340/4-Speed In Violet 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda

With a body that’s sleek from every angle, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda looked great no matter what color it was wearing on the outside.  Adding one of the optional paints from Chrysler’s High Impact palette sweetened the exterior’s appearance even more, with the FC7 code purple remaining a fan favorite all these decades later.  Known as Plum Crazy for Dodge or In Violet at your Plymouth dealership, one of these special H.I. hues only ran about fifteen bucks extra, which seems like a small price to pay for such an extra-strong presentation.  This 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda is located in Hyde Park, New York, and can be found here on eBay, where the high bid of $56,500 still hasn’t met the seller’s reserve.  Great find, Curvette, and thanks for sharing your tip here!

Just as desirable as the purple paint is the engine and transmission combo, as this one features Plymouth’s very capable small block under the hood, a 340 V8, which got a factory horsepower rating of 275 for the 1970 model year.  It’s also equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission, a pairing said to have drawn the seller to this particular car in the first place, with both components reported to be original.  One non-factory part is the intake, an Edelbrock Air-Gap, with the dual-plane design said to help wake up the car a bit more.  However, the original manifold is also included should the buyer choose to return the 340 to stock specs.

The outside presents beautifully all the way around, and I have to agree with the owner that the purple paint with a black top is one of the best color combinations these cars came in for 1970.  While the panel gaps look excellent and the sheet metal appears to be in great shape, the seller states that his “Cuda is finished in its original In Violet, and I’m uncertain if he means that the paint itself is original or if that’s just confirmed to be the factory color.  Either way, this one doesn’t seem to need any attention anywhere on the exterior, and the elastomeric bumper and driving lights up front are also a welcome touch here.

The shots from inside are somewhat limited, but the two provided seem enough to indicate that the interior looks just about as good as the exterior, and it’s great to find that this one’s got the pistol-grip shifter and rally dash layout.  This is one of those E-Bodies that’s hard to find fault with as a driver, and it appears ready for the next owner to get behind the wheel of and continue enjoying without any immediate attention required.  However, a package this good comes at a rather high cost, and I’m curious how much further the price will have to climb before this 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda is eligible to change hands.  Any ideas on where the seller may have set the number to let this one go?