The Story
This bare bones basic slant 6 Barracuda was purchased by my dad in 1973 and he drove it up until 1987 when he parked it in the back of the farm. It took me over 20 years to convince him that I love the vehicle just as much as he does and I wanted to restore it and not just fix it and flip it. He finally relented and my son and I towed it home across 4 states in 2014. I spent the next decade tearing it apart - bagging, tagging and restoring each part as I took it off - it was a long journey because family takes precedence and restorations are expensive (especially Mopars). I had a major setback a few years ago when I was ran over by a car thief and spent the next couple of years doing rehab. Because I have no paint/body skills and I'm a little bit more limited in some physical things that I can do now, I sent it to Soneff's Master Garage in Denver (classic car restoration and repair shop, with a heavy lean towards Mopars) in the spring of 2026 so they could help me finish putting it together. This is a family heirloom, I've already put my son's name on the title so there is clear succession. This is not a garage queen, I actually plan to drive this vehicle quite a bit, cars are meant to be driven and seen. While it's not a rotisserie restoration, it is a 100% nut and bolt restoration where I spent a lot of time and energy on the preservation aspect since it's going to be passed down to Future family members.
It still has its original 225 slant 6 (out of approximately 5,000 slant 6 Barracudas built in 1970, there are *maybe* a dozen originals still left, so I chose to keep it original instead of upgrading to a V8 like everybody else has done), but I did do some upgrades. I built the engine for performance, so the head was shaved .060, the block shaved .030 netting me a compression ratio around 9.25 to 1. I had the full assembly balanced. I ported and polished the head myself, had the valves back cut. Upgraded to an Offenhauser 4barrel intake, Edelbrock AVS2 500 carb, Clifford headers, JP billet timing set, FloKooler water pump and a factory electronic distributor setup. Vintage Air AC installed. Aluminum radiator and electric fan setup. Front power disc brake upgrade. Rear differential upgraded to an 8.75 with a 3.55 gear set and a sure grip. Rear sway bar added. 3spd manual upgraded to a 4spd OD manual with a pistol grip shifter. Basic steelies upgraded to rallye wheels.
Shout out to the solid companies involved. - Brewers Performance - hands down the most knowledgeable Mopar 4 speed expert on the planet. - Dr Diff - highly recommended supplier of rear differential components, especially Mopars - Soneff's Master Garage in Denver is a skilled Mopar restoration shop. - the online Mopar community forums that were invaluable to this journey www.e-bodies.org, www.slantsix.org, www.forabodiesonly.com (for their slant six section)