Update on the state of things:

Directions have changed a bit due to life circumstances. In June 2023 I was ran over by a car thief while just trying to do my job (thank God it was a lifted Wrangler on big tires, both driver side tires ran me over through my centerline from ass to shoulder and the tire was 1-2 inches from my head, if not for the lift my head would have been oil panned. I seriously don't know how I didn't die that day). Thankfully workers comp was in place or I'd be more screwed, but in my State they cap WC at $100k and they deduct what they've been paying me monthly while going through rehab ... So at the end (sometime in the next couple months) I'll essentially get nothing except the long term nerve damage in my ankle, hip and GI. They did catch the thief and he was sentenced to 10 years back in December, on top of that he had other pending federal charges for counterfeiting and meth production, plus he had a couple of other charges in another county pending.

Link to the story with a video if you're interested. https://kdvr.com/news/local/thief-steal ... -salesman/

So where does that put me now? Thankfully I've been buying and restoring parts for the last 10 years, but I still need to finish body and paint and about 5 grand worth of parts not including the drivetrain. A few months ago I finally said F it, with what happened I know I'll never be able to finish it the way that I wanted to so I was just going to rattle can the whole vehicle and slap it all back together. However, about a month and a half ago an old employer reached out to see if I wanted to cash in a prior pension. It's not much, it would only give me an extra $280 a month when I retire in 15 years, so I said screw it I can put that money to better use by finishing the Barracuda now. As prices on everything just continue to go up and up and up, if I don't get it done now it'll never get done. So that money will be here by the end of December. I've already met with a body and paint guy (oddly enough, he only lives 8 blocks from me), nine grand will get me finished with all of my body work and a good B5 blue paint job. The money left over from that will give me the five to seven Grand worth of parts that I need to finish it, minus the drivetrain, LOL.

The original motor had 137,000 mi on it when it was parked and dad says there was nothing wrong with it when he parked it, so I'm just going to attempt to get it going and hope that it's still is okay. I'll need to replace the intake and exhaust manifolds for sure, both are cracked. After I get my payout I'll post up in the Wanted section and hope that one of y'all has something for me at a decent price, definitely don't want a one barrel again and hoping for a two barrel at least (especially at today's insane prices, it really is mind blowing to me that a one barrel intake manifold is now bringing $200 plus.)

Items that are now off the list for sure: 4spd OD, changing out gears to 3.23 or 3.55, mild power build on the motor (if everything runs okay and the current one, maybe I can put in the RDP RV10 Cam that I got from Dan a few years back?)

This is a video I did of the engine bay a few years ago so that I could visually see where all the different wires and connectors went. Funny to think that I was a month away from getting it into paint at that time, LOL. Stupid Covid
https://youtu.be/HIh-E5p5pMw?si=6fMAwoGUDqOM_yYP

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1970 Barracuda 225 /6, 3spd on the floor, Blue/Blue

Glad you're still here, that ordeal sounds horrid.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. I just got a great deal on a combination bell housing and 4-speed OD from a '76 truck. It has the long tail shaft that I need, but I'll need to drill/tap the mounting pad holes. It also comes with an almost new clutch and throw out bearing. Even with shipping it halfway across the country I'm all in for under $600

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1970 Barracuda 225 /6, 3spd on the floor, Blue/Blue

I'm just about finished with the restoration, it should officially be on the road by the end of August.

Original 225 slant 6. Bored .030 over. .90 removed from deck and head. 9.25cr. head ported/polished/gasket matched, back cut the valves, 340 springs. Fully balanced. BB rear one piece main. Smoothed casting lines at the water pump and did the oil pump/passage cleanup. Dbl roller timing. Flowkooler water pump. Offenhauser intake, Clifford headers, Edelbrock AVS2 500. Bouchelon engineering for the AC bracket. I'm sure I'm missing a couple things, but that's the general gist of things.

I upgraded the three-speed manual to a 4-speed OD. Upgraded the week 7.25 rear to an 8.75, 3.55 gears and a sure grip. Upgraded to front disc brakes. Kept the manual steering, but upgraded to the 16:1 ratio box. Bilstein shocks. Radiator upgraded to aluminum with electric fans. Lots of sound deadening installed.

I refuse to buy a new car now, I'm sick of all the electronics and the huge touch screens and other bs, so this is going to be my new daily-ish driver, so I built it with safety and comfort in mind.

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1970 Barracuda 225 /6, 3spd on the floor, Blue/Blue

I keep trying to post pictures, but it doesn't like my file size. So here's a link to the ebodies forum

https://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/th ... ost-237307

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1970 Barracuda 225 /6, 3spd on the floor, Blue/Blue

When I post pictures I just right click on them and hit edit and resize them to 300 X 400 and then try and post them.

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Wow, just read your story, glad you survived, how are you doing since ?

That blue on blue cuda is a beauty !!
I now have nearly the same mechanical setup as you do, maybe milder thou.
225ci stock compression ratio, very mild cam, through a QFT 450cfm on an Offenhauser intake and Clifford mid length headers.
A833 out of a 70 Charger so non-OD (wish I could put my hands on an OD to use the aluminum housing with my non-OD internals)
And a 8-3/4 with 3:23 gears I rebuilt with DrDiff's gear locker.

I've got the 16:1 steering gear on a shelf now but a bit worried it would make the steering effort terrible, how does it work for you?
Did you keep the factory caster setting or bumped it a bit more?

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Thankfully still kicking, just dealing with a lot of nerve damage on my left leg and internals, unfortunately those things aren't going away. It's definitely changed up how I can do some things, like I can't wear regular pants anymore because they're too tight against the nerve damage area and exacerbates it. It really put a damper on me finishing up the last 20%, which is why I had to send it to Soneffs to help me finish it up properly.

I haven't personally had a chance to test the 16:1 box yet, but the shop has said they're pretty happy with it, it's the first one they've worked with and it's made moving it around a lot easier.

Re: caster - I did install the Moog problem solvers and the shop that it's at does mostly Mopars, so I'll trust that they will set it up right.

So far the shop is impressed with the build to say the least, they don't see slants very often and they've never seen a built one before. Personally, I'm just happy that it actually came together and started with minimal issues. I spent well over a decade on this site and the foranodies forum researching the build, but at the end of the day no matter how much research, time and effort you put in, it all comes down to firing it up and praying that you did it right. I'm thousands of dollars deep into this engine build, most people would have said screw that and dumped a V8 into it for the same money, but I'm a little off in the head it seems

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1970 Barracuda 225 /6, 3spd on the floor, Blue/Blue