Hi everyone!
I joined this forum a little while ago and finally got around to showing you some pictures. My car is a 65 Barracuda with the 225ci engine.
I bought my car in July of 1983 with 21,265 miles showing on the odometer. The previous owner claimed that these were the original miles. As a Canadian car, there was some rust to be found in the quarters but the floors were solid. My parents gave my car a fresh coat of paint when I finished school in 1987. It was featured in the Sept 87 (#29) issue of the Slant Six Club of America. In 1992, my fiance and I did about 8,000 miles in one month touring Route 66. We were even able to attend a Slant Six Club of America meet in California and won the long distance award. I have already about 81,000 miles on it now.
Starting in 1985, I treated the car to some new parts according to the Direct Connection Racing Manual:
* Clifford Research headers
* DC Purple Shaft high lift, short duration cam
* 318 intake & exhaust valves, 340 valve springs
* electronic ignition & charging system from a 72 Dart
* Accel Supercoil
* Offenhauser 4bbl intake
* Carter 625 AFB (from a drag car, no choke)
* 2¼" stainless steel exhaust
* new headliner & carpets
* Addco front & rrearsway bars
* V8 radiator
* electric fuel pump
I was concerned with fuel distribution so I mounted the carb such that the barrels were parallel to the engine. For the most part this worked OK but I found that the engine has a flat spot when making sharp left turns. The chokeless carb is only tolerable during the summer and trying to start it in cool weather really takes a lot of finesse. The best time I got at the dragstrip was 17.0 with the carb set up for a chevy. Highway fuel economy went up slightly compared with the stock 1bbl. I'm going to spend some time again this year experimenting with getting the best fuel mixture.
The headers finally rusted out about 5 years ago and I ended up parking it until I could decide whether to replace them with new headers or Dutra Duals. I bought Dutra Duals but after reading about the success others have had with fuel injection and turbocharging, I have decided to replace the AFB. As I have an old QuadraJet hanging around, I'm going to give it a try first so I can at least have a carb with a choke. I like the Accel DFI system that Rance EFI has for sale but it's way too much money for me right now. I will start off with a MegaSquirt system and TBI and them work my way up to MPFI. I'll keep the forum up to date with my progress.
My winter beater is a 73 Dart, also with the 225. It looks a bit rough but the underneath is solid because of the undercoating done long ago. It's starting to use oil at about a quart per tankful. I think the front and maybe the rear seals are shot. I think a forward clutch seal is getting hard so the transmission slips a bit when I first start in the morning. When this car finally dies (?), the Barracuda will be treated to a set of disc brakes.
I also have a 72 340 Duster shell that I bought in 92 as a home for the 440 from my 78 New Yorker. It was previously a North Carolina drag car. I bought it before I got married and told everyone that we now have a bouncing baby duster. I joked with my fiance that it will be a father and son project but didn't realize how true that would be. I'm working on building a proper workshop so I can finally finish the Duster.
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Frank