Shortly after his graduation from high school in 1985, Bob Metcalf joined the United States Army, and upon completion of his basic training, began serving a six year tour of active duty in Germany.  When his tour ended, Bob returned home to Indiana with his new  wife and began putting together a civilian life.  He enlisted in the Indiana National Guard, got a job and started a family.  Somewhere along the line, he found just the car that he had wanted for a long time - a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.  It didn’t look like much when he bought it, but he just knew that someday he would transform it into a vehicle that would be the envy of all who saw it.  Unfortunately, as so often happens to the dreams of the young, reality reared its ugly head and disrupted that beautiful dream.  There were just too many other things that had higher priorities.  There was never enough time or money to devote to restoring the Barracuda.  So, as the years went by, the little A-Body sat quietly in the garage untouched and waiting for the TLC that would bring it back to life.  Then, just when Bob thought that he was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, he received a note from his Uncle Sam.  His National Guard unit was being activated, and Bob, even though he was due to retire in May of 2005, was assigned to a two year tour of duty in Iraq.

  Fortunately, life is not all doom and gloom.  Sean Burns and Jimmy Johns, a couple of Bob’s friends, have decided to help make one of Bob’s dreams come true.  With Sean and Jimmy leading the way, several members of the Land Yacht Club and the Michiana Mopar Association have undertaken the task of restoring his Barracuda to its former glory with the intention or surprising Bob with it when he returns home from his mideast tour.  There are many parts needed, and a lot of work to do, but these guys are thoroughly committed to showing this local soldier how much they appreciate the sacrifices he has made in the service of our country.  Sean has undertaken the task of soliciting individuals and businesses for needed parts and services, and Jimmy has dedicated himself to doing the body work and painting.  Ron Conley of the MMA has donated a low mileage 318 C.I. engine and matching 904 Torqueflite transmission.  Several other members of the MMA will be working with Ron in tearing down the engine and transmission and rebuilding them to ensure that everything is up to snuff before they’re installed in the little fish.  Undoubtedly, several other people will be joining in, as the project progresses and picks up steam.

  While a ‘68 Barracuda has already been obtained as a parts donor car, there are many items that are still needed, and are not available on either vehicle.  Anyone who cares to donate to this worthy cause, or who knows where the needed parts can be obtained reasonably should contact Sean.  His e-mail address is SeanB2000@aol.com .  All commercial donations (for cash, parts and/or labor) will receive appropriate acknowledgments on a display board that will accompany the Barracuda as it makes the rounds of local shows and events.  Any help provided for this project will be greatly appreciated by all involved.  Listed below are some of the items that are currently needed:

It's a rough start, but gotta start somewhere, right?

Look like somebody blew the doors off  'er!

Jimmy reworks a fender and he's on fire!

She's beginning to take shape...

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 Update from Sean on 12/08/05:

Denny Rose has started on the braking system and I am cleaning and detailing pieces for the dashboard firewall area. Did I mention that we got some paint on the jams?  A little viper blue (or close to it) and it's really looking nice. We are going to try like heck to keep this thing a secret from Bob who will be coming back shortly. Body and paint should be finished soon and then we have a couple guys that will help us with wiring and interior work.

The trunk area with some (almost) Viper blue color applied (12/4/05).