My first 40: Building up Barney the purple '77 (1 Viewer)

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Roundup 2020 was awesome. I borrowed @davegonz ’s rooftop tent and trailer to haul 79 series parts home. The drive from Austin to Mason that Friday afternoon was some of the best two hours in recent memory. It was a perfect fall day with an end goal of meeting friends and camping with cruisers. And also, margaritas.

The weekend flew by, and Barney held his own as the only 40 in our group. It was an awesome weekend.

 

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Man, poor neglected Barney. The past couple of years have brought a lot of changes and a bunch of new projects.

I had a 1HZ turbo swap for Barney all planned out. Motor obtained, new h55 transmission, Crusher’s conversion kit… Everything was ready and waiting. Then 2 79 series pickup truck builds stumbled into my life and occupied all of my time. Barney sat, waiting.

Then a 15BFT became available. I bought that motor and then Covid hit… And the motor is still waiting in Japan.

I fire Barney up about once every six months, and it’s still the most reliable vehicle I own. When nothing else runs, Barney will. He’s been pressed into service when my other cruisers were down for the count.

Yesterday, I fired him up for the first time in nine months, and sent him on a field trip to @gonzopancho ‘s garage as a test fit for their new production run of the Mark’s/Downey header.

Hope he doesn’t pee on the floor.