While the Barracuda was technically the first pony car to market (by 17 days), the Ford Mustang got most of the attention. Originally based on the Valiant compact, the Barracuda began to lose its physical association by the second generation in 1967. ‘68 models were largely unchanged, including this Formula S fastback, which was the forerunner of the later ‘Cuda. It looks to be in outstanding condition and a turn-key car. Located in Los Angeles, California, this Plymouth is available here on craigslist for $12,900. Thanks, Taylor W, for your tip on this one!
The Barracuda would enjoy an 11-year run at Plymouth, selling more than a quarter-million units in the process. By the time that the second generation of the car came about, multiple body styles would be offered, including a notchback, convertible and fastback, like the sellers ‘68. The Formula S would arrive in 1965, having a sportier suspension and (later) bigger engines to do battle in the emerging muscle car segment of the market. For 1968, the Formula S could be had with either the 340 small-block V8 or the 383 big-block. The ’67-69 Formula S’s would become known for their superior cornering and general handling.
While total Barracuda production would run about 46,000 units in 1968, the Formular S headcount was about 5,000, with just 1,270 being equipped with the 383 motor, which is what rests in the seller’s beauty. It was rated at 300 horsepower with a 4-barrel carburetor and could probably come close to burying the car’s 150 mph speedometer. This motor was paired with the 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
This car is finished in Turbine Bronze (code M), which is the same or similar to the paint used on the Chrysler Turbine machines about five years earlier. There is no mention if the Formula S has received a repaint, so if this is the original finish, then this automobile has lived the good life so far. All the chrome and brightwork look up to par, as does all the glass and even the black stripes. The interior is equally impressive, with no visible flaws in the upholstery, door panels, console headliner or dashboard. As was the case with the early Barracudas, the rear seat folds forward for access to the trunk (for surfboards and the like!).
Nothing is said of the running condition of the car, but there’s no reason to think it’s not stout. There are a few extras under the hood, including an aluminum intake manifold, polished valve covers and a mechanical fan. From the factory came power steering with power front disc brakes (which were just starting to appear on a lot of cars) and preservation of the Formula S suspension components and Firm-Ride hydraulic shock absorbers at all four corners. Replicas of first year Rallye wheels are at the four points, 17 inches in diameter with the rear wheels being an inch wider. The car is said to have only traveled 48,000 miles.
Back in ’68, the MSRP for the fastback was under $3,000 before any goodies were added. NADA suggests that $29,000 is top dollar for one of these Plymouths today, while Hagerty goes a bit higher at $33,000. Unless this car is not what it appears to be, the seller’s asking price could be the bargain of the week. This could be one of the nicest and cheapest muscle cars of the era that you could be showing off to friends and family.
WOW! A 1960s Mopar for under $13k that needs nothing that you can drive home today. If everything is legit, it will be gone before many of us even read this. If I had the money I’d already be on my way to check it out.
If I didn’t already own the car I’m working on, I would have scooped this up as soon as I saw it. I submitted it to barn finds, hoping someone finds it and gives it a good home
If I didn’t already own the car I’m working on, I would have scooped this up as soon as I saw it. When I posted it, I was just hoping someone would find it and give it a good home
Wow I am just unbelieving this add if that’s a word? Seems to good to be…. any that aside love this dash, it found its way into the Dart swinger in 1970. Also the colour listed as turbine bronze looks a lot like my 1961 Chevy Apache Tahiti Coral love the colour!
How in the world can this beauty be still for sale! These are definitely under appreciated at their current values. Especially the formula S with a 383. Now it’s a question of how quickly you can get a flight to LA to snatch this one up.
Damn, that’s beautiful. But I can’t help but be suspicious of the asking price, which seems ridiculously low. How many ’60s Mopars have we seen on here that are basically shells or rust piles, for thousands of dollars more?
This car is seemingly too rare and too nice for what the seller is asking.
If this lasts the weekend, the owner must be really scary.
Like the old geezer from “Christine” scary 🤣
Definitely an absolute steal at this price. Maybe it’s possessed?
“Christine” was the last thing brought to mind when looking at this. ;-)
I’m thinking the same thing.
I wouldn’t be comfortable buying unless it was in front of me, which I would be trying to do if it was within 10 hrs of driving.
The good deals always seem to be in the land of far far away.
“By the time I get to Phoenix…”
Nice car,but those wheels just don’t look right.
Looking at it again,it does look like one of those
scammer listings.You know,the ones with an unbelievable
price,no license plates,& no phone number.
Of course,if you want to send me a $500 (non-refundable)-
deposit,I’ll contact the seller for you.
Hmmm – that Barracuda smells kind of fishy.
I was thinking the same thing but the bait is still tempting
Posted 3 days ago and still available? There’s something fishy here (pun intended)!
To me, the ultimate “pony” car would be the 340 version of this car. I’d even take the TF to keep the wife interested. But this ad with good detail, great looking car, decent pics and dirt cheap ask just doesnt add up.
This can’t be legit. About three times less than what it’s worth for the condition and formula S designation. I’m calling it a scam, but hey investigate!! Maybe the lucky guy who takes the time gets the deal of a lifetime. 😃
First thing I would do would be to put more HP in that 383. It can do better than 300hp. RK
Scam all day long.
Google the VIN. If it’s in an ad, always start there.
This has been listed for sale several times since last year, the pictures and text were copied from a legitimate dealers website.
Steve R
Yep. It shows as sold on the dealer’s website. SCAMAROONY.
Looks like a lot of car for the money, 383 with a little bit of wake up pills and all that. Had it not been for the all new Road Runner I figure more of these would have been built.
383 cars didn’t have power steering or ac due to lack of space…
This has p/s.
Had a ’67 with the 273 CID, 235 HP. Wicked fast but everything but the drivetrain had awful quality control. Put 50K on it, though, with no mechanical problems.
Agree it has to be a scam, but to what end? What is the point? He doesn’t ask for a deposit. The VIN is listed. I don’t get it.
Not many people think of checking the VIN.
Just because he doesn’t ask for a deposit in the ad doesn’t mean he won’t ask for one once a potential buyer inquires about the car. How many people would be willing to wire him a few hundred dollars to hold the car until they can make arrangements to see it or wire full payment. This isn’t his first rodeo, I’m sure he has the most lucrative angles figured out.
Steve R
Not only are the pictures lifted directly from the previous ad, so is the ad copy.
One look at this said it was too good to be true. In LA, for Pete’s sake. If it had been legit, it wouldn’t have lasted an hour.
$35,000 car ,if it sounds to good to be true …………..
Had a 68 Formula S with the 340, and automatic, back in 1971. It was a real screamer, was great to drive. Had about a year and added a set of Hooker headers, made a big difference. Had a good friend with a completely tricked out Dodge Deamon 340, that couldn’t get close to me in a street race. He had lots of money in it, but I really think it was the driver not the car. One of many I wish I had now.
It’s a scam for sure. Here is the original listing: https://www.artandspeed.com/vehicles/265/1968-plymouth-barracuda-formula-s
I wonder what it REALLY sold for.
Wheels are odd. I like them, but they look to be 17″…
Wheel size is mentioned in the original write up. They are 17″ versions of the original rally wheels.
To: The winning bidder, What a CATCH!!! To the losing bidders: ” Let me tell you a story about the one that got away”!!!! noticed in the frontal picture the windshield wipers do not sit in the proper position, they are too high.
I agree big block Mopars don’t sell for this kind of money! These Barracudas are the nicest fastback bodies to be produced. This will be sold if it’s not a scam! I’ve owned two in early 1980 during my last years of high school and they make nice hot-rods!
This is a gorgeous car, inside and out!!
just saw a pic of this nose back fitted onto a valiant waggy. Interesting.
Back in the day – local had the 1st gen cuda. When the 2nd gen came out he traded up (on cars). Also hada wadrobe change (to open gaudy shirts w/chains) to match the car. Kinda weird…
Just sold at Art & Speed in Collierville, TN for three times that which leads me to think this must be a SCAM
Listing has been deleted.
As said,anything that sounds to good to be true, almost always is!sweet looking car,only the wheels and tires would get corrected by me,and then cruise it proudly 8 months a year!
I planned to view the car today because I live in Los Angeles. The reply I received from the seller directed me to provide my name and shipping address. I would then be contacted by the shipper and they would guarantee delivery. I replied that the only way I would proceed, is to view the car, test drive, inspect the papers and pay cash. I told her that I planned to drive the car home, so no shipping was required.
No response yet, but I have to agree that this is a scam.
Would anyone really buy a car like this sight unseen??…..really?
I know a guy that wired serious money (full payment) to a scammer for a Challenger RT. He sent a transporter to pick it up and the address was a vacant lot. When he made a report with the police, they told him that it was a waste of time and that they have bigger fish to fry!
I think that Barn Finds should take this down as it has been proven to be a SCAM. Someone might see it here and actually send a deposit. Let’s not give these scammers any more promotion…
Hi, this is Joanne selling the ’68 Cuda. The car is in really good condition it has no issues or accidents no rust or leaks straight body no work needed ready to enjoy. It was my husband’s but he passed away last year he served his country well and I’m sure he’s in a good place now. I had thyroid surgery and moved back to my late folks house in Nebraska to recover and considering the difficult circumstances, I’m forced to sell it. I made arrangements with a local shipper to help me with the sale as I’m unable to and the car is prepped & ready for delivery which is covered in the $12,900.
If still interested in buying and need more details provide your name and a shipping address I’ll forward it to them and they’ll provide you the terms and legal contract to show authenticity & delivery are guaranteed. I have several folks interested so I’ll be waiting for your reply soon hopefully.
Joanne Bronson
That story is all too familiar. And the posting has been deleted.
I had a B5 blue one at looking at this one it looks good. mine had factory carpeting in the trunk and on the side panels by the back seat it also had pockets on both front door interior trim panels
This is indeed not as it appears to be. A friend sent an email and got the “tear jerker” long winded email about dying husband, blah blah. I guess a further quick search shows it listed on CL in three different cities. Sure the “too good to be true” opportunities surface every once in a while, I was lucky enough to have one offered up to me, but it’s the exception not the rule. This falls into the majority. BF Crew i do love getting your emails and seeing the fantastic things you guys find out there, i’d just ask that you dig a little deeper on ones like this. Resharing scams isnt a good look.
We want to thank all the sleuths here on the site. Your detective work has identified this one as a fraud. We apologize for featuring it but are happy to provide a forum where people can discuss listings like this. Without a place to comment, this scam could have gone on longer and affected more people. Thanks!
You shouldn’t feel like you need to apologize. It’s right to be skeptical when something seems too good to be true, such as unverified mileage claims, which might be worth noting in the write up. However, there was more than enough information in the ad that any reader of this site could have found the other ads featuring this car in less than a minute.
Everyone I know does some form of research before sending money to a seller. I recently sent a link to an eBay auction for car featured on this site to a friend. Everyone on this site was trashing the car as being too expensive, he found the sellers Facebook profile based on his location and researched the car for sale as well as his other cars. He also carefully read the ad, which most of the commenters hadn’t, it came with several thousand dollars worth of original and hard to find parts, which were overlooked because they were not pictured in the ad.
Steve R
I see ads like this ALL THE TIME on CL. tractors, ATVs, RVs etc. they are usually easy to spot. I usually flag them for removal before someone loses a lot of money.
It’s a scam. I asked for pre sale inspection and never heard from them again.
At least it either came with as an option, or ! Someone added power brakes as the booster is evident. Had one myself without and no a/c . ’68 383 4spd 8 3/4 390 ratio..bored .60 over and blueprinted…… Was a handful to stop …..When you got up and went .