2017 was a LONG time ago!

 

Holy Crap, it's been a long time since I posted anything here! 

Lets start at 2019 and the 50th Anniversary of the Barracuda. About Jan of that year I pinged Ed Buczeski from Carlisle Events and asked if they were doing anything special to commemorate the occasion. Well, we worked with Ed and were able to put three of our club members cars in Building T, along with other Barracudas, one car representing each year of production, with a Mr. Norms Barracuda built from a modern Challenger to show what might have been. That was a good year.

In 2020, the Club celebrated its 20th anniversary and to celebrate we had new logos designed.

It's July 26th, 2023 as I write this, so we're back from the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals. Each year since 2013 I've had the privilege of giving a Celebrity Choice Award by Carlisle Events to any car I felt was deserving. For the past 10 years, this has been the highlight of my visit. This years recipient was a beautiful 1961 Valiant V200 4 door. 

My last post in 2017 was the kickoff of me beginning the complete rebuild of my 1966 Barracuda. It's still not finished! LOL! But, it is painted and being assembled! Woo Hoo! That's me finishing the engine bay the day before leaving for Carlisle.

You'll fine much more from Carlisle, my car and other fun things on the YouTube Channel @EarlyValiantBarracudaClub, so go check them out and I'll try not to be a stranger here.

Project Rallye 'Cuda Kicks off

I bought my Barracuda in 1996 and slowly repaired everything needed to get the car road worthy. I was able to get the car registered in 2007 and drove the car to Carlisle the first time in 2008 and have been driving ever since performing a few upgrades and modifications along the way.

Much of the rust repair has been done, but it was done outside and covered with cheap primer, the original paint was primed over in spots with cheap primer too. The cowl rust was never addressed and there are a few spots in the corners of both the windshield and the rear window that need attention.

Its time to take the car off the road and finally strip the car down to bare metal, one section at a time, and properly treat the metal with epoxy primer. Then finish any welding and rust repair an move on the filler work and block sanding in preparation to get the car painted.

I've been putting off all of this. I didn't want to take the car off the road, I was having too much fun driving it. But it needs too much repair work before I can drive it safely. The tires are now over 10 years old and unsafe, the engine rear main seal leaks badly, the driveshaft needs balancing and a few dozen smaller issues that need working out.

Its time. Time to begin restoration 2.0 and finish my car. All the above issues will be worked out over the same time frame the bodywork is being done. Besides, the engine has to come out anyway to paint the engine compartment anyway.

Follow the progress on the Project Rallye 'Cuda page here http://evbcblog.blogspot.com/p/project-rally-cuda.html

Cars, a "lifestyle choice"

Car people. Gear heads. Grease monkeys. Automotive aficionados.

The collector car hobby, in its many forms, and the people who are part of it have been called by many names and titles over the years. It’s been described as both a passion and a sickness all in the same breath, but how does one explain it to a “non-car person”?

It came to me listening to the radio when a commercial came on for the Barrett-Jackson auction. They described it as a “lifestyle event”.  It got me thinking about all the people in the hobby I’ve meet at car shows, cruise nights, the internet and the various events I’ve attended over the years, and the work and effort they put into their cars. Whether they have just one project or many, whether they purchased their cars fully restored or they own the shop doing the restorations, this is a lifestyle. They choose to do this.

To me it was something I did in my spare time, tinkering around with cars over the years, but cars have always been part of my life. No matter where I was on the planet, no matter what my job was, no matter what car I drove, I was always doing something to make that car look better or perform better. 

It’s a large part of who I am and I’m guessing it’s a large part of many of you reading this. I could not stop being interested in cars any more than I could stop breathing. I have many different interests, as many of you do, but owning a muscle car, rebuilding it, modifying it, looking at other possible projects and planning a fictitious build in my head is what I choose to do.

It’s my lifestyle.

If you restore, if you resto-mod, if you drag race, if you circle track race, if you do antique, if you do muscle car, if you do exotics, if you do steam engine, if you do low rider, if you do tuner, if you do rat rod, if you do…anything with a car, if you do it because you can’t not do it, then it’s a lifestyle choice.

I’ll see many of you at the upcoming “Lifestyle event”, The Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA. where I'll revel in all that is my automotive world as part of my ongoing lifestyle.

Its Been Awhile...

Its been a while since I wrote anything for the blog or even looked at the Club Website to see if it needs an update. I have been focusing on our Facebook presence more lately but that seems to be more of a "right now" sort of interaction. Lets re-post the post someone else posted along with the occasional fresh content. Its good for a few things but not for lengthy posts, tech articles or reference guides.

That's where the website comes in. We have a lot of good reference material available as well as ways to stay connected to our members world wide that it can be a very daunting task to keep it all focused and organized.

In the coming months I will be completely overhauling the Club website to better represent all of the things we've done, all of the projects we've accomplished and all of the reference materials we've accumulated.

I hope to have a better online reference for all things Early Valiant and Barracuda for many years to come. Stay Tuned!

EVBC Berkshire Power Cruise 2013

Carlisle Celebrity Award

Its almost two weeks until the All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA and I Can't Wait! I took the last two years off from going to the show and I am looking forward to meeting up with some old friends and meeting a few new ones.

The club tent is all set and my car is registered, all done well in advance of the event, so when I got an email from Carlisle Productions last week from a person I don't usually have contact with I had to wonder what was going on.

I have been invited to attend the Celebrity Luncheon on Saturday during the event. What does this mean? Other than getting a free lunch I was chosen to judge a "Celebrity Pick" for the event this year. I'm stunned, surprised and ecstatic to have been chosen for this. This is going to make the show really special for me this year.

So. I have to set some criteria for my pick. It goes without saying that for the purposes of fairness I won't be choosing an early Valiant or Barracuda. I don't want to play favorites.

So I guess it gets philosophical. What do I believe a car should be? What are some of the trials and tribulations we as early Valiant and Barracuda owners have we had to endure during the restoration or resto-mod process of getting our cars back to driveable status?  I have a very "Do It Yourself" attitude about this hobby so any car chosen must have a hands on approach by its owner and family.

The chosen car must exhibit some resourcefulness to overcome some the adversity of finding available parts, or the lack of parts. We all know how hard it is to locate that one trim piece or match the seat covers for some models. We can't just open a catalog and order everything needed for a repair and that will factor into my choice.

Does it need to be painted? No. Does it need to be driven? Yes. Does it need to be a complete restoration? Probably not as I have a soft spot for "rolling restoration" projects.  It will most likely be a 1966 or older Mopar but I'll leave a caveat for that one because you never know what will show up at Carlisle.

Will it be a modern Mopar? NO! No PT Cruisers or 2012 Challengers. Will it be a cheesy 4x4 Duster painted orange with a "01" painted on the side? Don't hold your breath! Will it be an E body? Doubtful.

This is going to be very hard and very fun at the same time. Picking a car that represents the Club's attitude of "Just Fix It, Drive It and Enjoy It" will keep me on the show field more and in the swap meet area less.

But that's OK. Because this year, I'm a Celebrity Judge representing The Early Valiant and Barracuda Club at the biggest all-Mopar show on the east coast! Its going to be a good weekend!

Rat Rod Engines



The thing I like seeing in a T Bucket, coupe or early rod is a unique engine with odd intakes and carburetors. Here are a few from last nights cruise in Colchester, CT.

 

 

 

Check the Dual Back Draft Carbs on this Buick Engine.

 

 

A modern small block but Love the carbs. Check the vacuum "Horn" mounted to the intake!

 

 

 

And one Wicked cool radiator cap replacement!



June 1, 2013 EVBC Berkshire Power Cruise

 

 

 Greenfield, MA at Home Depot

 

 

 

 

 Adams, MA at Miss Adams Diner

 

 

 

 

 

John "The Shoe" Schumacher

1965 Barracuda

 

 

 

 

Scott Baeder

1965 Barracuda

 

 

 

 

Don Carpenter

1965 Barracuda

 

 

Roger Kizer

1966 Barracuda

 

 

 

 

Mile Markers

You know you are a "Car Guy" when you see highway mile markers as engine sizes.

Spring Is In The Air

I've been putting a few miles on my car this past week logging data to get the new fuel injection system dialed in and its been fun doing it, but as I drove through the center of my town, I saw it.

The Community Bulletin Board Sign. The one that lists all the upcoming events. There it was. "Cruise To The Green, This Wednesday".

I thought "It's that time already? The snow just melted" and at the same time, " My car is dirty as hell!"

I have plans this weekend so I have no time to get the 'Cuda ready for a show, even if its the first one of the season. Plus I'll still be driving it next week tweaking the programming of the injection.

Since the Car Show/Cruise Season is upon us, what have you done to get your car ready?

True Tales - 1st car 1969 Honda

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"1st car, 1969 Honda" by Steve Wander

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Being brought up in a working class home, where I was making minimum wage $3.35 an hour while my dad was making about 10, I quickly found the value of a dollar. Any time I could save one or make one, I did. My first car became reality about 5 weeks into my drivers license. I had saved up about $150 and was really getting tired of riding my bike 3 miles to school (one way) every morning and then riding that same bike to work the closing shift at the local Wiener World.

I saw an add for a 1969 Honda AN600 coupe. I had never seen this model but the price was right, $200. I quickly had my dad drive me down to the beach community where the car lived. We turned the corner and saw the smallest car I had ever seen, It was like a Morris Mini, but about 10 inches skinnier. I curiously looked it over and declared that I would probably fit in it with a small passenger, but that was about it. It did have a back seat, but the driver seat was adjusted back so it was touching the rear seat bun. 

Stock vs. Modified - Factory vs. Aftermarket

If you have been following along then you know I'm currently in the process of installing throttle body fuel injection on my 1966 Barracuda. Its not being done from a kit and there is a lot to alter to marry the wiring needed to power and control all the various components to the existing stock harness.

I also had to modify a distributor for the system. Here's where I find the "Great Divide". I already made the mods and went searching through various forums for more info on others who have done similar mods or upgrades to their Mopars. Many have and there are quite a few people using GM ignitors to fire their ignitions, either a full on HEI distributor setup or just an ignition module bolted to a stock Mopar electronic distributor.

Here it gets weird because there seems to be those who feel that anything but components from Ma Mopar are the ONLY suitable part to go on the car. The other side of the argument are the people who are looking for more performance or better fuel mileage from their cars. To the first group, the only ignition upgrade from points ignition that YOU SHOULD EVER DO is to install the Mopar electronic ignition. BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE FACTORY, WHY DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE!

Sorry for the yelling, but that's how some of those forum posts get. Below is an exchange between two people from a Mopar forum to show the divide.

For Rent

So many things going through my mind when I saw this, hoping its a joke.

Rally 'Cuda Front End

I'm very picky about the look of my car and take my time with any custom changes I do to it to make sure they keep true to the era and don't come off looking cheesy or "bolted on". I Want it to look smooth and refined almost like the factory could have done it.

Over the years its evolved into what I'm calling a 1966 Rallye 'Cuda. The Hood started the look, the rims continued it as well as the side stripes and Formula S badges on the lower front fenders.

Now, I'm thinking about continuing the look with adding dual exhaust dumping out in front of the rear tires. I'm also considering another front end change. I like the 1966 grill so I wont mess with that, but what about swapping the bumper for a 1965 Barracuda bumper and the lower valance like a 72, 73 'Cuda? That might be taking it too far and lose too much of the 1966 look.

I would make a custom valance from fiberglass and could incorporate brake cooling ducts or round driving lights instead of the rectangle ones.

I (badly) Photo shopped my car to get an idea of what it might look like. I'd like to hear your thoughts or if you have any suggestions please leave a comment below.

BEFORE

AFTER

Mopar Of The Week - February 10, 2013

True Tales - A Valiant Race

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"A Valiant Race" Copyright 2007-2012 by: E.C. "Stan" Field by:    E.C. "Stan" Field
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My buddy Jay and I loved to race cars. All kinds of cars. Big ones like Cadillacs, medium ones like Valiants and Ramblers and small ones... Like Fiat-Abarths and Volkswagens.

Due to lack of money, we did almost all our own work. The only things that ever got farmed out were transmission and machine shop tasks.

Since I had been raised on road racing in Mexico, during high school, I naturally paid a lot more attention to my suspension and handling than raw horsepower. This proved very handy one winter night.

Now my two door 1964 Plymouth Valiant was a cheery sight back in those days. It was running a 225 slant six with an automatic and anyone standing outside normally considered it a family car. Underneath, I had Monroe Load Leveler shocks all around, with coil-overs and a sway bar in the back. The tires were Firestone wide ovals and a custom exhaust that let it breath just a bit better. My previous best top end was about 95 mph, but it handled very well indeed.

Mopar of the Week - February 3, 2013

Eyelashes

I'm pretty sure this is a girls car, but I didn't stay to see who got in.

Mopar of the Week - January 27, 2013

Mopar of the Week - January 20, 2013