The Plymouth Barracuda was an all-new car in 1970, shedding the lineage it had with the Valiant for the prior six years. Like Dodge, Plymouth wanted to go Trans-Am racing and commissioned Dan Gurney to build a car that could give Ford and Chevy a run for their money. In line with SCCA rules, both Dodge and Plymouth had to build a street version of the cars, as well, so the AAR ‘Cuda was born. It was a one-year-only hot rod that saw about 2,700 copies made. This is one of those cars, but it’s in project form and will take a lot of resources to put it together once again. Located in Springfield, Oregon, this rare Barracuda is available here on eBay where the bidding sits at $18,100. The reserve is still waiting to be answered.
Dan Gurney’s company was named All-American Racers, so it was fitting that the street version of the Trans-Am car would be named after him. As a factory-built race car, the car ‘Cuda Chrysler’s 340 cubic-inch small-block V8 but with a “6-Pack” set-up (3×2-barrel carburetors) like you could get on the 440 big-block. It also came with a fiberglass hood and spoiler, side-exit exhaust, and some groovy graphics that made to car hard to ignore. Though a little less potent than the track version of the car, the engine produced a conservative 290 hp. It was not a cheap buy considering that the AAR stickered at close to $4,000, a full grand or more over the base Barracuda.
The seller’s car came from the factory with an automatic transmission which went into 1,604 examples of the AAR ‘Cuda in 1970. The transmission is gone, and the engine removed, but a correct rebuilt version is ready to go back in (the seller says he will not sell the engine without the rest of the car). The seller cannot attest to the quality of the build as it was done before he acquired the car and there is no backup paperwork. It’s not 100% complete as the correct exhaust manifolds are missing along with the distributor, air cleaner, and flywheel.
This ‘Cuda left the factory painted Tor Red with no vinyl top and a black interior with bucket seats and a console. Except for the motor and MIA transmission, the seller says all the numbers match although there is no build sheet and the cowl tag is severely rusted. There is a lot of corrosion on and in the car and some prior work done underneath was not executed properly and will require a rework. The seller lists what he thinks will need to be replaced, including:
- Trunk floor and extensions
- Taillight panel and rear valance
- Rear quarter panels and front fenders
- Floorboards and footwells
Restoring this car will be a major project, but they can be quite valuable in top-notch condition. Topping six figures is possible, though the 4-speeds are likely to command more money than the automatics. Given the likely survival rate of a car that was built only to go fast, there can’t be many of them left in any condition, so you’d show up with a rare car even in a Mopar setting.
Yes, it comes with a correct engine from a Challenger T/A, but not original and with all of the rust repair needed, it will still go for an astounding price.
It’s over 18K now with 4 days left.
The T/A engines are rare in and of themselves. Really rare.
My favorite muscle / pony car.
The grass growing on the K member is a good indicator of the condition of the car. Yikes.
I wonder what happened with the owner not going though with the restoration. I see it’s one of Mark Workman’s cars from graveyard carz.
“Project”? More like “reject”.
Looks to be a Dana!? Not very
familiar with AARs or T/As…
Still; WAY too ambitious for me!
Should be an 8.75″, but your right, it looks like the wrong rear.
The ad says it’s wrong, but comes with the correct one.
Steve R
I don’t think the chrom rocker covers will be correct either. 340-6 cars had a particular set.
That car doesnt look that good at all been not taking care what got into such poor condition alot money need restore this
Dan G. didn’t have much success with these cars unfortunately.
“This is an original AAR Cuda that is a major project but worth the investment”
Then I wonder why the owner didn’t do it?
Because you need to spend money to make money
Most real car guys treat restoration as a hobby, not a business. Flippers ruin our hobby IMO.
AARs/TA’s in TransAm racing are misunderstood. Despite the factory pulling out of support half way through the season, they scored many pole positions. Alas, with so little time to develop, what killed them was their durability in actual race conditions.
Just a minor clarification on valve covers:They were identical to other 340 valve covers (all painted on the engine) with the exception of the spark plug loom bracket on the driver side, which was relocated about 1.5 inches rearward to accommodate the six barrel air cleaner housing.
I don’t understand. You have the entire frame exposed to replace the floors and you don’t even take the time to blast and repaint it.
Number matching, except for the engine, transmission and rear end? What other numbers are there to match? No build sheet, and missing most of the fender tag. But it’s all original. Sure it is.
I have a mint condition one I’m selling. Absolutely perfect down to the original air in the air bottle.
Bully for you!
There’s no replacing the original cowl tag. For this and many more reasons already mentioned above, can’t see how this example would ever top 6 figures.
I wonder if Mark Worman would consider this one a candidate to become a “Graveyard Dreams” restoration. It may not complete enough, clean enough, and NOM enough to justify the investment of building it back to original OEM condition. But imagine the mild restomod you could make with just a few minor improvements to make the car safer and more drivable. What have you got to lose?
That said, there are enough of us Mopar junkies for which and AAR ‘Cuda or T/A Challenger are the holy grail. I predict this won’t be a six figure car. But I’ll bet it gets bid past the reserve by someone who is ambitious enough to take it on as a project.
Since Mark Worman is the one selling it, I would say that even he has given up on this mess.
Gurney’s racing team still IS named AAR, as far as I know. Cool cars but this one raises all the red flags, at least to me.
Wow this AAR needs a lot of work. I’ll bet there is a lot of fine print on Graveyard Carz’s restoration contracts regarding customers who renege on a restoration.
I learned my lesson the hard way to never leave a car at a restoration shop that I can’t drive to in two hours to make a surprise visit. Out of sight out of mind is a fitting saying which in my case translated into little effort being put forth therefore little progress being made on my ’68 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT.
Well if any one is paying attention to the market even after it’s restoration this car will never be a 6 figure car,, it’s funny how a seller will talk up a car about it’s value like it’s easy,,,, well if it was that easy why isn’t he doing the restoration him self!!!
This is a Vitamin C Orange Cuda, not Tor-Red. Another bit of mis information in this “numbers matching” find….