How original have you kept yours and why

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whitedawg

whitedawg

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Over on the Forward Look site this is a controverisal issue and I dont mean to stir up things here, but I am trying to decide which direction to go with my 67 Barracude Coupe., factory 273 HiPo Initally the plan was to go with a tubular front end, disc brakes , the Keisler 5 sp and possible engine swap but after getting the car to the shop; the guy handling the bodywork said other than the passenger front fender, overall, in remarkably good shape considering it had been in storage since 79 and would be a shame to tear the car apart.
At this point leaning towards keeping as is, other than maybe the 5sp but would need to locate a non auto steering column. Any inputs to how and why you did yours would be appreciated
 
You can stick an alter-k in there without hacking up the car.

Me, I'm keeping as little as possible original. Why? Because original is boring and not very comfortable to really drive like I want to. I went front and rear RMS suspension to improove the driving pleasure. After market buckets that I can adjust to get comfortable and they actually support me and hold me in place like originals won't. On the things to do list is put my 408 together and some kind of OD trans. Only thing I won't do is mini tub it, and that's only becaust I dont want to lose that trunk space.
 
whitedawg said:
Over on the Forward Look site this is a controverisal issue and I dont mean to stir up things here, but I am trying to decide which direction to go with my 67 Barracude Coupe., factory 273 HiPo Initally the plan was to go with a tubular front end, disc brakes , the Keisler 5 sp and possible engine swap but after getting the car to the shop; the guy handling the bodywork said other than the passenger front fender, overall, in remarkably good shape considering it had been in storage since 79 and would be a shame to tear the car apart.
At this point leaning towards keeping as is, other than maybe the 5sp but would need to locate a non auto steering column. Any inputs to how and why you did yours would be appreciated
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Factory hipo, Is it a Formula S?

really the older Barracudas even the Formula S model will not be worth a great deal of money. If you want to mod the car, probably will not make the car worth more or less than all stock. A BB Formula S would be different, that is the car everyone wants.

If you are going to drive it make it what you want. If you think it might be worth more original, keep the stock stuff and let the next guy put it back to original.
 
I've always preferred that the real muscle cars be left "stock" and by that I mean not modified to the point of no return, or modified with no regard to the history of the car (ruining good, valuable parts or hacking a car too badly). There are plenty of garden variety muscle era cars out there that can be made into the hot rods and street rods. No matter how much a car is worth in stock form, a modified version ~usually~ means it's worth less because it appeals to a narrower audience. It's your car though, if you plan to keep it, do with it as you please.
 
Mines not very stock. Original was a 2dr sedan /6, dark blue. Now 340+ with 69 GT hood, 69 bucket seats, ralleye wheels and lime green.
 
I have two cars for just this reason. My Barracuda is an original big block 4spd. car but already had the original engine replaced when I bought it. Since the original engine was already gone I went ahead and installed what I wanted to in it. I also changed the trans to a five speed but I haven`t tubbed it or cut the fenderwells out and don`t plan to. It`s the car that I have my way with. On the other end of the spectrum I`ve got a 68 Dart GTS that is an all original, matching numbers car. I`ve sympathetically restored it to as original condition as possible. This is my way of having the best of both worlds.
 
I think as long as it is done with good taste and you don't butcher the car beyond the point of no return you should do with it as you please. You have to be happy with it in order to enjoy it.

That is a nice 60, I had a 60 Phoenix that same color, I was going to make a driver out of it but ended up selling it. It only had 50000 miles on it but it sat for over 20 years and needed paint and some engine work from sitting.
 
As you can see I have no problem with making the car what I want

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Original for me would mean living with a /6 and a 7 1/4 rear. Not going to happen.
 
That is the same car, I built it for crusing and comfortable driving.
I let a 68 Charger get away from me due to military move. After I retired started looking for another but gave up on the Chargers and Road Runners $$$. I was looking for a Duster when I came across the 67, this one building for fun driving car.
 
That interior looks a little different than mine did, this was in exceptional shape for being almost 50 years old.

Yours would be a lot more comfortable.

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Gryzynx said:
Original for me would mean living with a /6 and a 7 1/4 rear. Not going to happen.
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I agree, a slant six would be cool in an old Valiant conv but I want more power under my foot.

Do you think I went overboard with my fish???

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Thats pretty close, being a Phoenix yours was 1 level higher than the Pioneer. Looks real clean. I kept the original seats, with drivers side higher than passenger, in storage for a future owner.
 
Other than going with Kelsey disc brakes, 8 3/4 rear, ralley wheels, 150 MPH speedo, oem clock, and color change my car is going to be equipped as original.
It is a 68 Barracuda convertible with power top, power steering, power brakes, 318, auto, console, bucket seats, sway bar and ralley wheel covers.

Everything I am changing will still be factory options for the car execpt the ralley wheels and maybe the color. Still thinking about the Plum Crazy Purple, if not it will be red.
 
whitedawg said:
Cutting the tunnel for the 5 speed is one of my concerns
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I don't think you can go wrong there, that won't decrease the value. If your car was a 340 car or Formula S then I would say maybe but there are more people that would want the 5spd than an original tranny.

You could go with an overdrive A833 if you don't want to cut the tunnel.
 
Blownfish, that is one of the nicest early a body Cuda's I've ever seen. Is it over the top? Of course it is. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
 
..been there, done that with originality.. I want this car to have modern saftey features and things that I remember as a kid..it is yiour car...do what you want to do with it..if you do what everybody else wants you to do, you will not be happy..
 
yuo know this is just personal taste but there are enough wrong cars out there and how will the car finatics that follow us know what is right or how the factory designed them......i enjoy seeing a tubed blown A once in awhile but if that is all there is who knows do what you like and enjoy the car.....
 
Always a hot topic. I believe in keeping things original if the car is in exceptional
shape or is rare. If you want to tub/race/pro street a car find a shell or one that
Ma Mopar made a million of. Most of the cars out there that have been cloned or pro streeted or raced started out as a /6 or 318 car.e You can always change things and keep the old parts in case you or your cars next owner wants to change it back to original. toolmanmike
 
There are so many opinions on this subject, what it boils down to is you need to make yourself happy first but always remember if you modify a car beyond the point of no return, you can kill the value and history. There are only so many left in the world.

My fish was a hot rod since the late 60's and when I got it the car was rough so I didn't hurt anything. I love them stock and modified, I personally think it depends on what you are starting with. If you have a clean original or a low numbered car, you don't mess with it, but if you have a car that has already been modified or missing everything or needs everything replaced then you have an open canvas to build the car of your dreams without feeling guilty of destroying history.

My 50 merc is just a body with rusty rockers and trunk floor and all the pot metal is garbage so I plan to chop it and stick a Mopar drive train in it, but on the other hand my buddy had a 63 Impala 327 car with original paint original interior and no rust and you could have did a little touch up and air brush work and still stayed way under the acceptable 20% repairs to keep the car a survivor under most car show rules but the jack *** that bought it tore the car down and restored it as an SS and in my eyes destroying the car. I blame myself for that since I could have bought the car and didn't.

I know it was a Chevy but I have a 63 conv that my father bought new so I have a big soft spot for the early Impala's and as far as the Merc, my uncle has an original Barris Merc that he has owned for 35 years that is powered by a 392 Hemi and ever since I was 9 years old I was interested in the original 50's customs.
 
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