More 1966 Barracuda Post-Paint Reassembly

No, I still haven't gotten around to repairing and painting the trunk lid. Maybe soon... This blog post is to document a few things I did at the end of 2022 and up to now.

First up is a repair of a door armrest. The metal where a sheet metal screw threaded into had rusted away, so I very carefully welded in a piece of metal, being careful to not burn up the 56-year-old foam rubber.

Next up is installing the trim on the tops of the rear fenders. It is anodized aluminum, and is quite fragile if you're not careful.

I got new door seal windlace in from Restoration Specialties. I chose the color Champagne, as that most closely matched what I removed from the car. Below is the before photo, then the after photo below that, with aluminum sill trim also installed.

The next step after installing the windlace was to install the A-pillar trim, as the windlace extended up under the trim. The pieces are plastic and the driver's side was cracked in several places and the end was broken off, so I went about repairing it. I first super-glued the cracks closed and the separated piece back on, then epoxied in a piece of sheet metal formed to the shape of the broken-off end, seen below.

I'd noticed the windshield washer motor/pump was not working, so that was the next project. I happened to have a spare motor/pump from my stash of parts from a 1966 Sport Fury project I had before this car, although the spare was a bit newer, so I tried to repair the original.

I carefully removed the aluminum cover from the pump and found the pump was just tight. I worked quite a while trying to free the pump and ultimately got success using some Protect-All liquid on the pump's rubber shaft seal.

If you notice a glass tube in the below photo, that is a circuit breaker that trips if the motor stalls and is unable to turn. It is wired in series with the incoming power terminal.

There is an F-shaped tee that splits the windshield washer fluid between two nozzles. The tee easily snapped in two when I tried removing it from the hoses so I bought a new one online.

That brings me up to date with what's been going on with the Barracuda. Below is a photo showing the original wheel covers I recently put on the car. My brother (previous owner) preferred the black wheels but I kinda think the wheel covers dress the car up a bit more. Not a bad looking car, in my humble opinion. I just need to get working on the trunk lid, so I can then apply racing stripes that it had from the factory. And paint the engine bay. And paint the door interiors. And repaint the engine (and maybe put in a hotter cam!). And replace the clutch..... And so the list goes on.