My 73 Barracuda build
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 21 4:10 pm
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I've been on here for a couple of years now since I bought my first Mopar and thought I should give some insight into how my project is going.
I've always been into American muscle cars, with my dad having an array of different cars over the year's (primarily Mustangs, but also Pontiacs, Buicks, camaros etc) I was always destined to follow in his foot steps.
I've always had an eye for B and E body Mopars.
When I had the opportunity to buy this Barracuda I jumped at it.
A 1973 Barracuda, in b5 blue, 318ci, 727, 8 3/4 rear end and disc brakes.
A perfect base for a project to build my ultimate muscle car.
When it arrived I was ecstatic, my first muscle car, after dreaming of owning one for years was finally in my possession.
That's where the excitement ended. It soon became obvious that the car was in far worse condition than first thought.
I knew from the photo's I'd seen of the car that it needed some body work and paint, I knew that the interior was missing and that the engine needed a tune up.
As I started to dig into it I found the result of year's of neglect, lack of maintenance and poor repairs.
The brakes were all siezed, the callipers didn't work at all, the pedal box was rusted solid, the brake proportional valve was solid, the lines were full of rust and the hoses had all perished.
The enginee ran but only on 6 cylinders. The transmission would select and engaged drive but not reverse.
None of the electrics inside the car worked and only the rear lights lit up.
The body work was then checked, oh my god, it was in horrendous condition. The passenger wing had 1 3/4 inch thick body filler on the top surface, the driver's wing had been destroyed at some point (literally looks like some one shot it with a shot gun) and filled with copious amounts of body filler. The roof had rotted away along the top of the windscreen (I think it had a vinyl roof originally) and been replaced with a piece of tin that had just been layed on and fillered over. The doors had very little of the frames or the lower skin left, the driver's side quarter panel had been involved in a accident at some time and been repaired with expanding foam and body filler. The floor plans and boot where practically missing.
I could go on and on about the state of the car but you get the idea.
I had some thinking to do and a decision to make, do I wash my hands with this car, put it down to experience and move on or do I roll up my sleeves and get involved? The chances of me finding a nice car in a condition I would be happy with and within my budget was going to be difficult.
I had this car sitting in my workshop, rotten, beaten, bruised but not necessarily out for the count. The frame was in fairly good condition, all of the parts I needed were available in one form or another. I could build this car to be my version of the ultimate muscle car.
The decision was made, let's persevere!
Now please remember I'm a mechanic of the new generation, I deal with ECUs, CAN networks and electrical sensors, I know very little about carburettors, points and I have never done any type of body work so this was a huge decision for me.
The car has now been stripped, a vast amount of body repair and panel work has been done, a 383hp engine has been sourced, a A833 sourced, various other "goodies" have also been found.
I'm making progress all the time, finger's crossed it will be ready to put on the road some time late next year (2022)
Anyway this is my on going project. I hope you don't disapprove of my method's or decisions, after all this isn't going to be concourse car, it isn't going to win any show and shine trophies. I'm building it to how I think it should be and most importantly to be driven and used.
and your not alone 
Good to see it coming together, keep posting the pictures 
