In 1970, Plymouth treated its pony car, the Barracuda, to a new platform. It was shared with the brand-new Dodge Challenger, but with no common sheet metal. Sales were brisk at first, but tanked the next year thanks to muscle car demand taking a nosedive. The seller’s ’71 Barracuda convertible is said to be rare as a convertible with a 383 cubic-inch V8 with an automatic tranny. The car may still be in California and is available here on Johnson & Associates for $136,500. Another fabulous tip brought to us by Mitchell G.!
Due to the muscle car market having peaked in 1970, Barracuda sales dropped by two-thirds in 1971. Not all of these Plymouths were performance cars, but the stigma was there with gun-shy insurance companies. They were assisted a couple of years later by the OPEC oil embargo by putting in the last of the coffin nails to gas guzzlers. The 1971 model year was the finale for a Barracuda ragtop, and the cars sported dual headlights for the only time, making them easier to spot today. Chrysler gave up on both of its pony cars in 1974, along with American Motors and the Javelin.
This is a two-owner Mopar and has lived all its life on the Left Coast. The mileage is said to be just 42,000, yet the machine was treated to an extensive restoration by its second caretaker. If anything was missed, we don’t know what it could be, but somehow its fender tags have gone MIA (but photos were taken of them). This well-equipped muscle car is numbers-matching and has unusual options like power windows and factory A/C.
We’re told this Barracuda was originally ordered as a pace car, but it went to a private owner instead. The machine wears Curious Yellow paint from Chrysler’s popular “High Impact” arsenal and covers sheet metal that is said to be original. It had a gull wing spoiler from the start, but it must have been removed during the restoration. If you’re looking for a sound version of one of these cars, they won’t come cheap, and all of the heavy lifting seems to have been accomplished here. The seller says you can finance it through MECUM Financial Services.
Nice car, expensive for a reason.
Steve R
Pace car? At least for Indy, those were Dodges. Beautiful car, but it would be a better driver with a small block.
Probably on the broadcast sheet it was coded as “media delivery”, which could be many things. From a dealer ordered demo for write-off purposes, to an actual car ordered by a corporate marketing department and/or ad agency for a photo shoot or review vehicle. Hard to say as now most employees from that era are beyond ‘retirement’!
I used to collect and restore Mopars in the early/mid-80s when they were still alive, and it was hard even then to recover the history of particular vehicles. Sorry but without a broadcast sheet OR fender tag(s), rumors & innuendo just doesn’t cut it…especially when forking over 136K for even a now 383 car! …and, 1 of 9? Sorry, but even one of Galen’s vin deciphers won’t be revealing enough!
Probably on the broadcast sheet it was coded as “media delivery”, which could be many things. From a dealer ordered demo for write-off purposes, to an actual car ordered by a corporate marketing department and/or ad agency for a photo shoot or review vehicle. Hard to say as now most employees from that era are beyond ‘retirement’!
I used to collect and restore Mopars in the early/mid-80s when they were still alive, and it was hard even then to recover the history of particular vehicles. Sorry but without a broadcast sheet OR fender tag(s), rumors & innuendo just doesn’t cut it…especially when forking over 136K for even a now 383 car! …and, 1 of 9? Sorry, but even one of Galen’s vin deciphers won’t be revealing enough!
Sweet!! It looks like a CA car but it is in KS. Mecum? Then why not take it to a Mecum auction?
Good call on spoiler removal. Only gripe is that cheaper looking stubby console shifter…compared to the earlier models arrangement. Beautiful Mopar ragtop.
Yup. Never been a Go-Wing that looked good on one of these.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a white console in these cars! Seems to me it was always black, like the one in my ’74 white interior Challenger. At any rate, it’s a beautiful, rare car that I could only DREAM of owning…*SIGH*!!
My mother had a banana yellow 70 Dodge Challenger convert with white interior. The console was black.
Similar to the car used in the TV show “Nash Bridges” starring Don Johnson.
I think that a premium is being charged because of that similarity.
Very nice car except the missing the fender tag(s) and lack of broadcast sheet means it just comes with stories and assumptions. Lot of money for that. Also has some incorrect/missing components.
It could be the way it photographed in the available ambient lighting, but the car appears to be Lemon Twist, not Curious Yellow.
The one of none white consoles, the Super Commando 383 that wasn’t available on a base Barracuda, the “missing but photographed” fender tags (who would photograph fender tags, then lose them?), a totally unverifiable claim of ultra-low mileage, the expensive “restoration” lavished on a totally undocumented car — there are far too many red flags on this one to be worth anywhere close to $136,500.
Hate picking a man’s car to death, but when you ask that kind of money, you better be prepared. No jack/spare/hardware. No tonneau cover. Exhaust not correct. Looks to have 15″ wheels which are wrong for 383 car. Tires are mediocre T/A radials. …and why are the fog and map light switches mounted like that?
Correct, the Nash Bridges car was more of a mustard spin on the yellow but still a great rare car here and there.
The cars on Nash Bridges were actually painted a school bus yellow to appear more like the factory colour. Don Johnson picked the car Nash would drive and was told only 6 were made–the show converted cars like the one for sale into Hemi Cuda clones
Its called convertible not drop top.
A hunnert an 36 Thousand? Dollars? Like U.S.? Yeah. No.
Cool car- but too many incorrect, missing, and downright scary things about the provenance of this car to justify that kind of money.