barracuda-Formula-S-fastback

This car has sat for a few years since I got it, but this year I'm finally going to be able to get to it.

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right_rear.jpg


roof.jpg


tail.jpg
 
Getting the doghouse off. Got the rusty half of the roof and the left quarter down to bare metal. Good progress. Pics tomorrow.
 
Here are the latest pics as I'm stripping the car down to get rid of the rust. As you can see, I got all that rust off the roof. I got the left quarter down to bare metal and found a very small bit of rust and a very small bit of bondo. Not really as bad as I thought it was going to be. I still have to get that rear bumper off, get my windshield and rear window out, and remove the trim under the quarter window before I can finish this side completely. Hopefully I'll have that done tonight, right door and fender tomorrow, and finish stripping the outer shell this weekend.

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Uhhh yes it end up with a BIG BLOCK at one time.It is a H code factory 383 car and very hard to find.Its your car but you may want to rethink the direction you want to go with this car because it is very rare!
Jim
 
Thats a great looking project and a great story. Its not really even that bad of shape considering the years outside. I am sure lots of members here have restored much worse cars. I bet also that many of those restored cars did not have the value this car has because of it being a factory big block a-bod.

I rarely offer my opinion like this but here it goes... Its yours so build it any way you want but it would be a shame if you end up investing lots of money to customize, and it decreases the value because its too modified.
 
Thank you both very much for your input. I've actually owned this car for about 6 years and never bothered to decode the VIN or fender tag because the project was so far away from getting started.

It's an eye opener for sure that this was a factory BB car. That will significantly change my plans, I think. According to one website, my car, being a 383/Auto/Fastback was 1 of 395. That's pretty cool.

Here's the fender tag for your amusement. 8) The build sheet was not under the seat.

DSC02153.jpg
 
The only things missing (other than the motor and trans) based on the tag are the body belt mouldings (whatever the heck those are) and wheel arch mouldings. Those must have been lost when the bondo and re-paint was done in the first 5 years of the car's life.

Fender tag checks out as follows:

CAR: Plymouth Barracuda 2 Door Sports Hardtop
ENGINE: 383cid 4-bbl HP V8
TRANSMISSION: 3-Speed Automatic
TIRES: E70x14 Red Side Wall, steel belted
BUILD DATE: August 16.
AXLE: 3.23 Rear Axle Ratio, Sure Grip
INTERIOR: High Trim Grade, Vinyl Bucket Seats. Red Interior.
PAINT: Monotone Red Paint.
OTHER: Burgundy Metallic Upper Door Frame Color.

MOLDINGS:
25: Drip Rail Mouldings
30: Body Belt Mouldings
78: Wheel Lip Mouldings

ABC OPTIONS:
D9: Front Disk Brakes
F7: Barracuda Formula S Package
R1: AM Radio
X2: Tinted Windshield Only

abc OPTIONS:
a6: Console
b4: Bucket Seats
m6: Driver's Outside Remote Operated Mirror
 
Nice car, a year earlier and you could get the Build Card from Chrysler- but you have the fender tag.
Any rust in the rockers?
What hood are you going to use?
 
The rockers look great, actually. The car was only on the road for seven years and that was in Mississippi and Louisiana. The underside of the car is in way better shape than the top was.

I don't know what hood I'm going to use. I had a hood with the car when I got it, but I don't know if it was the right one or not. Regardless, some #!!!@% stole it. I don't have a hood at all now so I'm really open to suggestions.
 
Nice fish, but for the love of bacon please take off that damn trailer hitch and smash it with a sledge hammer then melt it with a torch so it can never be put on another car!!! I hate it when people put trailer hitches on cars! Any info on the industrial hemi?
 
What? You don't like the custom 1-of-1 hitch?

Heh.

I've bashed my !$!&@! knee on that stupid !$@&@*! thing so many !@*&! times....

I have to dig out the info on the HEMI. I was going to post it up in the for sale section when I found the pictures and stuff. In short, I think it's a 331. I have pretty much the whole motor from pan to manifold. The block is greased down so it's in pretty good shape. The crank sat outside for a while so it will need tanked and turned. The covers and pan and stuff are kind of rusty and dirty so it doesn't look like much, but I'm going to clean them up and make them presentable.
 
After thinking for a couple days about the direction this project should go, I've come up with two basic options. I'd like to gather some opinions based on what I've come up with, and maybe find out if there are any other options I've not thought of.

To sum up: I was going to do a G-Machine car with a suspension and stance something like momoparman's (but maybe without the $air ride$) and a modern power plant. I had never really investigated my car, and in the conversation above you can see that I learn it is an original 383 car. That made me re-think my decision to totally modify the car.

The new decision is how exactly do I want to build it then if I'm not sticking to my original plan?

As it sits, the car is a solid platform to work from. The body is decent, I have all the original interior pieces, though everything needs recovered or replaced from 35 years of sitting in the sun. :angry7: There are some dents in the front, but they're fixable. I have all the trim. The motor, trans, and driveshaft are long gone. No radiator... Basically the only thing in the engine bay that's reusable is the steering box and K frame. There was some freakshow tow hooks or something stupid like that welded onto the frame in front and the front valance is gone. There are big ugly tin-snip holes cut for fenderwell headers.

The two possible directions for the car are "as close to stock as possible within the confines of a reasonable budget" or "mostly stock appearing until you open the hood". If I choose to do non-stock-ish things to the car, it will be nothing that can't be put back to stock by somebody with the inspiration to do so.

What I've decided so far:
-- Interior will go back to like original, though not concourse quality because I'm just not a brazillionaire
-- Suspension and body will remain as close to stock as possible
-- The car will have a big block and floor shift as was originally in the car
-- Wheels and tires will be aftermarket. I already have them and I'm not buying new ones anytime soon.

What I'm still not sure about
-- Should the engine be a stock (or close to it) 383?
-- a built 383?
-- a built 440?
-- 727 or modern auto with overdrive?
-- Aluminum radiator and electric fans or stock setup?
-- Fender well headers or undercarriage? (Obviously stock manifolds if I go with a stock 383)

Keep in mind that I can't afford a concourse quality restoration, and the car is already plenty hacked up under the hood. Putting it back 'to stock' would be a best-effort project.

Possibly more than gathering opinions, I'm really curious to know _why_ people think I should do one thing over the other. I'm really on the fence here and could use some insights to help support my decision making.
 
Nice project
Doesn´t the AlterKtion bolt up where the stock K member bolt up?
I would say, since you don´t got the original engine and tranny build it as you first intended but without any cutting to the body.
I would do a nice resto of the body, and then go with a buillt B or RB engine.
But then I´m sort of biased to such a build.
Good luck and be sure to post a lot of pics.
 
Isn't it a true Formula S cuda?

I would use a built 383 and drop in back in there and use exhaust manifolds. And use stock set up... no electric fans etc.. That car needs to returned to original type condition as much as possible without dumping a bunch of money into it. A 383 will go with the "H" code and probably move the car pretty good. Imagine the resale value if you ever plan to sell it. But it's your car and a rare one at that.
 
Thanks, guys. Keep those opinions coming! I've got the car almost completely stripped of parts and by the end of the weekend, I should have the whole exterior down to bare metal. I need to make my decision soon. I'm really leaning toward going all original. Not even so much for any kind of resale value, but more just because there aren't too many of these around and if I start making changes, that's one less.
 

stick with the origianal plan. you can make a corner burning car w factory parts and leave the body and key parts alone, though with a big block you're goin to have to stiffen things up and shave some weight somewhere
imho
 
Gag_Halfront said:
I was going to do a G-Machine car with a suspension and stance something like momoparman's (but maybe without the $air ride$) and a modern power plant. I had never really investigated my car, and in the conversation above you can see that I learn it is an original 383 car. That made me re-think my decision to totally modify the car.
As it sits, the car is a solid platform to work from. The body is decent, I have all the original interior pieces, though everything needs recovered or replaced from 35 years of sitting in the sun. :angry7: There are some dents in the front, but they're fixable. I have all the trim. The motor, trans, and driveshaft are long gone. No radiator... Basically the only thing in the engine bay that's reusable is the steering box and K frame. There was some freakshow tow hooks or something stupid like that welded onto the frame in front and the front valance is gone. There are big ugly tin-snip holes cut for fenderwell headers.

The two possible directions for the car are "as close to stock as possible within the confines of a reasonable budget" or "mostly stock appearing until you open the hood". If I choose to do non-stock-ish things to the car, it will be nothing that can't be put back to stock by somebody with the inspiration to do so.


What I've decided so far:
-- Interior will go back to like original, though not concourse quality because I'm just not a brazillionaire
-- Suspension and body will remain as close to stock as possible
-- The car will have a big block and floor shift as was originally in the car
-- Wheels and tires will be aftermarket. I already have them and I'm not buying new ones anytime soon.

What I'm still not sure about
-- Should the engine be a stock (or close to it) 383?
-- a built 383?
-- a built 440?
-- 727 or modern auto with overdrive?
-- Aluminum radiator and electric fans or stock setup?
-- Fender well headers or undercarriage? (Obviously stock manifolds if I go with a stock 383)

Keep in mind that I can't afford a concourse quality restoration, and the car is already plenty hacked up under the hood. Putting it back 'to stock' would be a best-effort project.

Possibly more than gathering opinions, I'm really curious to know _why_ people think I should do one thing over the other. I'm really on the fence here and could use some insights to help support my decision making.
Click to expand...


I really like old cars to look and feel old. G-machines, sorry to all who put their heart and soul into building one but its not my taste. Another thing is the time and cost of doing one correctly is way beyond what I am willing to do. If I wanted a car like that I would be building a late 90's Bullit Mustang.

I like the "mostly stock until you open the hood". I would go with stock type suspension but all fresh and heavy duty. Good front disks, do a nice forged crank 440 maybe even a stroker! a 727 and a 3:55 you will be able to go as fast as you have the stomach for.

Thats my vote. Keep us posted...
 
As of right now, the entire interior of the car except the sun visors, headliner, and driver's side floor vent box is stripped out. The exterior is completely stripped apart from master cylinder and gas tank. Once these last few pieces are off and all the parts are removed from the garage, the remaining paint and rust will be stripped off and I can push the car out to clean the garage and put up plastic for painting.

When I push it out, I'll get some progress pics.


360scamp, I'm going to save this hitch. If we ever meet, I can give it to you and you can destroy it in whatever way brings you the most pleasure. ;)
 
So... Long time, no progress, but I finally made some headway.

The outside of the shell is completely stripped. I sanded away all that bondo and found mostly clean metal under it. there's a little surface rust where the paint didn't hold up, but in general it's looking good. The bondo was pretty thick because somebody apparently didn't believe in trying to straighten a panel before using filler. I'm not sure exactly how I'll handle this since I'm a total body newb, but at least there's no holes to deal with. I found a couple of tiny spots of rust right at the top corner of the right fender and bottom of the rear window. the one under the rear window I couldn't fit a pencil lead through. The one on the corner of the fender (by where the trunk closes) I couldn't fit the eraser through. the only real rust is a small bit behind the left wheel at the bottom of the fender.

I managed to get every single piece of trim and glass off with no damage. This is thanks largely - heck... who am I kidding? Entirely to the good people on this board.

I think I've decided that I'm going to go with all correct components but not necessarily the original color scheme. There are two main reasons for this.

1) It's going to have to be re-done anyway. I'm doing the car in two phases. I can't afford a professional paint job in phase 1. It just has to have paint so it doesn't get destroyed. If somebody's going to strip off my paint it hardly matters what color the paint was

2) I have always had my heart set on some sort of silver-ish color


I found a 383 today that's a '69 date code out of a roadrunner. I think that's about the closest I'm going to get to the right motor for my car without spending years looking. I'm not exactly sure what trans would go in it so that'll have to wait a while. Is it a 727? I'm going to go ahead and do fender headers I think. This particular car's heritage was that it was owned by a drag racer's wife and he cut the fenders out so he could race her car. While I'm trying to find the pieces to put a lot of the car back to it's unmolested state (primarily the interior) I also want to pay some tribute to where this particular car came from.
 
So I guess the whole G-Machine thing is out?
 
Yeah. I'll find a less rare 'cuda for that. I'd still love to do it, but not to this car. Instead I want this car to be almost exactly (apart from maybe wheel and paint color choice) what was being driven out of the wife's garage and down the dragstrip in its glory days.
 
I think you're on the right track with a mostly stock appearing car. You can make a "G-machine" out of anything, but here you have a factory 383S car and that rareness and credibility would become lost in a highly restified car. Just my personal preference, but I'm not enamoured with the make it look (somewhat) like a vintage muscle car but handle like a modern car idea, least of all the craze for plonking a 3rd gen hemi into the engine bay . Put a good old 383 into it and enjoy the bone rattling, roller coaster ride!
 
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