Ooh Barracuda - The End of 'Christine' R.I.P

  • Thread starter Barracuda
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CDailey
I would think brake fade would be pretty prominent in 30 year old drum brakes. :P
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42 year old drum brakes to be exact :P

When I check them this weekend I'll probably replace all the shoes because they're definately showing the signs of needing replacement. I really should have done this earlier but I guess it slipped my mind, especially since I have no idea the last time the car was even worked on except for when maaco painted my car and therefore started my rust problem.

I am sorta excited about looking at the brakes though. I'll get to see whether or not my car really has reverse threads on the left side.
 
Diablo'
As for the story I really should have pulsed my brakes but I didn't think I'd have to. Speaking of brakes next weekend I should also try to check and fix my brakes. It pulls to the right whenever I brake and after a short while they become a lot less responsive.
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Learning the threshold of your tires > Pulsing your pedal to simulate ABS.

Learn how much grip your tires have and use it so you can brake quickly without locking your wheels.
 
Today my dad had a little time so we jacked up the car to check the brakes. Turns out the drums are different then what my dad and I were expecting, but when we took off the center cap everything looked brand new so it is safe to assume they were recently done. I also found out I do have reverse threads on the left side of my car :D




The thing that was different was that it's all one piece, and had a spring that went all the way around.


I'm confused as to what they restored though considering the company name, and the fact that the history of the car is accurate, they most likely just restored the hubcaps.


Last of all a favorite shot from taking pictures yesterday. I figured I'd spare you the good 10-20 shots I took until I find a new place for pictures.

[Click for 1600 x 1200]
 
well, i think I can figure out the caps.
hubcaps and wheelcovers made of metal often are the first things to get destroyed on a car. plastic covers get it just as bad (which, I think, is why they went to Alloy Wheels in the first place). intact original caps are VERY hard to find anywhere, and sell for premiums at swapmeets. the rest are all decorating somebody's woodshed, covered in dust and various waste products in barns, or were used as planters by scroogy wives with a green thumb :P
 
Drums in the front? Damn. Are you going to keep them, or are you going for discs eventually?
 
Definitely going to eventually get disks, but for now the drums will have to do. Whenever I get a bit of money my next task will be replacing all the shock absorbers ($16 for oem, why not), and the bearings which are worn out.

Seeing as my car is driven to places like wal-mart, which hosts a number of 'unfavorable' people, do you think I should take off my hubcaps? From the way you explained it it seems I'm lucky I still have them. I'm going to take them off today and look into getting some baby moons in the near future.
 
Nice Barracuda. I believe that you can use the spindles and hardware off a 73 and up A-body and be able to run disc brakes. I would not do anymore burnouts in that car. It probably has a 7-1/4" rear-end which is notoriously weak. You should also add lead substitute to the gas so the valves do not sink into the heads. A nice 4-bbl intake would be an Edelbrock LD4B or LD340 an LD4B would be better because it has port sizes that will match those of your heads. Your engine is a LA series engine 273-318-340-360 which are all based on the same block. Your trans is probably a 904 torqueflite.
 
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What would you suggest I do for my rear end if I were to want to eventually get a commando 273 and maybe go a bit further then stock power wise.

I never actually thought of lead substitute but I'll have to look into that, thanks.
 
even I shoulda thought of lead substitute. but where the bleep do you get it? ANY engine made before 1978 technically needs lead, but i just had a collector scource tell me that unless it's a flathead engine, they don't technically need it.

I'd check with Mopar guys on that one.

I was also informed that it would be "too much effort" to slap disks on it. 'course, this is coming from a nealy 70 year old collector, and after about 65, you tend to get set in your ways...

Bordin34: he may or may not be doing a resto-mod on this. it also depends on the generation of the owner as to exactly what they do with an oldie. cars are actually worth more in original Equipment form, nowadays.
 
I wouldn't bother with lead substitute. I've got almost 70,000 miles of unleaded gas on my 326 rebuild on the LeMans, and have noticed no problems with it.

I suppose it can't hurt, though.
 
Hey, I would take the hubcaps off and save them for when you bring her to shows and stuff.
 
For the rearend, an 8-1/4" rear or 8-3/4" would be good, you can usually get 8-1/4" ones for relatively cheap and it will stand up to more than 350hp especially in a light a-body.
Power-wise it is probably not worth it to put too much money into a 273. A 360 would be easiest to swap and get more power, it will look identical to your 273 but make much more power, but you will need a different flex-plate and torque converter.
Lead substitute can't hurt some people say it helps others have been running without it and have had no problems. I don't use it because my heads came from the factory with hardened seats.
With brakes, for safety, you should definitely upgrade to a dual reservoir master cylinder in case of brake failure.
 
I took the hubcaps off right after I made that post, they look nice on my wall with my 4 13" Plymouth hubcaps :sly:. I'll definately put them back on for shows though, the rims look naked without them.

I went on the early Valiant and Barracuda forum I know of and they were able to help me out a good bit. They said the available rear ends for my car were the 7 1/4, 8 1/4, or 8 3/4. I most likely have the 7 1/4 as bordin said so they said my best bet was to switch to the 8 3/4 (which is both expensive and hard to find), or find a Ford 8" rear end from a 64-66 Mustang or Falcon. I'd preferably like to stay Mopar so if it comes down to it I'll dish out the money for the 8 3/4.

They also said "I would not be too concerned with using the lead substitute unless you know for sure that the engine has never had hardened valve seats put in it. I would imagine that by now that engine has had a rebuild and most of the time they upgrade the valve seats when rebuilding the heads." It was rebuilt by the second owner so I think I'm fine, but if I ever raise the compression I think I'll want to put it in just in case. I think you can get lead substitute at any auto place, if not they sell it online.

He also suggested that "Any of the Edelbrock manifold & square bore carbs are fine for a small block Mopar. If and when you get to that point I would go with the complete package that Edelbrock offers in there performance package. It has a cam, manifold, & carb package that matches the 273 commando set up." Sounds like a sweet deal to me, but that probably wont be happening for a while.

One of my biggest problems is prioritizing what needs to be done on the car. The right rear corner panel is the biggest issue I have because it needs new metal and the chrome strip needs to be moved. There's a restoration shop outside of town that I know could do a good job, but if I'm going to get it fixed I'm going to want to get the whole thing done at one time. Surface rust can be found in various place, especially the rear end (thanks maaco :grumpy:), so it really needs a good sanding, bondo (new metal preferred), and a good primer and paint job. I'm going to try and get a quote from them sometime, but it's still going to require a good bit of money which is another problem. I could save up for that but I also need to replace all the gaskets and rubber seals, rear window mechanisms, and definitely the windshield. (It's getting worse, my hope is that something cracks it. Bad thought I know but I can't even dish out $5 let alone $350)
 
Good news and bad news.

Bad news is that my battery is dead and my left front tire is flat (valve stem problem most likely). That coupled with the fact that my dad has a job now means I don't get to drive her at all until I can get a job and buy her a new battery :guilty:

Good news is that I finally made an audio system for it. Before you have a heart attack, don't worry, I didn't touch any of the interior. What I did do though is draw up some plans and hang out with a friend of mine last weekend. Between working on a secret project (which will have it's own thread sooner or later) my friend decided to help me build a box that I could fit in my car. It started out as a gaming chair that I snagged from the place I used to work. It was a horrible chair, the fabric pulled your clothes making it very uncomfortable, and I have no room for it in my family's apartment so I took it apart and ripped all the components out of it. Two finger numbing nights of work and it was complete, speakers, circuit boards and all.



It has a regular plug that comes out the back which will plug into an inverter that will be plugged into the cigarette lighter. As for sound it's actually quite loud, definately good enough for driving around. It's quite ugly, I know, but it would be nice to be able to listen to some Zep while cruising down 441.

So, whatya think?
 
Looks like an eyesore, Buuut, If it works, good for you. I'd suggest a possible revision of the housing for it to make it look a bit more natural.
 
Despite it being bulky and not looking original at all, I have to give you kudos for thinking of doing that. A little ingenuity goes a long way. And I have one of those chairs and yes, they do actually get very loud. Did that one have the sub as well?
 
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That's what it used to be, and no it didn't have a sub unfortunately. The good thing about the box being so big is that there's plenty of room to add stuff if I want to. I already have plans to mount the inverter on the back of it and make a cup holder that will be mounted to the front.

As for the looks I'll try to make it look halfway decent when I get some extra cash for paint. I'll probably paint the box white, paint the control plate gold, and add some gold trim along with a Barracuda symbol or something.

While I'm here I just remembered something. I was looking through a Layson's magazine the other day and the prices I saw were absolutely outrageous. If I were to ever want to replace the front or back Plymouth lettering it would set me back $72 for each set :eek:. I was not expecting that at all, especially when my rear M is falling off and I figured I could pick up some lettering for cheap. Definitely going to make sure my letters will stay on, especially considering most of them are missing their backs.
 
the improv speakers at least match the interior scheme.

all Physical logos made out of hard material, like lettering, cost a fortune because they have to find someone that has an original in mint shape to take a mold OFF of to make replacements. even plastic logo pieces cost a fortune to replace. remember, this is a if "it's broke, throw it away" country. I'm surprised there's as many old car survivors out there as there is NOW
 
The last week or two has been crazy having to move to a third floor apartment, and find a place for my car, but things have settled down a bit and I finally found time to even be around my car.

We were keeping it at a friends house the whole week until I could find a car cover, and luckily I was able to pick up a generic one for $30 at a random store. At first I was going to leave it there with the cover on it but I decided to give it a try and bring it to the apartment. The biggest thing I'm worried about is my letters being stolen, especially with all the questionable people there. With the cover it should be fine, but the cover itself, is not so fine.

mycudasmall80ye2.jpg


It's quite horrible actually. My turn signals on the hood have already decided to rip through it and it just barely fits. I figure at least it's better then nothing, and what do you expect for $30.

Since this was the first time I've been around my car in a week, and I found an inverter, I decided I wanted to get the audio working. At first I tried the cigarette lighter but it wasn't giving any power at all, or at least not enough to be useful to anything. Since the radio turns on I took the power cable for the radio and connected it to the inverter, which I then found out would only give it enough power to keep the thing on for two seconds. It does has enough power to power it, but when you turn the inverter on it goes down. My friend thinks it's because the fuse box itself has some corrosion. Even though If I really wanted to I could hook it up the battery, it's just too much of a hassle then it's worth. In the end my friend and I wasted two finger numbing nights building what turned out to be a very large and inconvenient portable speaker :indiff:

Some little good news is that my dad bought me a new battery. I also applied for a stocking job at publix (grocery store), which I will hopefully be hearing back from them soon because they apparently are in need for people who actually want to do stock and not just talk and talk and talk, perfect :)
 
My cousin is coming down from NH on Thursday and I can drive with him so I decided to get everything in as tip top shape as possible. Since I couldn't drive with those terrible 13 inchers my friend and I plugged my tire last night and this morning it was still good so I put them back on.

Next on the list was oil. I needed to change it anyway so I figured what the hell, I may as well splurge on some good stuff. I knew royal purple was expensive, but $10 a quart, ouch. I actually couldn't pay for it all, but luckily my dad was with me so he paid the balance. The guy at the counter also recommended I get a good filter so why not :D

mycudasmall86xt8.jpg


I sure hope my engine likes it.
 
Bit of a small update, I'm going to be getting a new windshield pretty soon. My parents got their income tax check back and my mom decided that she wanted to buy me a new windshield. The windshield should be in by Friday and the guy might be able to install it over the weekend. (I know the guy and hes replaced tons of windshields on classic cars so I trust he'll do a great job)

As for anything else, my cars still unfortunately just sitting down in the parking lot. I had my dad call his insurance company today to see how much it will be but they haven't got back to him yet. I reckon if it's not too much I could just find odd jobs or sell some of my stuff to make the payments. So far I've applied for three jobs but no luck, I'm going to try chilis next so hopefully that will work out.

When I worked at my office job they put all my taxes in a retirement account, but it turns out that since I no longer work for them I'll be able to collect that money. I'm going to be getting $190 back so I plan on trying to find a manifold, even if I can't afford a carburetor at the moment.
 
In Florida, you're going to need Classic insurance on that car, which requires its own policy. You can't just add it to your parents policies if they have cars newer than 25 years. I don't know the full ins-and-outs yet, but with Classic insurance, you insure to whatever you say the vehicle is worth.
 
mustangGT90210
In Florida, you're going to need Classic insurance on that car, which requires its own policy. You can't just add it to your parents policies if they have cars newer than 25 years. I don't know the full ins-and-outs yet, but with Classic insurance, you insure to whatever you say the vehicle is worth.
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We've already had insurance on the car since August, and it's added onto my parents insurance with our Windstar and 1500. The insurance on it is very cheap so my parents pay for it to be able to have a third car (The Windstar and 1500 are sometimes unreliable), and because I can't at the moment.

The main problem is not the car's insurance but how much the insurance is going to spike when I get my license and they add me as a driver. It's technically my dad's car since it's registered under his name (even though I paid every penny for it). I can get my license any time, but since my parents can't afford to pay for the extra insurance costs and I can't find a job, I'd rather be able to drive my car with my permit then not be able to drive it at all.
 
mustangGT90210
but with Classic insurance, you insure to whatever you say the vehicle is worth.
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Hmmmmm , my mother has worked in insurance for quite some time , all her life actually , and in order to get your car isured for a " stated value " , you must present the insurance company with an appraised value from an appropiate dealership or a well known collector ( MUSEUM TYPE ).

There are however some companies that will let you state a value on a given car you own , but you must be able to provide some type of written value on it , ( restoration costs , etc. etc. etc. ) , and even then , they may not insure it for what you want , but what they think it is worth.

I just can't walk up to my agent and say " hey , my Chrysler 300 is worth 40 grand , I need you to insure it , ha ha ha , guess what he'll tell me ? The same applies for a classic car.
 
Diablo'
We've already had insurance on the car since August, and it's added onto my parents insurance with our Windstar and 1500. The insurance on it is very cheap so my parents pay for it to be able to have a third car (The Windstar and 1500 are sometimes unreliable), and because I can't at the moment.

The main problem is not the car's insurance but how much the insurance is going to spike when I get my license and they add me as a driver. It's technically my dad's car since it's registered under his name (even though I paid every penny for it). I can get my license any time, but since my parents can't afford to pay for the extra insurance costs and I can't find a job, I'd rather be able to drive my car with my permit then not be able to drive it at all.
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That's what I was trying to get across. For me, my parents switched our policy over to Travellers and saved 1,000 bucks per year. I don't have a car yet though. AAA wanted $2300 a year JUST to add me as an occassional to my parents cars.

From looking into the classic insurance, what my dad told me after calling on a '79 Mustang was that a classic is only going to be able to secondary drivers, no primaries because the insurance people figure it's not a DD. It's annoying to say the least.

Just remember with what I'm saying right now, don't take it as all perfectly correct, there's a chance I've misunderstood something
Nicksfix
Hmmmmm , my mother has worked in insurance for quite some time , all her life actually , and in order to get your car isured for a " stated value " , you must present the insurance company with an appraised value from an appropiate dealership or a well known collector ( MUSEUM TYPE ).

There are however some companies that will let you state a value on a given car you own , but you must be able to provide some type of written value on it , ( restoration costs , etc. etc. etc. ) , and even then , they may not insure it for what you want , but what they think it is worth.

I just can't walk up to my agent and say " hey , my Chrysler 300 is worth 40 grand , I need you to insure it , ha ha ha , guess what he'll tell me ? The same applies for a classic car.
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Ahhh. That makes sense. I don't think they would care if you're insuring it for below it's value though...
 

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