1966 Barracuda. Converting to RHD

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Sat Aug 03, 13 9:01 pm

so the plan

build it into a user friendly workhorse and track car. i'm on a tight budget so some of the mods will have to wait a few years. but for now though i need to protect it from the British weather and get it road registered.

so i'm stripping the car down to paint rust protection into everywhere i can. it'll need a suspension overhaul as it has been stood unused for over 20 years. it does run and drive and the engine sounds great so that'll just get a coat of paint for now.

it'll not be your usual restoration though. i have many ideas of what i'm going to do with the car which will chop and change as i progress but the overall idea is to keep the car forever. iv'e sold too many cars only to regret it so if i fall out with the Barracuda it'll go into storage until i rekindle my interest.

it will also have to tow a trailer so i can't go too mad on the tuning of the engine. the restoration of this car will be a sinch compared to what i'm doing with my S800 (i'm at present making a hybrid axle from a Cortina P100 and Capri with LSD and 10 inch brakes to fit the 13inch 5x130PCD S800 wheels) [if your interested in the S800 i can post a few pictures in this thread?]

anyway pictures

windows took some cleaning. nothing would touch the 20 years of baked on grime so with nothing to lose i let loose with the autosol

you may just be able to make out the clean patch. its the only thing i could think of that would grind down the dirt but it worked quite well. bit more to do but the windows will be coming out at somepoint anyway.

updates as and when

Mossy68 · Post by **Mossy68** » Sat Aug 03, 13 9:12 pm

Gonna be a great thread to follow.
Looking forward to it.
S800 pics ? Yes please

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Sat Aug 03, 13 9:41 pm

link to S800 forum

probably easier to look at the S800 forum as most of the pictures are all over the place so not easy to find quickly

this is what the S800 looked like before i got it

and this is what it'll look like when iv'e finished

plan is to make it not look like it has an engine 2.5 times the size of the original. the bonnet bulge will be slightly bigger and a bit of wing venting but hopefully look fairly tame.

Mossy68 · Post by **Mossy68** » Sat Aug 03, 13 10:36 pm

Crazy choice of car to modify ( the Honda )

Gonna be a bit of a sleeper eh ! Nice.
And you work on Jags. ( my dad loves em and on his 13 th I think. )
So why a Mopar as a keeper ???

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Sun Aug 04, 13 1:23 am

Mossy68 wrote:So why a Mopar as a keeper ???

not an easy one to explain other than because i want to

the S800 i bought years ago when they weren't worth a lot. the way i figured it, i could either restore it to look like all the other S800s out there (70odd registered in the UK) or build something a little wild and have loads of fun. so i chose the latter. again i plan to keep it for a very long time. iv'e now owned the S800 for 6 years so as you can tell i'm in no hurry with it

iv'e wanted to get something '60s with a V8 on and off for a quite a few years now. i did think about a Jensen CV8 but the prices shot up way out of my price range quite quickly. always had a soft spot for Barracudas after owning a '68 many years ago (about 22 years ago

) and after seeing a few posted on other forums recently i thought "thats it, time to get one" so i did, although i quickly decided to go for a slightly earlier one.

Mossy68 · Post by **Mossy68** » Sun Aug 04, 13 10:55 am

Thanks for reply.
Sounds like your going to end up with some fun toys.
Looking forward to following your progress

AllKiller · Post by **AllKiller** » Sun Aug 04, 13 11:05 am

Cool love these little Cudas....looking forward to progress

db · Post by db » Sun Aug 04, 13 11:26 am

Couple of nice unusual old cars there

Good luck with them and keep the pics coming!

Dave81 · Post by **Dave81** » Sun Aug 04, 13 7:53 pm

Think the colour of the 66 is spot on.....Gold on Gold would look fantastic!

bruvmopar · Post by **bruvmopar** » Mon Aug 05, 13 8:01 am

Dave81 wrote:Think the colour of the 66 is spot on.....Gold on Gold would look fantastic!

Agree Dave, Gold on Gold sounds cool to me

Good luck with those two cars Boz

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Tue Aug 06, 13 5:45 pm

i'm thinking something like this

but the interior will be black apart from where it is body colour now it'll be metallic gun metal.

R.RUNNER · Post by **R.RUNNER** » Tue Aug 06, 13 6:50 pm

or this?????????

mopar_mark · Post by **mopar_mark** » Tue Aug 06, 13 7:12 pm

R.RUNNER wrote:or this?????????

Your still suffering with Hirst Fever

Dave81 · Post by **Dave81** » Tue Aug 06, 13 8:11 pm

R.RUNNER wrote:or this?????????

Exactly what the setup i'd want if i had a 66!!

Boz, looks like a good colour..........Best part of the project for me, when you have a blank canvas to work with!

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Tue Aug 06, 13 10:51 pm

Bronz colour is quite nice and nothing is set in stone yet

the car is now on axle stands. they flex a bit dont they

may have to add a little bit of bracing just to make sure as well as weld in roll cage mounts for future use.

i assume this is the standard heavy duty set up? 5.5 leaf springs and 860 thou torsion bars. i can't find torsion bar sizes or spec for original fitment. after market ones starting at 810 thou. (i assume 6 cylinder?)