RON B
Active Member
First time this year I pulled the covers off of my project vehicles. I was kind of losing my drive until I saw some of the members Barracudas. Now I’m ready to go for it again. Both cars are to the point where it’s guide coat and final sanding.
I had to go to this guy’s house for a business related matter. I got to his house. He wasn’t there. He said he was running late and would be there in about an hour. He had a few suicide door Lincolns and 2 Lincoln convertibles. It looked like he was working on them so when I saw the Barracuda I didn’t think he would sell it. I had plenty of time to go over the Barracuda. Right off the bat I saw the 340 on the fenders. Then the bucket seats with headrests. The a/c blower unit, the console, the dash was good and the headliner had a tear. The engine was complete but had the wrong carb on it. The inspection sticker was from 1973. The mileage was 41,646. There was a suggested oil change on the door that read 37k and change. This car hasn’t run in at least 45 years. It’s been off the road for 47 years. It had heavy rear body damage. Car looked like it was totaled and no one did anything with it. It just sat there with things growing around it.
When the guy showed up I asked him a few questions. He said his father was the original owner and that car traveled to several different countries with his father who was an architect. It’s a Y09 car. His wife needed something from the store so she drove the Barracuda there. The vehicle was rear ended by a large truck. They never it repaired and it never left the owner’s property after that.
When I paid the guy for the car he came out of the garage with a box of parts which were the original AVS, the un-silenced air cleaner and the 340 pie plate. He also gave me the full documentation on the vehicle and the 69 service manual.
When I got the car home I blew out the engine and interior compartment. I washed the car several times then for the hell of it I buffed it out the good side. There were a few tires that wouldn’t inflate. I had a two steelies from another project and put them on. The rims from the other cars were different colors so I put 70 wheel cover up the mismatch. It came with the four original caps.
Got the engine running within a few days. It ran rough. I pulled the engine and it down to make check for obvious visual damage. Thoroughly degreased it, cleaned it , then lobbed it. Put in new lifters and painted the engine components. Got it back in the car worked on it until it was right.
I bought a rear clip off of another 69 Barracuda. It was in rough shape but useful enough to square the rear body. Replace the rear body panel and full trunk floor. I straightened both buckled quarter panels and stripped the car down to bare metal. It didn’t have a lot of dents or rust. Surprising there was any damage or rust on the floor board. The driver seat was torn up. I purchased seat covers, console cover and carpeting for the car. It’s a stripe delete car. I painted one on to see if I liked it. I might do a color change on the car I’ll figure it out then.
I left out a lot of the details but if you work on cars you can figure out what it takes to repair a vehicle damaged this bad. For me it was worth it because I can do the work. If you had to send a car like this to a shop the expense of the repairs would surpass the value of the car. I knew buying this car was a great investment because of its drive train and parts. When I confirmed this was a fully documented Formula “s” car with its original 340 drive train, a/c and power brakes I had to bring it back to life. What really convinced me to do the car is when the owner’s son gave me the box with the 340 pie plate in it.
The car is all original except for the tires. It came with red wall tires. The car was completely original but when I did the brakes I replaced the master with an aftermarket part.
Glad I joined the club. It’s inspirational. Thank you.
I had to go to this guy’s house for a business related matter. I got to his house. He wasn’t there. He said he was running late and would be there in about an hour. He had a few suicide door Lincolns and 2 Lincoln convertibles. It looked like he was working on them so when I saw the Barracuda I didn’t think he would sell it. I had plenty of time to go over the Barracuda. Right off the bat I saw the 340 on the fenders. Then the bucket seats with headrests. The a/c blower unit, the console, the dash was good and the headliner had a tear. The engine was complete but had the wrong carb on it. The inspection sticker was from 1973. The mileage was 41,646. There was a suggested oil change on the door that read 37k and change. This car hasn’t run in at least 45 years. It’s been off the road for 47 years. It had heavy rear body damage. Car looked like it was totaled and no one did anything with it. It just sat there with things growing around it.
When the guy showed up I asked him a few questions. He said his father was the original owner and that car traveled to several different countries with his father who was an architect. It’s a Y09 car. His wife needed something from the store so she drove the Barracuda there. The vehicle was rear ended by a large truck. They never it repaired and it never left the owner’s property after that.
When I paid the guy for the car he came out of the garage with a box of parts which were the original AVS, the un-silenced air cleaner and the 340 pie plate. He also gave me the full documentation on the vehicle and the 69 service manual.
When I got the car home I blew out the engine and interior compartment. I washed the car several times then for the hell of it I buffed it out the good side. There were a few tires that wouldn’t inflate. I had a two steelies from another project and put them on. The rims from the other cars were different colors so I put 70 wheel cover up the mismatch. It came with the four original caps.
Got the engine running within a few days. It ran rough. I pulled the engine and it down to make check for obvious visual damage. Thoroughly degreased it, cleaned it , then lobbed it. Put in new lifters and painted the engine components. Got it back in the car worked on it until it was right.
I bought a rear clip off of another 69 Barracuda. It was in rough shape but useful enough to square the rear body. Replace the rear body panel and full trunk floor. I straightened both buckled quarter panels and stripped the car down to bare metal. It didn’t have a lot of dents or rust. Surprising there was any damage or rust on the floor board. The driver seat was torn up. I purchased seat covers, console cover and carpeting for the car. It’s a stripe delete car. I painted one on to see if I liked it. I might do a color change on the car I’ll figure it out then.
I left out a lot of the details but if you work on cars you can figure out what it takes to repair a vehicle damaged this bad. For me it was worth it because I can do the work. If you had to send a car like this to a shop the expense of the repairs would surpass the value of the car. I knew buying this car was a great investment because of its drive train and parts. When I confirmed this was a fully documented Formula “s” car with its original 340 drive train, a/c and power brakes I had to bring it back to life. What really convinced me to do the car is when the owner’s son gave me the box with the 340 pie plate in it.
The car is all original except for the tires. It came with red wall tires. The car was completely original but when I did the brakes I replaced the master with an aftermarket part.
Glad I joined the club. It’s inspirational. Thank you.
