MA MOPAR BIT ME AGAIN or SO MANY MOPARS, SO LITTLE TIME

[1967 'cuda]

Even though I'm trying to concentrate on the truck right now, I spent some time back on the Barracuda. The rear end seems to be noisy. I used to run a 4.10 Dana in my old Roadrunner and I don't recall it making noise . It seems to have sort of a 'metal on rusty metal' grind to it. I inspected the rear brakes and all seemed OK. So, - I pulled the axles and saw that they have formed rust on the shafts again. I filled the rear up to the fill plug with Valvoline gear oil but it doesn't seem to be enough to get oil out to the axles/bearings. Should I try getting another quart or liter in it? Other than being a bit noisy I'm not experiencing other problems with it.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I ran into an old buddy of mine today at a gas station. He used to bracket race a 1965 Dodge Coronet 500. He'd sold the engine and transmission out of it years ago and it's been sitting in a barn ever since. We'd done an all steel flip front end on it and radiused the rear wheel wells a long time ago. It's got an 8&3/4 with 5.38s in it. He still has the custom made headers that we made for it back in the day. - They go with it. The paint was fresh 30 years ago. But, I haven't seen it since. He wants $2500 for the roller. As much as I tell myself I don't need another one, I may have to check it out. I'll post pics when I can.

 

[1967 'cuda]

OK. This is not good. I went back to the truck and tried jumping across the starter solenoid. I'm getting about 1' rotation on the crank and that's it. Next step is to pull the plugs and squirt some oil in the cylinders. Maybe I'll end up pulling the drive train before taking it in for paint. Oh, woe is me. That $1000 360 is starting to sound tempting now.

 

[1967 'cuda]

The neighbor that I'd bought the battery from asked me if I was interested in his '74 Duster. The city made him move it because of their statute against unlicensed/non-functional vehicles. He wants $600 for it. I think it was a slant 6 but has no motor in it now. He's supposed to have new sheet metal that goes with it and he said the interior was clean. Hmm. Why don't these deals show up when I'm looking for a car? I suppose I should take a look at it too. (I'll take pics)

 

[1967 'cuda]

As miserable as those mosquitoes have made life in the garage, you'd think I would be accustomed to time spent in the near outdoors. It seems that there is a gang rivalry going on now between them and the flies. Turf wars right here and as much as I'd like to be an non-participating spectator I'm now an innocent victim caught in the crossfire.

I'm still trying to track down more info on that 360 that's for sale. My new conundrum is deciding whether or not to start pulling the motor that's in the truck now. Weighing the pros and cons, everything points to yanking it out except that I just don't feel like it right now.

1) It would allow me to re-do the engine compartment. - but I don't want to pull it.
2) At the very least I could re-seal the motor. - but I don't want to pull it.
3) I could freshen up the transmission at the same time. - but I don't want to pull it.
4) It would give me a little more room when I rebuild the front suspension. - but I don't want to pull it.
5) The motor really needs to be gone through eventually anyway. - but I don't want to pull it.
6) The price on the 360 is $1000 and includes carb & ignition. It's not a bad price especially if I can talk them down a bit. - but I don't want to pull it.

As you can see when I list all of the reasons for and against doing it, I come up with a half dozen of each.

CRAP! If only I could have come up with one more reason to leave the motor in.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I tried my best but they won't come down any on that 360. They're supposed to get me a video of the engine running before I confirm the buy. I don't think there's any other way I'll get the 'Lil Red on the road this year unless I bite. My plan is still to rebuild the original 360 so that I don't kill the truck's value. But who knows. Maybe I'll snatch up that '74 Duster and eventually drop the new 360 into it later. That way I won't have another extra engine sitting around.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I had a chance to look at the '74 Duster today. It's a lot rougher than what I'd expected. I know that $600 is not a ton of money but this car needs way more work than what I want to do. As promised, here are a few pics. If anyone's interested I can pass on contact info. There's supposed to be most parts included that are missing in the photos (including another left quarter panel - used). It would make a good donor car for A-body guys looking to do a big bolt pattern/disc conversion. I still need to check out that '65 Coronet 500.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Over 30 years of dirt accumulation in the engine compartment looks pretty messy. I snapped some photos of the various brackets and hose routing before pulling the motor. Hopefully it'll eliminate some of the 'where in the h%ll does this go' that's bound to perplex me when the motor goes back in.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Well the motor's out along with the transmission. A buddy stopped over and gave me a hand. I refer to him as Beemer guy because he used to drive a little BMW. - Good thing he did stop because I doubt I would have gotten some of the transmission cross member bolts loose without his help. We had a heck of a time even with both of us pushing as hard as we could on the breaker bar. They were the upper ones that I couldn't get an impact wrench on.





I had one exhaust manifold bolt break off in each head. Examining the bolts I saw that they were rusted half way through at the break locations.



I realize that this poor garage floor has gotten another antifreeze/transmission fluid shower again but it's a much smaller mess than I usually make.



I still have another day to finish cleaning the engine bay before I have to deliver the truck. I think I better sand all of the rust scale off of the frame and shoot it black before taking it in. I don't want to have any flying debris later when there's new paint on the body.









I'm still planning on attending the local car show tomorrow (actually later today). I haven't had time to clean the Barracuda or Duster yet. I guess it'll have to wait 'til morning.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I could swear that I JUST went to bed. Damn! It's morning already. - Time to get my act together if I'm going to make the car show.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I don't have a build thread of the truck. I was going to start one after I get the Barracuda completely done, but I ended up interrupting the 'Cuda build because of paint scheduling. I do have some other photos of the truck that I posted on FB and in a photo gallery here on FABO.

Instead of leaving a time void in the Barracuda thread I just lumped these projects together. I'm still trying to make a small bit of progress with the car. I don't think I'll consider it done until I get the line lock installed and the motor dialed in. I still want to document all the efforts involved including some track times.

My record remains unblemished by wins at a car show (I lost again). I don't know how long I can keep this string going. There was a close call this time. At the last minute they decided to add a class for race cars combined with dune buggies and award two trophies. There was only one other race car there besides my Duster and only one dune buggy. The other race car was a dirt track IMCA car that didn't seem too impressive to me and the dune buggy... - well it was a dune buggy. I guess you could say I came in third. LOL







I'm not complaining. It was a nice show. Several of my friends won awards and I didn't hold it against any of those brown nosing bastards. - Just kidding.

The car show was part of the county fair here. I also had entered a few of the faux stained glass windows I made in the craft area. I did get a couple of purple ribbons there. (those ribbons sure seem tiny next to the car trophies though)

 

[1967 'cuda]

Time to hit the truck again. I skipped out on driving either of my cars through the parade after the car show. I still need to finish prepping the frame and engine bay. The weather forecast for tomorrow says it will be over 100' here. So I better enjoy this cool 90'+ we're experiencing today.

 

[1967 'cuda]

As quick as I could I sanded off whatever surface rust that was still there. The engine bay wasn't too bad to clean. I'm really glad I went through the brakes because I ended up having to push the truck on the trailer by myself. It rolls soooo much better now.
















After dropping the cab/chassis off to Larry's shop I decided to bring the truck box back home. I still need to test fit all of the wood before it is stained and varnished. Hopefully nothing will need to be modified. I left the box bolted to the stand for the 30 mile trip back home. It'll come in handy while I'm fitting the wood.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I finally had a chance today to look at that '65 Coronet 500. It needs a lot of cleaning up and the bodywork isn't exactly arrow straight, but it's still one cool old car. The best it ever ran back in the 80s was a 12.9. - But that's pretty respectable with a stock converter. Because it was a bracket car consistency was more important than speed. I'm still toying with the idea of getting this one.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I started test fitting the wood for the box. I had bought new bolts for the side oak about 5 years ago. Now if I can only find them. The wood had been stacked out at the farm for a few years and I see that there is some dis-colorization in some areas. I don't know if I'll have to bleach it before applying the stain?

 

[1967 'cuda]

I had purchased the proper bolt kit for the exterior wood years ago and had it stored at our farm. It's gone. I've been having ongoing theft problems with parts out there since I moved into town.

I checked online to see how much they want for replacement fasteners. I don't recall how much I'd paid in the past but now they're selling for a whopping $362.50 plus $18.00 for shipping. I realize that there are 50 fasteners but I can't justify spending that much to replace the ones I'd bought before.

Most people don't realize how odd these fasteners are. They appear to be carriage head bolts when you first see them but they're actually carriage head nuts combined with phillips head bolts. As far as I know they were never ever used in any other application.



I am still trying to research alternatives.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Although I've kept the truck pretty much original I sort of wish that I had gone with a candy red instead. This old 1/64 Johnny Lightning diecast was what originally got me thinking that way.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I know that there were a bazillion Dodge pickups made in the 70s. You would think that it'd be impossible to take 10 steps in any direction without bumping into one. They must have cockroach DNA in them. I know they're out there but when I look I can't find them.

I've been searching for a replacement drivers door for the Express. I found one on eBay but I don't want to sell the house to be able to afford it. Of the dozen or so trucks I've looked at already it's become apparent that too many owners have tried to prove that 'BUILT DODGE TOUGH' advertizing slogan by bashing into everything that stood in their way.

Today I'm tracing down another lead on one that's 30 miles away.

I was dumfounded that I couldn't find replacement shells or door skins. - Surely someone must be re-popping them. I didn't see anything from AMD or Sherman. My Google searches have come up empty. I know that my original door is repairable but I want to keep the truck bondo free.

 

[1967 'cuda]

Well, I struck out on those doors but the guy had a few more leads on some others. He told me that he would try to get more info later. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but time is not on my side. Larry's going to need something quick.

I did find lower door skin patch panels for sale but I'm not thrilled with the idea of a partial patch.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I've been cleaning parts today. I'm more or less stripping every part down to bare metal in preparation for new paint. The drive shaft was first. Next I'll disassemble each of the engine components (pulleys, brackets, etc...) and then get into the transmission cross member and bumper brackets.

There's another car show coming up this next weekend in Dwight, Nebraska. I feel like skipping it but I've already talked some of my Mopar buddies into taking their cars. Maybe Chrysler will be well represented this year.

I have sometimes had expectations of getting a trophy in the past but I am beginning to believe it's impossible.

When I'd taken the 'Cuda to Des Moines and stayed with my sons for a few days, one of their neighbors was having a garage sale. I walked over to take a look at whatever they had for sale. Amongst the tables full of nick-knacks I spotted a handful of old car show trophies. They were pretty cool looking ones with various 60s cars sculpted in gold on top of them. I asked them how much they wanted for them and was told that they changed their mind about selling them. That's when it should have dawned on me that I can't even buy a trophy! Oh well, :brickwall: