what to look out for in buying a barracuda

[leithal]

As I mentioned in my intro I am looking to buy a project 70-74 barracuda.  What should I look out for or check when looking at these cars?  Also, some of these projects have been picked over or stripped...are there parts that are not reproduced and very difficult to find?

thanks

[FJ5_440]

One word:  Rust

Watch for rust in the tops of the fenders.  Check the inside of the cowl where the wiper arms are.  Check the subframe members.  Check under the battery tray.  Check where the hood hinges go.  Check the torsion bar mounting frame member.  Assume the trunk floor either needs replacement or has had a replacement.  Be wary of the areas around the windshild and rear window.  Stuff that looks pretty small with the window trim and glass in place can become a nightmare in a hurry once the glass comes out.  If you are not a bodyman rust issues can be exceedingly expensive.  There is ALOT more sheet metal available than ever before, but it is not perfect and is not cheap to buy or put on.  Get the car as complete as possible.  You would be amazed at what something you take for granted like a headlight switch or hood hinges can sell for when you are they guy who needs one.  Watch for good door and interior panels.  The originals got chalky and rough pretty easy and reproductions don't fit very well and are fairly expensive too.  Drivetrain stuff is pretty easy unless you are going for a Hemi.
Grill condition and trim condition is fairly important too.  You can now get reproductions that fit pretty well but again- they don't come cheaply.

This is probably the best place to ask about hard to find parts.  Some of these guys have had quite a few of these cars for a long time and have parts stashes beyond belief.  I have seen them literally give away hard to find parts in the name of helping somebody get one of these cars on the road again. 

[kingtroll]

Try to find a car that is complete as possible. Missing front grill can be an expensive item. Especially since 72 -74 really don't have a good repo available. Many parts are still not being reproduced yet even though there have been major improvements in that area recently. (fenders, rear tail panels, hood springs etc..)

[ViperMan]

Check the front frame rail pieces very thoroughly - even I missed a soft spot in my frame when I purchased.  Luckily it's not beyond repair.

Jeff

[leithal]

I'm taking notes!! I completely expect to do some panel replacement, have done it on other cars, and am actually wanting to  .  This whole thing for me is to experience buildiing a car from the ground up and doing all the work myself.  I currently own a couple of classics and have done a lot of work on them.  Though these cars were in excellent condition when I bought them.
I am watching a barracuda on ebay right now that looks like it was gutted so if I can get a car like that on the cheap, relative, that would give me plenty of money to play with.  I worry about finding parts though.  Corvettes, mustangs, camaro's can almost be completely rebuilt from a catolog.  I'm not sure about a barracuda.

[73Chally]

I wouldn't worry too much about the parts availability for the Cuda, as long as you are not on a tight time schedule.  A lot of the stuff is being reproduced, and what isn't, you can pretty much be assured will show up on Ebay at some point.  It's been done many times before.  This is what I really like about Mopars, you can't just walk down to the local Autozone and get everything you need.

[leithal]

If I go with a car that is missing most of its parts Im going to need some type of assembly manual.  Is there a good one out there for the 70-74 barracuda?

[FJ5_440]

I have not found anything like the factory assembly manuals available for Corvettes, but the service manuals are available in both printed and electronic form.  Any questions you have that can't be answered that way can easily be answered by the senior members of this group.  I personally will be happy to take pictures of my car if you get stumped as well as answer any questions I can.

It has never been easier to put together a basket case than it is right now.  I still caution you that it will not be cheap.

[cudadave72]

WWWWWHAT!!! E-bodies rust???

[leithal]

FJ5_440 , I appreciate the offer and I am sure I will be taking you up on it.  Once I find my car I will purchase one of those manuals.  I have been checking ebay and craigslist for potentials.  There were a couple of barracudas posted here but I haven't received a response from the sellers yet.

['Cuda Hunter]

I have purchased several cuda's that didn't have much at all.  Not even a basket to speak of.  It took a while for me to find all the parts I needed to get the cars on the road but they were all available.  Installing each piece really turned out to be pretty simple.  Those parts that stumped me were soon figured out thanks to the great people on this site.  
  I am about to purchase a 71 barracuda that has no interior, no drivetrain.  Just a title and fender tag and some rust.  Don't be afraid of rust if you have replaced panels before.  Anything is fixable.  I see guys parting out cars that they deemed unfixable that I would have been glad to take on for a project.  Almost nothing is too far gone if you have time and patience.  

  If you want to see rust.  Check through my posts and look at the challenger that I sold about a half year ago.  That thing is full of rust and now the guy who purchased it has started the restoration and has replaced a few panels and one of the rails with much more to come.  

[leithal]

Thanks 'Cuda Hunter for the encouragement.  I have this need to basically save one of these cars.  I know its going to cost some bucks and a lot of time but thats what hobbies are for.

['Cuda Hunter]

Not only was the first one I purchased full of rust, drivers floor, no trunk, one rail, both quarters, some on front fender dog legs, but the car was infested with 5 mice of which I couldn't trap.  So I had to kill them with my dart gun.  Kind of fun.  They were pretty hard to get.  Anyway, all the wires were chewed up and literally every crevice of that car had rat debris stuffed into it.  I spent so much time trying to get rid of the smell of rat piss it drove me nuts.  Long story short I got the car running and replaced some of the rust.  Mostly just made it a driver with a few minor problems like no trunk just so I could get my fix.  1973 Petty blue Cuda.  That's in my posts also. 
  Basically don't be afraid of anything.  The bigger the wreck, the bigger the challenge, And the more satisfaction when you finallly get to drive it!!!

[71chally416]

The guys pretty much covered everything common. Here's my E-body quick checklist.

1) Look closely at the trunk pan. Beware of new paint in there. Look underneath on either side of the gas tank.
2) The cowel where the top piece is welded to the firewall is a common rust area and very hard to fix or replace. Look for rust and pin holes. That can also leak onto the floor.
3) Around the hood hinges, but that's a pretty easy fix.
4) I would avoid former vinyl top cars or vinyl tops with bumps. They tend to rust on top of the windows where they put those staples in to hold the vinyl on and the trim will conceal it. Non-vinyl top cars are a better choice to start with. Surface rust on the roof indicates it used to have a vinyl top, as does bondo in the roof to quarter panel seams instead of lead.
5) Frame rails / strut and torsion bar mounting points.



 

[Street_Challenged73]

I think the main points have been covered, but be sure to thoroughly inspect around the rear spring perch mounting point on the frames as I have seen plenty of cars well-rusted in that area.  I have a quarter-sized section I want to have repaired on my passenger side frame where the two sections of the frame join each other way in the rear.  That again seems to be a common spot for water/dirt/debris to collect and rot out that area.  Good luck!