I'll preface my response with 2 comments:
1. IMHO it's a very interesting exercise to build out a 'what might have been' Barracuda 4-door and I enjoy the updates and appreciate the craftsmanship going into its construction.
2. Few would dispute the owner's many positive contributions to the hobby including bringing needed, new reproduction parts to market, raising the bar on others and going for new frontiers in OE judging.
However, that does not grant him a monopoly on all knowledge in the hobby, nor to belittle and bash others who raise innocuous questions or observations about the build and approach.
With respect to the upper door frame color code, to an outside observer there are:
- door frames/window frames that the 2 doors do not have
- they are painted a color (2 in this case - satin black on the outside and red on the inside)
- an established Chrysler convention that a paint code appears on the tag for the above
Rather than simply stating 'I intend to finish the inside of the door with a full panel, so I believe that keeping the 000 paint code is correct', he begins by dismissing the question and denigrating the other posters e.g. "...clueless cretin..." "...consider the source..." "...ignorant..." "...incorrectly assume..." etc. and then goes into semantics about door frame color vs. window frame color, a distinction that Chrysler did not make.
Chrysler did indeed put a non-000 upper door frame paint code on 4-door B-bodies. As the builder stated that the doors and hardware are derived from a 4-door B-body, then it should follow that his tag is coded appropriately. Note: those same 4-door B-bodies used a panel that covered the door shell as well.
As to the exterior blackout on the door frames, asking the question is legitimate as a) there is no evident code and b) Chrysler did not black out exterior window frames back in the day -- they were either body color or had an optional garnish molding.
Again, a better response would have been 'I decided that this was to be a standard feature of the BH41 package, and the specifications of my BH41 package are as follows...upper door frame Organosol, etc. etc.'
The logic on stating that it's akin to the tail blackout on a BS23 is fine, if those specs are common knowledge. Why bash people for asking about an observable fact?
It would also raise the question about the paint treatment if the car didn't have a vinyl roof, or if a different color of roof were specified. The builder may wish to treat his spec list like a Superbird - V1X only and that solves the problem.
Lastly, as for the 340 in a BH car, a number of '70s did escape the factory with 340s in them, though theoretically they were not available.
To summarize, my comments are not meant in any way to diminish the build or builder, but to suggest a less antagonistic approach to questions raised by fellow enthusiasts, many of whom are as excited to see the car done as he is (myself included).
Looking forward to the final assembly