ModelcarJR Posted November 6 Share Posted November 6 I read the article by Tim Boyd concerning the MPC Barracuda and as I normally do after reading one of his How-to articles, decided to buy the kit and jump right in. Tim suggested using the chassis from the 71 Duster 340. Since I have that one in the closet that I intend to use the engine and seats from for the 71 Demon, using the chassis will be a bonus. So I started by removing the inner fender liners from the Duster body. Next, I fitted the chassis in the Barracuda body and while it is not a glove-like fit, with some trimming of the front and rear of the chassis, it will work. I glued the inner fender liners into the barracuda body and augmented the firewall with some sheet plastic. Although it won't look like a manufactured piece, it will work. I just need to trim the height a little on the firewall and radiator support and this hybrid will be ready to paint. Now I just need to finish prepping the body and and It will be ready for paint. I may add scoops from the Duster to the Barracuda hood. Let me know what you think! I also have a 440 from the Revell 68 Charger in the parts box that I understand will pass for a 383 with only the decal for the air cleaner. Thanks for looking! ? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted November 6 Share Posted November 6 Looking forward to this build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LennyB Posted November 6 Share Posted November 6 Those mods should greatly improve this kit. I’ll be watching to see how it turns out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 7 Author Share Posted November 7 Thanks, David and Len! I appreciate your comments! I primered all the body color pieces today with a dark primer that I picked up at Ollie's for $3. I am planning on painting it with the Dupli-Color Royal Blue that I used on the 40 Ford previously. interior will be black and tan, I think. I think it will look good with a dark color after adding the foil. I plan on doing it as a Formula S with a chrome rocker and black panel in the back. The dark blue will approximate Jamaica Blue Metallic, a 69 Plymouth color. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 7 Author Share Posted November 7 I had to do a little more surgery today on the chassis. Seems that the rear roll pan will not fit unless there is a little more room so I had to remove some more of the rear of the chassis and part of the spare tire well in order to get it inside the roll pan. But the front axle centers almost exactly in the middle of the wheel opening so I know the chassis is in the right place. I guess I could have sectioned it in the middle but then I would have to do the same for the exhaust pipes and drive shaft and probably lose a little integrity of the chassis itself. So nobody will really notice this once its built. I also painted the body and other parts today. The paint is Dupli-Color Royal Blue and its a metallic but looks a little flat today as the humidity didn't get below 50%. The finish is smooth so I'll rub out the paint tomorrow and see where it stands. The interior will be a two-tone tan with wood accents. Here are some photos. Thanks for looking! ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyrotten Posted November 8 Share Posted November 8 This is going to look sharp when you're finished. Very nice work so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted November 8 Share Posted November 8 Beautiful color, do you usually use Krylon primer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deuces wild Posted November 8 Share Posted November 8 ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 9 Author Share Posted November 9 Thanks, John, Carl, and Guido! I appreciate your comments! Carl, I normally use Dupli-Color but at $12 a can its a bit expensive. This Krylon works fine for me and it was cheap. Rubbed out the body and foiled it. I was a bit surprised when I found several photos on the internet that were painted with Jamaican Blue Metallic and it looks much more like Light Blue Metallic. It certainly doesn't look like that on the color chart. Anyway, the dark blue looks good to me and the foil really stands out. So the engine, chassis and interior are next! Thanks for looking! ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted November 9 Share Posted November 9 John nice work on the 69 Barracuda and thanks for sharing your information with using the Duster chassis. I have a 67 & 69 in my stash and I now need to get 2 more Duster kits from Hobby Lobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 9 Share Posted November 9 Nice shade of blue and clean looking body chrome trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 Thanks, Dan and David! I appreciate your comments! The engine is done with plug wires and a fuel line with chrome valve covers from the kit. I'll add heater hoses on final assembly. The interior is painted and I'll add some wood accents, chrome pen, and the kit includes some nice dash decals for gauges, radio, heater controls and Barracuda script. That's next after I finish the chassis. Thanks for looking! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 Looking great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 Fine looking interior, John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 Thanks, David and Carl! I appreciate your comments! I finished the detailing on the interior yesterday early and then turned to installing the windows and mounting the interior in the body and body on the chassis. Unfortunately, that's where the cookie crumbles! I installed the interior with no problems but when gluing the chassis to the body my thought from the beginning was to use the locator pins on the inner fenders in the holes of the chassis to make the glue joint easier. I did that and the engine looks good in the engine bay so everything looks good up front. But the rear axle was very short of center of the wheel opening. I tried to adjust by moving the springs forward but it wasn't enough to center the wheel in the openig so in order to do more I had to take out the exhaust pipes from the muffler back remove the driveshaft and unfortunately broke the shocks taking them out So I mounted the springs way forward and I am not replacing or putting everything back at this point. Maybe if I had used another engine that wasn't as thick up front, i.e., water pump and fan assembly, there would have been more room to move the chassis forward and solve the problem. But I couldn't move the engine back anymore so the chassis has to stay where it is as there is little to no room up front. If I were to build it again, I would use a different engine than the Revell 68 Charger 440 and ignore the pin placements and move the chassis further forward. But as my father always said "hind sight is always 20-20 and maybe half a loaf is better than none!" By the way, Round 2 added an extra set of 5-spoke wheels that are not a part of the chrome tree and a four blade fan. I used these wheels and the tires from the MPC kit (whitewalls that I turned around) and the wheelbacks from the Duster kit to fit the hubs of the axles. I should have used the four blade fan too because now I have to remove the radiator to drill an new hole at the left corner of the radiator and make a top hose to fit in order to avoid contact with the bigger fan blades. So now I'll finish the rest of the hardware, decals and glue the tailpipe extensions to the chassis floor to stick out the rear! Thanks for looking! ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted November 14 Author Share Posted November 14 This one is done except for decals and a few other minor parts like exterior mirrors and backup lights. There are a lot of parts in the engine bay so it took a little longer to finish today. The body, foil, engine bay, interior and wheels all turned out OK so I guess its not too bad. a couple of things I would do differently it I did it all over again: 1. use a shorter 440 engine for a 383 or use the one in this kit. 2. If using the Duster 340 chassis, make sure not to try to use the pins on the inner fenders in the holes in the frame. Remove the pins and move the frame about 1/8" forward and remove the frame horns. 3. Assemble the entire chassis and make sure to line up BOTH suspensions in the wheel openings of the body with wheels on. I'll finish the decals in the next day or two and move on to the next one! Thanks for looking! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 John this Barracuda came out looking nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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