(Welcome our newest COAL series writer, Nelson James. Thanks to our recent appeal for new COAL writers, we now have two new series underway, one that started last Sunday (Matt Spencer) and this one by Nelson. The response was very strong, and we have several other COALers in the wings, and there will also be some one-time COAL posts. Thank you all for your response. PN)
Like most teenage gear heads, I began the countdown to the day I got my driver’s license early. I had introduced myself to mechanical repair by fixing up discarded bikes and even a beat-up old Ski-Doo. Okay, so maybe I found the bikes in the garbage, there had to be some perks to waking up at 6 am to deliver newspapers. Bicycles and Ski-Doos can be fun and do allow a bit of freedom for a teenager but the real goal was a car of my own. So at the ripe old age of 15, I pooled together the funds from my various (awful) part-time jobs, obtained the necessary parental permissions, and embarked on my first car search.
My first car couldn’t just be any old beater. I had been car crazy from a very young age and could spot and identify pretty much any old car from the age of 8. My car had to be American, from the 50’s or 60’s, have some power and of course be a stick shift. I had smoky burnouts and big fishtails to do. Given my limited bank account it would have to be very affordable but that wouldn’t be a problem as I would restore it to showroom condition in no time. If I ran into issues (financial or otherwise), I’d just ask my Dad and a solution would be found. As I have a January birthday, I would be one of the first kids in school to have a driver’s license and I would roll into the high school parking lot with my very own classic car.
The search my Dad and I undertook turned up a lot of rotten hulks, southern Manitoba isn’t the kind of place where you find pristine rust-free “barn finds”. The only car other than the Barracuda that sticks out in my mind was a ’53 or ’54 Studebaker coupe that was very clearly not for sale, despite looking like it hadn’t moved in a decade. I still want that Studebaker, it’s been at the top of my list for a while now.
So eventually we looked at a ’65 Barracuda at a dicey looking place in the country with about 20 random vehicles lying around. It had everything I was looking for; V8, 4 speed with Hurst shifter, manual brakes and steering and just the right amount of weird for me. I probably should have had more prerequisites. The freshly rebuilt 273 ran like a top! Unfortunately it didn’t move as the clutch was completely worn out. Sure it had a bit of rust here and there but it wasn’t that bad. The driver’s seat was pretty worn and the carpet very faded, but other than that the interior looked good.
My teenage mind could instantly see the benefits of the rear seat and trunk partition folding flat. How many jokes do you think were cracked as the engineers designed that practical 7 foot cargo area? Pretty sure most minds drifted off to where Paul went in his Barracuda experience. Rambler practicality combined with Mopar muscle, this was the car for me!
So after a lengthy deliberation, my Dad and I decided it was time for negotiations. Unfortunately, the nice guy selling the car had suddenly received a phone call from another interested buyer that wanted to hear it run over the phone. He rushed out of the house to the car to start and rev the engine for the (imaginary) buyer. The pressure was on and our bargaining position was weakened by the fact we actually fell for the ruse. I can’t remember what we paid, but I’m sure it was more than we should have.
So enough of the back story, how did it drive? I have absolutely no idea as it never moved under it’s own power. Our first clue to the problems ahead arose when the tow truck dragged it forward so it could be loaded easier. The left front wheel suddenly showed a serious amount of negative camber as the right one stayed straight. Guess I was going to have to learn to fix suspensions too. Reality proved much harsher as when we got it home and up on jack stands, I could see the upper control arm mount had completely rotted off, allowing the control arm to float around at will. Not good. Also, once I was able to scrape of the layers of leaked oil that coated the underside of the car, the frame rails and floor were also rotted through. Things were getting more involved.
Undeterred, my Dad and I pressed on, seeking out the advice of a welder and frame specialists. Naturally, most wanted nothing to do with us, but we did find a sympathetic chassis shop that would weld on a new front sub frame (suspension, inner fenders, frame rails) if we could find it.
image via cardomain.com
The search was now on for a parts car, any Valiant of that vintage would do. A suitable candidate was found at a “junk farmer” out of town. This guy was the hoarder type that loaded up with parts cars to sell and keep his habit going while he hid the gems he would one day fix up and become rich. Fortunately the ’64 Valiant V-200 4 door we found was not among the gems and he was willing to part with the front half of it for a reasonable sum. The operation to remove the slant 6 and Torqueflite, and hack off everything forward of the torsion bar control boxes and cowl down happened in one very productive Saturday. An uncle, my younger brothers, my Dad, and I borrowed a generator, an (off-road modified) engine crane and the necessary tools. Looking back I’m amazed we pulled it off, I really wish I had pic from that day.
The Barracuda and it’s new front bit was then sent out to the shop to be very slowly mated together. Seeing as I was still very much on a budget, the chassis shop was kind enough to take on the project on a “back burner” basis, only working on it when there was nothing else to do and therefore giving me a nice discount on the labour. This would prove to be the demise of the whole project. Time was marching on, I already had my driver’s license for months when it was towed home with it’s new front end expertly fused on. Pretty much every other system in the car with the exception of the motor needed to be replaced and I needed (wanted) a car now.
The whole project was therefore put on the back burner while I bought next week’s COAL and quickly put it on the road. The Barracuda’s floors and trunk extensions were welded up but financing was cut before work began on the tetanus-inducing quarter panels. A deal was eventually struck with my Dad whereby he would buy it and continue the restoration but the project remained at a standstill. He sold it a year or two later to someone else who intended on finishing it, I don’t know if that ever happened.
I feel I can’t finish this article without addressing this car’s unusually long name. Did Chrysler Canada really think it was a good idea to have a nine syllable name that ties its compact car to its pony car? While the U.S. model Barracuda was originally introduced in 1964 1/2 as part of the Valiant line as well, it never had the large VALIANT rear badging, opting for a more demure Valiant in script on the lower rear panel. But any reference of the Barracuda being in the Valiant family was (wisely) stopped for 1965.
Not so in Canada where Valiant continued to operate as a stand-alone make sold by both Dodge or Plymouth dealers; very similar to other uniquely Canadian cars covered here at CC like the Meteor, Monarch, Mercury Truck, Cheviacs, Plodges and Fargo Trucks. Valiant seems especially confusing as they kept grafting Dart rear-ends on (Plymouth) Valiants; it was hard to wrap my head around these mash-ups as a kid. At any rate the Valiant make was done in Canada by 1966 thanks to the U.S – Canada Auto Pact.
While I never did drive my first car, at least I had something to play around with before I got to drive. Sure, time and money were lost but at least I got to learn some valuable lessons. I’ll never ever buy another old car without crawling underneath to see what’s left under there. Surely there are other CC readers with similar experiences, right?
yes sadly a 69 dart i bought it with a half assembled engine come to find out that half the floor on the car was badly done fiberglass and filler and in the trunk as welll
Neat story. Would have been such a cool car to drive when 16. Sounds like at least you learned a lot from the experience. Lots of wisdom gained from the experience.
On the 273. Today it seems so overshadowed by the 318 and 340, but in 1965 it must have seemed like such a great choice in a Barracuda or Valiant Signet hardtop. Small enough not to be wasteful of gas, 20+?mpg on the highway and a 8-9 second 0-60 with the four speed in the low weight Barracuda. I know everybody bought Mustangs that year, but there were some other interesting choices. This was definitely one.
No, everyone didn’t buy Mustangs. I considered them to be overpriced and overrated Falcons, and took delivery on a new 1965 Barracuda in November 1964. It was a 4-speed car with the 318 2-barrel engine, manual steering and brakes, and a radio, black on gold. A very similar car to the OP’s.
Now my first car, that was something else again, a 1947 Chevy Fleetline 2-door sedan. It did have the black paint color in common with the Barracuda but not much else.
Oh yes I can relate. The one that comes to mind is my 69 Type 3 Notchback. I had to have it. I mean it was a Notch! Super desirable, never sold in the US car. I knew the floor had some rust, no biggie,been there with my many Volkswagens. Then I noticed the crumbling lower a pillars and the fact that they, along with the rockers and rear apron were all “repaired” in the past with fiberglass……..
As cool as the car was and it would have been worth the work to fix it, it was something I simply could not do at that time. So I passed it along to someone with better means than myself.
Part of me still wishes I’d just put it in storage. I could have tackled it now.
Ah yes, the notchback. I have a similar story. I was thrilled to find 65 model. Newly rebuilt engine, too. Living in SoCal, it was easy to find a fender and a front bumper. But the floor pan was a different story. This car had spent much of its life in the Beautiful Oregon mountains. Not even the seat rails could be salvaged, nor did I have the means to fabricate replacement pieces. I drove it for a while, grinning from ear to ear, while rocking back an forth in what was left of the seat. Like you, I realized that I had to pass this gem on to someone else who had the ability to complete the restoration. Another car I wish I could have kept for “the future”.
You learned your lesson early. I fully understand the problem of owning a car yet not being able to drive it. That is Teenage Hell, which I lived myself the summer that a body shop was welding patch panels, pulling dents and painting my 67 Galaxie 500. They took their time and it was beautiful when finished, but that was the longest summer of my life.
A sad story, but a good read. I look forward to more.
My first car was a 56 Ford Victoria convertible that shouldn’t have been allowed on the road. But I drove it anyway until Daddy drove it and the steering wheel came off while he was going around a curve. He was not impressed but that’s what made the car fun to drive.
When I was 18 in 1984, I had a co-worker who had one of these. Me and her had some…ahem…fun in the back during lunch hour a couple of times. 🙂
Not much privacy with that huge back glass.
We went camping in our Barracuda once. It turned out that it’s not a particularly brilliant idea to plan one’s sleeping accommodation in the same place where all the luggage is stored. It turned out, though, that we didn’t have to worry about our fellow campers looking in at us through the large rear window as that campsite was pretty secluded.
Welcome and thanks for a great first story, I look forward to many more! I don’t have much experience with these particular cars, but see from the neighboring house shot that your coming of driving age is similar to mine, which always makes for an interesting relational perspective. It’s a bummer you weren’t able to drive it but it sounds like it sure made for some quality family bonding time which seems harder to find and achieve these days, so good on you guys for that!
Thanks for the welcome. I turned 16 in ’99 which was nice as the internet was becoming more accessible and turning into the giant resource of information it is today, allowing amateurs like myself to get a bit of a leg up. At the same time I could still seek out advice from the old mechanic down the street, the way many young gear heads had learned things in the past. That’s something I think doesn’t happen nearly as much anymore.
Fantom Works on the Velocity channel did an episode featuring a similar Barracuda. It looked great before they started working on it….then they started digging beneath the cosmetics and found many of the same problems you encountered.
Great COAL.
BTW: the big Valiant badge below the rear window was used on the 64-66 Barracudas in the US, same as in Canada.
No it wasn’t. ‘PLYMOUTH’ was across the upper back, and on the 64.5s only, there was a smaller “Valiant” in script on the lower right side.
“You can say it has a back seat for three that folds down”
“for cargo”, you know……
It’s funny, when I first saw the title of the article, I thought to myself, “The Barracuda was a subseries of the Valiant only in ’64; for a ’65, that shouldn’t say “Valiant”. Then I started reading the article and saw that Nelson was in Canada. In that case, it is correct to refer to a ’65 as a Valiant, but what really shouldn’t be there is “Plymouth”. As noted at the end of the article, 1960-66 Canadian Valiants (including 1964-66 Barracudas) were sold by both Plymouth and Dodge dealers but were badged as neither, just as Valiants. The only Barracuda that was ever a Plymouth Valiant Barracuda was the ’64 U.S. version.
I guess the rear badging on Canadian and American cars was essentially the same, but as the car was marketed under a different “make” in each country, one said Plymouth while the other said Valiant. I was curious whether the American and Canadian Barracudas were built on the same assembly lines, but just badged differently. According to allpar.com, they weren’t in 1964 and 1965, with Canadian Barracudas of those years being built in Canada. 1966 Barracudas sold in Canada, while still technically Valiants and not Plymouths, were imported from the U.S.; there were badging differences elsewhere, but it appears that both versions had “Barracuda” rear badging in ’66.
Good point, and you’re quite right. But I’m a bit undecided as to whether to actually change the title now.
Ya I waffled on the title too, it’s all very muddy. I distinctly remember the vehicle registration showing “Plymouth Valiant Barracuda” but they’ve been known to make mistakes. The hood emblem on this car said Plymouth which contradicts information I’ve seen on the differences between U.S. and Canadian cars, and there was no evidence of the hood having been replaced. I know my car was built in the Windsor plant, maybe they badged Barracudas going to Plymouth dealers as Plymouths and ones going to Dodge dealers as Valiants? An added wrinkle is that Formula S Barracudas were imported from the U.S, so what did they have for badges?
Now that you point it out, I can see the “Plymouth” lettering on the badge in the first photo.
This is kind of where I was going in the second paragraph of my last post. I was thinking that if the U.S. and Canadian versions were built on the same assembly line, they would have to remember to badge this batch “Plymouth” and the next batch “Valiant”. It seems like that wasn’t the case, at least not in 1965, but it may have been in 1966.
I doubt that the cars destined for Plymouth dealers were normally badged as Plymouths. If that had been the case, I think it would be more widely known, and it would have required Chrysler to keep the supply of cars for each dealer network separate, which defeats the purpose of having both dealer networks sell the exact same cars. What’s really odd is that, unless that Plymouth badge was used also on another Plymouth model, I can’t see why there would be any reason for the Canadian factory to even have a supply of those badges on hand.
My first thought was that maybe your car came from the U.S. (even if Barracudas sold in Canada were normally built in Canada, it’s possible they could have imported a few from the U.S. in a time of supply need) and they were sloppy about “Candianizing” it. But if you know yours was definitely built at Windsor, that can’t be it. Maybe the Canadian plant ran out of Valiant badges towards the end of the model year and got a supply of overstock Plymouth badges from the U.S. to throw on a few cars – who knows?
If the Formula S Barracudas were all imported from the U.S., it would not surprise if they me if they were just regular U.S. production models (with normal U.S. badging) that were sent to Windsor and modified by removing the Plymouth badges and/or replacing them with Valiant ones.
What a confusing mess, eh? It’s funny you mention maybe they ran out of Valiant badges at the end of ’65. The serial # says my car was the 263rd car built in ’65 so that should debunk that. Having looked at pics online it seems that most Canadian Barracuda pics had Plymouth badge on the hood but it’s hard to tell what’s what. Are we the first ones to notice this strange discrepancy? I don’t think the Windsor plant would have had those emblems on hand for any other car, Valiants were Valiants. Or did my car just have the front emblem/hood latch replaced? That shouldn’t cause the name to change on the vehicle registration though. I give up.
I learned my lesson with a 1970 MG Midget…similar story, never did make a running car out of it and my dad told me to get it out of the garage before winter so his new Cutlass would fit and not get snowed on. I think I drove it maybe a half dozen times.
Maybe I didn’t learn my lesson, given that I have a 2000 Volvo C70 convertible burning up space in the garage until I change out the ETM and get it road-worthy again.
I guess the lesson can be learned, or re-learned, at any age. I’m 35 and in the course of a little over a year of ownership, my ’88 Volvo 780 has gone from a complete, “almost everything works” driver to a driveway ornament with a half-disassembled dash and a myriad of small but important problems.
It’s probably good that I didn’t have enough money to buy that ’64 Galaxie when I was 17. While it had a higher price of entry ($3000) I’m thinking the path could have been much like yours.
My first car was also one I never got to drive (legally). Sold it before I was old enough to get my license. Did drive it to auto parts store while parents were out once to get oil and filter after accidentally filling their new Winnebago’s engine with water (the fill tube had a radiator type cap on it). And a couple of trips around the neighborhood when no one was around. It was a ’62 Beetle bought with a broken crankshaft. I replaced it with a junkyard crankshaft. I bought it when I was 14 and sold it a year later. The crank broke again a couple of months after it was sold. It was a good learning experience on how to work on cars. Great story.
The experience of being a young gearhead with their first car is unforgettable. While a regular kid would be happy to have anything, usually a hand me down from Mom or Dad or an older sibling “We” have such bittersweet dreams of glory. In our mind our car is going to be the coolest thing the school has ever seen. Props to your Dad, who let you buy your dreamcatcher and even helped you out quite a bit. A great experience. It sounds like you would have better off buying that entire Valiant sedan donor. Forty five years after buying my first vehicles I still can be swayed by dreams of glory- witness my purchase of an old Jag!
Yeah, I wanted the whole Valiant for a parts car but my parents made it clear that it wasn’t going to happen. There was only room for one hunk of junk in the driveway.
A great read and look on it as money well spent on learning car mechanics. I like the first Barracuda even though it looked a lot like my horribly unreliable lemon of a Sunbeam Rapier
Great story! Too bad you never got this thing running, this would’ve been one helluva first car. Hope your next COAL has some of the personality this does.
What a great story! How many of us went through similar experiences! I especially liked this:
“Given my limited bank account it would have to be very affordable but that wouldn’t be a problem as I would restore it to showroom condition in no time”.
That gave me a huge laugh, because I felt the same way when I tried to restore a 1957 Chevy! That didn’t work out well, either.
Live and Learn!
Yeah I think we’ve all been there. The foolish optimism of youth. Watching my son have these same thought processes now is painful.
I had one just like it but with 225/auto and despite living in southwest CT and a daily driver for many years, it wasn’t anywhere near as rusty as this one. Only the rear quarters had noticeable degradation. I guess those longer Canadian winters take an increased toll.
Yeah been there done that the teen with the dead car mine was a Triumph Herald that I eventually got going then blew the engine, Now after a lifetime of bodging old bombs back into life on minimum money I like to think I know what I’m looking at when I contemplate a wreck for sale. Ive taken several cars back to a bare shell and reassembled them its not an easy task unless you have a well equipped space to do it in and a few skills my last effort was my 59 Minx which was done in my carport and back yard it still goes and is roadworthy and registered but I’m not planning to do any more this car is enough entertainment doing mechanical upgrades for me these days.
That old fish car is a pretty cool car. Too bad you didn’t follow through with it.
Part of a life well lived is that things don’t always work out as planned. At least you can say it never left you stranded.
I had a 66 Dart GT for my first car. The 273 got me 18 mpg. I too had the front suspension rot out. My brother and I crafted a tube front frame that we attached a rack & pinion steering, MacPherson Strut suspension, and the real big improvement were the disc brakes. The whole thing cost me $200 as I got the parts out of junk yards and the tubing was 1 5/8 pipe that my neighbor discarded. The front end ended up being lowered about 3 inches so it cut the air better. Then I put a 360 in it and it got 24 mpg when I put a 2.73 rear into it. I still used the same 4 speed trans. It was a great car to drive and I kept it on the road for 489,000 miles as an original owner car that my other brother had bought new.
Brings back memories of my first car experience too. 78 Camaro with some serious body rot issues. Worked on it all through high school and did eventually get it done (with some help) in time for my graduation. If I’d known then what I know now I would have done things differently. Pro tip – repairing a less rusty set of quarters to replace your very rusty ones is a bad idea. Although oddly enough the car has survived. I sold it to my brother 10 years ago and it still looks pretty good considering how much filler we put in there 19 years ago.
WELCOME Nelson ! .
Great first article , keep them coming .
I too lust after an early Barracuda but never made the jump as you did .
-Nate
I had an AP6 Valiant sedan in Aussie that has the same front not quite as rusty but close it didnt drive when I picked it up either but only needed a driveshaft the local dump provided that, once going it got sold I sold the motor and the radiator to a guy I knew because those were in great condition, I left the car attached though it wasnt. That had a sloper 6, ran like a watch.
Nice photos and good first story Nelson. I guess it was a miracle that the guy that sold you the car actually had the registration for it (do Canadian cars follow the same ’73 rules with formal titles as here in the states?)
It seems you both did a very good job trying to get it on the road but looks like you’d be fighting a long hard battle with the beastly rust.
Mike, I don’t think in any part of Canada you have to obtain a title. I just bought an 02 Mazda Protege for my winter car from a young man in my city. He could have filled out the sale on his registration paper but opted instead to fill out a formal bill of sale.
I prefer a bill of sale as I can print; “as is, where is” to cover me if anything goes wrong with the vehcle. In another CC feature I asked about vehicle titles as I didn’t grasp their purpose although I have seen them from time to time from people who have bought vehicles in the U.S. And brought them home. To me it seems like an unnecessary step in purchasing a vehicle. Enlighten me if I’m wrong.
The title establishes legal ownership of the vehicle. It is handled on a state by state basis in the U.S. but, as far as I know, every state does this. At least in the states I’m familiar with vehicle titles are formal documents, with seals and signatures. Not that titles couldn’t be forged as well but I would think it would be easy to duplicate a bill of sale and drive off with someone else’s car. As far as that goes most states require titles for airplanes, boats, motor homes, etc; in general any type of vehicle, including trailers in many jurisdictions.
I hope that car got restored. It seems these cars don’t get much respect, but I like them more than mustangs. I knew a guy in high school back in the 90s that bought one off a stripper. She drove it for years without an air cleaner because I guess it was a unique size for the carb on the 273v8. The thing just blew clouds of smoke and could only go 35mph. He put some Restore in it and it got the top speed up to 55mph. He rebuilt the engine but I don’t know what happened after that.
I saw another barracuda sitting looking like a great restoration project along a well traveled road. The owner used that huge rear glass to write a message to all those who would inquire about it. “Don’t ask!”
Great first article!
My very first car (in 1970, I was 13) never ran, it was a 1960 Ford 2-door sedan with rusty rear quarters. I painted “SUPERLEMON” down what was left of the quarter that faced the road so passersby could see it. What could I expect for $5?
Looks like a worthy attempt, and you’ve done a nice job relaying it. Those old Barracudas are very cool cars; there’s someone in my town who drives one painted a bright lime green. Hopefulty yours was eventually resurrected, as it seems like you accomplished quite a bit of prep work in that subframe replacement.
Thoughts on old cars , first , last or whatever ~
I’ve been buying and up fixing old junkers since I was 13 or 14 , not all of them ever ran again , some sit for a while (My Morris Minor with it’s endless ‘ Might-As_Wells ‘ is approaching TWO YEARS dormant) but sooner or later I usually get a roundtuit and they go back into daily service so don’t lose heart .
-Nate