Poor Plymouth Barracuda. It launched 17 days before the Ford Mustang in April 1964 and was almost immediately buried by the hype around Dearborn’s new sporty car. Through the 1966 model years, Ford worked overtime to produce more than 1.2 million Mustangs. Yet the Barracuda only managed 126,000 assemblies by comparison. The seller has a third-year Barracuda project, the last before the cars would be redesigned in 1967, to a slight uptick in demand. Located in a garage in Open Shores, Washington, this fishy find comes with two engines for $7,700 here on craigslist.
The Barracuda was a derivative of the compact Valiant, just like the Mustang was an offspring of the Falcon. The Plymouth wouldn’t lose that association until 1970, while Ford held onto its roots until the Mustang II arrived in 1974. With a mild styling refresh in ’66, the Barracuda lost traction, down from 64,600 units in ’65 to 38,000 in ’66. Only one body style was offered, the fastback, but a coupe and convertible would finally arrive in ’67.
This pony car (a term coined after the similar Mustang) looks mostly original, with faded red paint and a worn black interior. Though it doesn’t run, the seller thinks it won’t take much to get it running. Whether the replacement 318 cubic-inch V8 under the hood today or a period-correct 273 that comes with the deal (the 273 was the top engine available to the Barracuda in 1966).
A plus for this Barracuda is that the 4-speed manual transmission is from the factory. Is that another way of saying numbers matching? We’re told there is a little rust on this Mopar, while the floors and trunk are solid. The wheels are aftermarket, but you could always replace them with some that better suit your tastes. If you’re looking for a Gen-1 Barracuda to restore, could this Plymouth be the one? Our thanks to “Curvette” for his continued sleuthing for tips!
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