Hey everyone, Just wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been a member on FABO since 2009 as well ”Dusterdude72” and documented a full duster build that I was in Mopar muscle magazine with.
After that car I stepped away from restoring cars and swore I wouldn’t do another because of the amount of time, money, work to pull it off correctly. Then a family member passed and I ended up with a 55 ford f100 and decided to take on one more restoration and told myself I wouldn’t be doing another big restoration job unless on one condition…. It be my dream car 70’s barracuda.
Fast forward a bit, my uncle gets ahold of me on my Birthday back in December and says “want to buy a cuda?”.
The catch, it’s through a friend and I only seen 3 grainy pictures , had very few details and was told to bring $2000 cash “tonight only”. So I went against my own rules of how I’d typically purchase a vehicle and took a leap of faith and went and handed the cash over for the title.
What I ended up buying is a 1971 Barracuda. Originally nothing “special”, 318 auto, console, bucket, power steering disc brake car. (Currently trying to track down the fender tag so I don’t have the whole story just yet). But to me personally…. A cuda is a cuda , rather it be a 318 base model or a 440 cuda with every option checked, I still look at it as my favorite car of all time.
I had to make a few trips to gather all the parts from a trailer and got the dual snorkel hood, doors, glass,bumpers, bucket seats, back seat,dash (with matching vin), rally gauges, center console , all the odds and ends of trim and plastics and door panels. 727 transmission. Big block 400 engine, steering column, set of wheels, front balance, grill, park lights, tail lights, 8 3/4 axle,drive shaft leaf springs …etc..etc…
Also in the parts were many brand new parts, new torque box’s, new rear frame rails, new rear shock cross member, new trunk floor (2 piece), new trunk drop extensions, new tail panel and some other odds and ends of new metal.
When I got the car I found someone had already did a bunch of metal work on the front of the car, new rockers, new front floor pans. None of the work is up to my standards so I’ve got some time ahead of me to redo/clean up what they did but atleast I don’t have to buy the parts lol.
Came with new lifted leaf springs, u bolts, mount plates, u joints, bushings . The 8 3/4 axle has already been gone through .
It’s got a lot of work that needs done , it’s got a couple of rust spots in the a pillar/windshield area but the roof skin is solid, inner structure above windshield has a couple rust spots, rear floor pans has some crude patch work done and will need a new pan, obviously trunk floor, extensions,tail panel,frame rails are shot. Wheel houses need a little patching at the least , missing a deck lid and rear pan, it came with fenders but they aren’t original to the car and have some rot so I will likely be getting a set of 71 gilled fenders. Likely full quarters , car walk/trunk cutters have some rust.
I know I’ve got thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of hours of work ahead of me, realistically based on my past restorations looking at probably around 4 years to pull it off, atleast probably $20k+ in parts ahead of me (I do all my own labor so I save there atleast). I am not building it to sell, profit isn’t even something I’d be thinking about. This is strictly about building my dream car, getting some quality time with the kids in the garage and leaving something behind when I’m gone one day.
So what do you all think?. Did I do alright for $2,000?. These cars aren’t exactly getting easier to find or cheaper and more and more out there are already restored and going for money FAR over my budget.
I’m so happy to be back into an old Mopar and excited to get this project on the move!. Stay tuned for a build thread from me
After that car I stepped away from restoring cars and swore I wouldn’t do another because of the amount of time, money, work to pull it off correctly. Then a family member passed and I ended up with a 55 ford f100 and decided to take on one more restoration and told myself I wouldn’t be doing another big restoration job unless on one condition…. It be my dream car 70’s barracuda.
Fast forward a bit, my uncle gets ahold of me on my Birthday back in December and says “want to buy a cuda?”.
The catch, it’s through a friend and I only seen 3 grainy pictures , had very few details and was told to bring $2000 cash “tonight only”. So I went against my own rules of how I’d typically purchase a vehicle and took a leap of faith and went and handed the cash over for the title.
What I ended up buying is a 1971 Barracuda. Originally nothing “special”, 318 auto, console, bucket, power steering disc brake car. (Currently trying to track down the fender tag so I don’t have the whole story just yet). But to me personally…. A cuda is a cuda , rather it be a 318 base model or a 440 cuda with every option checked, I still look at it as my favorite car of all time.
I had to make a few trips to gather all the parts from a trailer and got the dual snorkel hood, doors, glass,bumpers, bucket seats, back seat,dash (with matching vin), rally gauges, center console , all the odds and ends of trim and plastics and door panels. 727 transmission. Big block 400 engine, steering column, set of wheels, front balance, grill, park lights, tail lights, 8 3/4 axle,drive shaft leaf springs …etc..etc…
Also in the parts were many brand new parts, new torque box’s, new rear frame rails, new rear shock cross member, new trunk floor (2 piece), new trunk drop extensions, new tail panel and some other odds and ends of new metal.
When I got the car I found someone had already did a bunch of metal work on the front of the car, new rockers, new front floor pans. None of the work is up to my standards so I’ve got some time ahead of me to redo/clean up what they did but atleast I don’t have to buy the parts lol.
Came with new lifted leaf springs, u bolts, mount plates, u joints, bushings . The 8 3/4 axle has already been gone through .
It’s got a lot of work that needs done , it’s got a couple of rust spots in the a pillar/windshield area but the roof skin is solid, inner structure above windshield has a couple rust spots, rear floor pans has some crude patch work done and will need a new pan, obviously trunk floor, extensions,tail panel,frame rails are shot. Wheel houses need a little patching at the least , missing a deck lid and rear pan, it came with fenders but they aren’t original to the car and have some rot so I will likely be getting a set of 71 gilled fenders. Likely full quarters , car walk/trunk cutters have some rust.
I know I’ve got thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of hours of work ahead of me, realistically based on my past restorations looking at probably around 4 years to pull it off, atleast probably $20k+ in parts ahead of me (I do all my own labor so I save there atleast). I am not building it to sell, profit isn’t even something I’d be thinking about. This is strictly about building my dream car, getting some quality time with the kids in the garage and leaving something behind when I’m gone one day.
So what do you all think?. Did I do alright for $2,000?. These cars aren’t exactly getting easier to find or cheaper and more and more out there are already restored and going for money FAR over my budget.
I’m so happy to be back into an old Mopar and excited to get this project on the move!. Stay tuned for a build thread from me
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