My 73 Barracuda build

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Dom66
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Location: East Sussex

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Dom66 »

Looking good :thumbright:
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MattH
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Location: Bedfordshire

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by MattH »

Great work, bumper move is a good but subtle modification.
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Panther Pink 73 Aussie Charger 265 Hemi 4 spd
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Steve
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Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Steve »

Just read this all the way through as missed it somehow. Absolutely stunning work and a real credit to your skills and patience. What a fantastic car....can't wait to see how she looks when all done. Keep up the great work and loving the quality pics too.

Cheers Steve :thumbright:
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Blue
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Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Blue »

Fantastic work!
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
Tommy2turbos
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Joined: Thu Aug 10, 17 1:21 pm
Location: Essex

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Tommy2turbos »

Apologies for being silent for some time but a couple of health issues unfortunately put progress with the car on hold.
Things are getting better though and we have managed to make some head way.
Since the last post, I've managed to get the rear wheels banded 2 inches to allow for some wider rubber. Im not completely happy with the colour of the wheels. I feel they need to be a few shades lighter but the colour of the wheels is the last thing to worry about at this stage lol.
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The rear leaf springs have been moved inboard using a kit supplied by USCT in the states. NOT the easiest kit to install with a lack of instructions and no details on what to cut or remove but the extra room has allowed the rear wheels to fit with no clearance issues at all :thumbright: Cutting sections of the rear chassis rails out with no guidance was daunting to say the least and after measuring, eyeing up, measuring, trial fitting, measuring and measuring again, the sections were removed and the replacement sections welded into place. The kit come with new perches which had to be welded to the axle. This caused two issues. 1st, it meant i had to remove the freshly added powder coating on the axle so that will need to be redone in the future :banghead: 2nd was ensuring the axle was centred. To be honest, im still not convinced it is 100% where it needs to be but this will be checked and rectified in the next couple of weeks.
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The rear leaf spring hanger mounts were an easier install and allow the original locations to stay in place. The only real issue i ran into was that the the original hangers sat behind the rear lower valance in the relief for the bumper mounts. Moving the hangers inboard meant some shorter shackles had to be fabricated to allow for clearance. Luckily, i know a good engineer who has helped with fabricating some speacialty parts.
The bodywork has also had its fair share of hurdles thanks mostly to poor fitting parts but with some much needed help from dad we seem to be making good headway. The inside is now fully coated in a Zinc based primer and he outside of the car is in its first coat of high build primer.
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Hopefully it will have some colour before the end of year :D
Any way, here are some photos of the progress.
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Blue
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Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Blue »

E bodies aren’t the easiest Mopar to move the springs inboard. The only problem with fitting shorter shackles is the spring hitting the chassis leg on compression or full drop, space is tight it might not be an issue in your case.
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
mygasser
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Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by mygasser »

if the contact is 'only just' you could drill the new front spring hangers further forward, drill the axle mounts spring locator holes forward and either try the shackle mount as is or again move the rear spring/chassis mount forward. basically you'd move the leaf springs/shackles forward in the car while leaving the axle where it is.
just a thought if you experience the spring/chassis contact blue mentioned with the shorter shackles. not too hard to do, more your time than anything.
in case you wondered i do tend to think a bit outside the box to solve issues, lol.
neil.
Tommy2turbos
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Joined: Thu Aug 10, 17 1:21 pm
Location: Essex

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by Tommy2turbos »

Thanks for the advice guys :thumbright: its definitely worth considering but I'll see how much clearance there is once I get some weight in the car. There are 4 mounting locations where the front of the spring mounts. Hopefully with those along with the shorter hangers, there will be enough clearance. [-o<
DaveD
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 09 9:43 pm
Location: Bridgend, Wales

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by DaveD »

Hi - just sent you a pm
Dave
DaveD
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 09 9:43 pm
Location: Bridgend, Wales

Re: My 73 Barracuda build

Post by DaveD »

Sent you photos for your thoughts.
Dave
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