Barracuda is finished and I've got the old-car blues.

[OzCuda]

My Barracuda is basically finished with just the hockey sticks to go and registered by next weekend.  So now I have a car that cost half as much as a house, evrery time you touch it you get a scratch, nothing works perfectly because it is 38 years old (this month) and everything has been apart and put together again, it has a white interior that you can't touch, it drives, steers and brakes like a 38 year old car, and I have to be extra careful that it doesn't get stolen!  After three years of restoration, is this sort of anti-climax common?  Very few things went perfectly over the build and more often than not the final result was a compromise.  Admittedly, I've yet to take the car for more than a slow run around the block (did I mention that the 8 quart sump was a bad idea as I'm gonna hit that for sure), but for today, I think I'd swap it for a some new generation muscle if it came up. 

Someone tell me its going to get better.

[Ghost]

It will get better.

[nivvy]

When I got my challenger done all the stuff was new and it was always something going wrong.....  But its all fun figuring it out....

[moparmussel]

  been there,done that,got the tee shirt!  time to DRIVE it and enjoy it! after the first chip or scratch it will all be ok.too much work to be a trailer queen,if still not ready,sell it for half of your investment and buy a driver you can enjoy.

[moparclown]

It will get better,I had to pull the trans out of the 69 6 or 7 times before I got it right(I am a little hard on it)They will never handle like a new car so don't expect that.And I don't even have a radio in my 69,but it has tunes,they go thump-ity thump.

[moparmaniac59]

Car looks great OZ,
Do you have more pics on another thread here? I'd love to gander at them!!


                                                           Matt B.

[hemiken]

Hey OzCuda,

I think after you do the Albury/Wodonga show it will all come together and you will be able to enjoy it then.  Chin up buddy, it will drive nice when it sorted out and settles in.

[OzCuda]

Thanks guys - I'm guessing driving it like its meant to will be the key.  Matt B - I have a thread in the restorations section with more pics.

[hemiken]

Here is a link to OzCudas restoration.

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=33697.msg438427#msg438427

[moparclown]

That looks awsome.The winner for me was when I dropped my son off at a town carnival and all the young kids saw it and pointed and you could see the look in their I eyes.And then my son told them thats my dad and his Cuda and he built it himself(That was the greatest feeling in the world)

[R/T hedkace]

That looks awsome.The winner for me was when I dropped my son off at a town carnival and all the young kids saw it and pointed and you could see the look in their I eyes.And then my son told them thats my dad and his Cuda and he built it himself(That was the greatest feeling in the world)

And I am 100% certain he went into great detail about your car to his friends, enlightening them on what a Mopar is 
 This I know from experience 

My Barracuda is basically finished with just the hockey sticks to go and registered by next weekend.  So now I have a car that cost half as much as a house, evrery time you touch it you get a scratch, nothing works perfectly because it is 38 years old (this month) and everything has been apart and put together again, it has a white interior that you can't touch, it drives, steers and brakes like a 38 year old car, and I have to be extra careful that it doesn't get stolen!  After three years of restoration, is this sort of anti-climax common?  Very few things went perfectly over the build and more often than not the final result was a compromise.  Admittedly, I've yet to take the car for more than a slow run around the block (did I mention that the 8 quart sump was a bad idea as I'm gonna hit that for sure), but for today, I think I'd swap it for a some new generation muscle if it came up. 

Someone tell me its going to get better.

 Hey Oz,
Though I've not gotten to your point yet, I bleed internally waiting for the day I can kick up the first rock,
that chips my paint, and will ruin my day 
 Did you restore it to sit back, and admire it's beauty, or did you restore it to drive it like she was meant to be driven?
Nothing remains perfect for long, unless you want to head to the museum, and rope her off.
 Have some fun man. Take her to somewhere with a nice backdrop, and take some pics for a start.

 By the way she looks absolutely awesome 
 I'd be petrified to drive it  ...........................J/K 

[DAYTONA]

...beautiful Cuda.....beautiful picture

...I have been the same way....drive them very little so they don't break down or get damaged (I have a Viper with only 56 miles on it in 18 months)

...last year I had a major health surprise (not a good one) and I have decided to drive these cars as I want....they will be around lots longer than I will anyway

[wally426ci]

Get collector car insurance!

It will get better, the first day my car was complete, I had to pull the same trans twice and after pulling the old one, and finally rebuild the old one in the driveway after some Know-it-all i paid screwed the replacement up. 

Then, while assembling my stroker motor, i put a bolt that was just too long in the water pump. Well, that snapped the top sprocket in half and i cranked it about 10 different times thinking it was something else  . well, guess what, the cam never moved the distributor gear.  THAT was awesome! $3500 in a new motor. Well (knock on woodgrain) after a new sprocket and alot of work with a magnet, and the addition of a magnetic plug. Nothing ended up Inside the motor. 

  you'll be fine. look at it this way, you can always do the work again...

[whitesatinmopar]

Beatiful job Oz    Remember they are made/built to drive and enjoy. Otherwise they become nothing more than a big "match box" toy, just sitting there to look at. Yep, there will be little dinges and scratches and mechanical glitches, just like when they were first bought. But they run like hell and keep ya young at heart. Enjoy the ride Mopar bud. Or, we can arrange shipping to the Mopar Barn here in the states. 

[HemiOrange70]

Take it to a car show and let the praise begin, then drive it like you stole it
 
I had an old truck all fixed up and had the same feeling you do now, had to pay extra insurance, find somewhere to store it over the winter, always a new paint chip and it drove like a tank-boy I miss that truck