Chassis Check Out
Our initial test drive was from the driveway to the trailer. Once back at our digs and running, we were out on the road for a quick shakedown run. We were told, "It pulls to the right when braking," but we weren't prepared for the violent chassis shift with the slightest binder action. Steering felt like the wheel was detached from the linkage for the first quarter turn, and the drivetrain vibration would intimidate the uninitiated.
A-Body Blues
A rusted-out body can make for a dangerous ride, but fortunately our Barracuda was structurally solid. We did detect some Bondo covering rust in the lower quarters, but that wasn't a structural issue. Our Unitbody was about as solid and dry as you'll find on a 35-year-old car. As is common on A-Bodies, our doorjambs were blown out where the door-latch striker mounted.
Other than the brutal chassis...
Other than the brutal chassis reaction, the Barracuda's 10-inch drum brakes seemed to work great. Still, a brake inspection should be at the top of the list with an old car. We checked the hoses, lines, and wheel cylinders for signs of deterioration or leakage, and the components looked good. The linings were fresh, but we found the drums bent and distorted at the wheel lug face. We also had a broken left-hand thread stud on one of the hubs. Stashed in boxes when we converted our Duster to discs was a spare set of hubs and drums, which were a direct replacement.
The underhood wiring suffered...
The underhood wiring suffered more than anything else. A check of the harnesses revealed some rough repairs. Bare wire strands wrapped around contacts in lieu of terminals, and there were grafted wire bypasses poorly routed throughout. These are problems waiting to happen. We opened our wiring kit and rerouted, terminated, or replaced the damaged areas.
A-Bodies are notorious for...
A-Bodies are notorious for broken latch strikers at the doorjambs. This car came with a dog leash fastened to the racing bucket seat, which hooked over the door lock button in place of the normal latch mechanism. While this retained the door, it wasn't up to Mopar Muscle's safety standards, and would never pass tech at the drag strip. A-Body strikers mount through a hole in the jamb sheetmetal and screw into a thick floating plate retained by a spot-welded cage. Eventually, the backing plate will work through the non-reinforced jamb, and the whole apparatus will collapse. Luckily, we found the original threaded backing plate behind the door panel.
Tape lines were laid out and...
Tape lines were laid out and the damaged area of the jamb cut out. We cut within the flat portion of the jamb, leaving a margin all around. The original retaining cage was salvaged.
The flat black steel wheels...
The flat black steel wheels complemented the flat black color of the Plymouth, but they were only 4 1/2 inches wide with skinny mismatched tires. We found a set of small pattern A-Body Rallye wheels complete with caps from a Duster Twister at the wrecking yard, and put them away thinking they would come in handy for something. The wheels were blasted and repainted, and a new set of BFGoodrich T/A tires-measuring 235/60-14 and 245/60R-14-were mounted. This setup ran briefly on our Duster until it was converted to the big bolt pattern. While a purist would frown at putting later model wheels on a '68 Barracuda, we figured they would look better on our Plymouth than on our tire rack.
We found a loose U-Joint as...
We found a loose U-Joint as the culprit of the drivetrain vibration. The driveshaft was pulled and a replacement joint from Pep Boys fixed the problem.
A sheetmetal patch was cut...
A sheetmetal patch was cut to fit neatly in the hole. A larger second piece was trimmed out to the margin of the flat area, and the two pieces plug-welded together. This reinforced the patch and formed a stepped flange behind the patch. The striker hole was located and drilled, then the captive plate lined up and the retaining cage welded in place. With the repair section installed from the back, the patch was flush with the original jamb, and the second backing piece provided a flange for temporary screws.
The flush-fitting outer layer...
The flush-fitting outer layer was butt-welded all around to the jamb, and the extra inner layer was plug-welded to the jamb once the screws were removed. After grinding, the final repair was flush and undetectable, and since it was double layered, it was much stronger than original.