1968 Barracuda Rebuild

Time has come for me to start a rebuild on my 68 Barracuda. This will be a project that will probably take me a few years to complete as I don't have the time to devote to it to complete it over one winter. I got the interior pulled out, the gas tank pulled out and I removed all of the hardware on the deck behind the windshield. The next step for me will be to remove the carpet.





I have a few questions before I move forward.
1. Should I pull the floor up before I remove the engine or after I remove the engine. Is there an advantage to measuring the engine mount locations with the floor removed or can I remove the engine before I remove the floor. The floor I am referring to is the wood floor on top of the fiberglassed over foam.

2. In the following picture you can see that the port seat back support had been cut and had a metal plate on each side holding it together. I imagine this was not factory, but I needed to unbolt the plates and remove the support in order to get the fuel tank out. Should the tank have been able to come out without having to remove the support?





3. Once the gas tank was out, I saw that the bottom had some rust. I want to reuse the original tank. Do you think sanding the surface rust off the bottom of the tank and applying primer and paint would be a sufficient repair to reuse the tank?









4. Now that the tank is out, what is the best way to store the tank? Leave the fill cap off and the vent open so air can circulate? Seal it up? I just want to make sure the inside of the tank doesn't start rusting as it is in good shape.

5. The engine is going to sit out of the boat for couple of years while I am working on this project. What is the best way to store the engine? I am going to remove the trans as it needs to be rebuilt since the prop will spin in neutral. Should I store the engine on an engine stand? I am assuming I should leave the oil in to help lubricate it and also turn it over by hand every month or so.

I will be asking plenty of questions and seeking out advice. This site has been a great resource and I value the knowledge of the people who have undertaken rebuilds and the knowledge that they have gained. Many thanks in advance!

I too would be worried about the tank. What does the inside look like? A closer inspection is needed. How close to the welded seam is the notch?

The metal plates on the tank brace are not original.

Pull the engine/trans before you do anything else. You'll appreciate the extra room.

Andrew,
Those tanks were made with terne plate back then so there's a good chance the inside will be in great shape. Yes, get a second opinion.

If your that concerned on the tank pour some oil in it and keep turning it every day for a week to cover everything inside. Old premix bikes rarely have rusted out tanks.

Ok, so it has been quite a while since I was able to do anything on the boat. I have a new position at work which will hopefully allow me more time to work on it.

I removed the carpet.




It is difficult to see but I put screw drives in to indicate where the floor had separated from the hull. The port side is from the gas tank to where the exhaust enters the floor.


The starboard side separated from the gas tank to the dash. Basically the entire side.


Next I removed the pylon. Some years ago, the pylon started to wiggle in the floor a little. A pipe flange as placed around the pylon to try and tighten it up. Grandfather and his brothers owned a plumbing business so they used a lot of DIY solutions over the years to keep the boat on the water.


I removed the stainless steel bolt holding the pylon in the cup and the pylon slid right out. I consider myself fortunate as I have read the struggles of many trying to remove the pylon from the cup.


The end of the pylon seems to be in relatively good shape. Again, fortunate as some I have seen have been very corroded.






I removed the plywood floor.




In the mid 90s our lake instituted a noise ordinance. The boat didn’t meet the requirement so mufflers had to be installed. Again, my family did what they thought would work. They did not have the knowledge of this site at that time to research the proper way. They removed the ply floor, cut the fiberglass off where the exhaust ran, removed the foam, installed the mufflers, refoamed (not sure with what), then nailed the fiberglass back to the stringers, and installed a new ply floor. Here I am removing the fiberglass that was nailed back down.




I then moved forward with trying to remove some of the foam from around the starboard muffler to see what I could find.


No surprise the foam was very wet.


It is hard to see but the shine on the hull between the muffler and the secondary is water.


This dark spot is where water was pooled up under the foam.


After the boat was sitting for awhile the foam removed, I noticed a lot of standing water where I had removed the foam. I imagine that the water between the foam and hull further up in the boat may have run backwards now that the foam by the muffler had been removed.


I will keep removing foam as time allows until I have the opportunity and means to pull the engine and trans.

8122pbrainard wrote: Andrew, keep digging on that foam. I feel there are more surprises waiting for you.

Pete, I agree. I am expecting the boat to be full of water. I just hope the "surprises" aren't too bad.

Daryn, I plan on doing a full Douglas Fir stinger job. I have read a lot about the foam/no foam debate. My boat will be used on small lakes and rivers. It will primarily be a trailer queen and after I saw the amount of water that the foam is holding in my boat, I will not be re-foaming.

Hey Everyone! 

Great job so far Andrew! Keep it up, thanks for posting pics and kudos to restoring the old gal. Labor of love but the compliments and looks you get once it's all done is worth the effort. 

Looks pretty good without the foam.  Is there much rot?

Riley wrote: Looks pretty good without the foam.  Is there much rot?

Douglas Fir aka Doug-Fir.  Basically all the same.  However, “clear” is what you want — if you can find it,  Clear means no knots.  More expensive, but stronger in a stringer project.  

Best to find a specialty lumber store.  You will not find the wood you need at Lowes/Home Depot.  I am in the Boston Area and have used a company called Boulter Plywood.  https://www.boulterplywood.com/  

Gonna tag my questions to this post, as it has already answered a lot of my questions. I'm hoping I find some takers. I'm also in the process of rebuilding a '68 Barracuda. I have one stringer removed and ran into a snag sourcing new stringer material. I originally was thinking I would use a vertical grain Douglas fir, until I was quoted over $900 a piece for a 2x10x14. I can get by with a 2x8 and shave a little off the price, but probably not enough to make sense. Pretty much, it seems I am priced out of anything with vertical grain. I'm now leaning towards Coosa board, but considering marine plywood, because of the cost. Plywood, I can get locally. Coosa, I can get, but it's a three hour drive. One concern with both of these materials is ensuring I have solid motor mounts. I've read some guys mentioning difficulty keeping screws set in Coosa. I'm looking for guidance from guys that have actually been through the process. Specifically, my questions are geared towards Coosa, but I'd like opinions on plywood as well. There are several grades of Coosa, which do you use for stringers, and which is used for decking? Also, will I have issues with my motor mounts into the Coosa? I'm thinking two layers of 3/4" with staggered seams for the stringers. How do I assemble them? I'll resin them together, but do I screw them, or just clamp and rely on the resin. Your advice would be much appreciated.

We were able to source clear Doug Fir from a local lumber yard here in NC. Maybe the "verticle" grain is driving the price up.  $900 per seems high.  Do you need 14ft?  I am not familiar with the length of the Barracuda...our 16.5' boats did not need 14ft.  Ext Ply for floor and stern was sourced from local building supply...if there were knots, we filled them with thickened after CPES.