It’s widely accepted that the Ford Mustang started the hot “pony car” market in 1964, but the Plymouth Barracuda got there first – 17 days earlier. The Barracuda never saw the sales potential of the Mustang but came closer with the third (and final) generation from 1970 to 1974. This 1972 ‘Cuda (once the performance model) has its share of issues regarding the body and sheet metal and has no engine in the car (though one is provided). Located in Frederick, Maryland, this rolling and rusty project is available here on eBay where $5,380 hasn’t been enough to crack the seller’s reserve.
For its first six years, the Barracuda was based on the Plymouth Valiant infrastructure and sales never came close to the crazy numbers the Mustang put up. In 1970, Chrysler rolled out the new E-body platform that was exclusive to the Barracuda and the new Dodge Challenger. Both cars delivered optimistic sales figures in 1970 but they then dropped off as the pony car market had become saturated and market dynamics were changing.
In 1972, Plymouth built just 18,490 Barracudas of which 7,828 came with ‘Cuda badging. Before 1972, you could get a ‘Cuda with anything ranging from a 340 cubic inch small block V8 to the 426 Hemi. For the car’s last three years, a 225 Slant Six was now standard and the 340 was the top motor in the ‘Cuda. As no VIN or cowl tag details are provided, we don’t know how this ’72 ‘Cuda was powered, but it wasn’t by a 383 as that was no longer available. The one the seller has to go with the car needs rebuilding if you choose to use it.
The seller is very descriptive of where the rust lies on this Mopar, including the places you can’t see in the photos. There are some new panels provided to help rectify these matters, but you’ll probably need to find or fix more. Undercoating from days gone by may have helped it from getting any worse than it is. This Plymouth came with an automatic transmission which is still present, though its condition isn’t known. This could be an ambitious project for someone, but if numbers matching is important, then it’s not the one for you.
Let’s see. It needs quarters, rockers, front fenders, trunk lit, tail panel, gravel pan, floors, the engine gone over and heaven knows what else. And he wants $6k or more? No thanks!
Before I bid, I’m going to call AutoZone to see how much Bondo they have in stock.
Too scary for me. Trunk floor is gone and looks like the rear frame rails too. It’s just not a special enough car to justify all the cutting, welding and grinding that it would take. It will take deep pockets for sure.
$5,380 hasn’t cracked the reserve? Maybe Plymouth pricing isn’t immune to this economy either. Seller must like his “ Yard Art”…
Uh Oh! Has Mopar fan come back to reality? Are they done paying $20,000 for rotted out shells? We’ll see.