Many people believe that the 1960s counterculture reached its zenith in 1969. It was during that year that this Plymouth Barracuda left the factory. Nothing screams Flower Power more effectively than its vinyl Mod Top. It is a distinctive feature guaranteeing that this classic won’t get lost in a crowd. The car presents superbly, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting the Barracuda listed here on eBay in Saint Charles, Missouri. The seller set their BIN at $57,995 with the option to make an offer.
The 1969 model year marked the end of the line for Plymouth’s Second Generation Barracuda range. The badge was firmly established in the market and would undoubtedly hit its peak with the 1970 release of the E-Body range. This final-year example presents beautifully in Sunfire Yellow, with the paint holding an impressive shine. The panels are laser-straight, with tight and consistent gaps. The seller provides no underside shots, but I can’t spot any signs of rust. The trim is in excellent condition for its age, with the luggage rack standing out as an interesting feature. The glass is crystal clear, while the Barracuda rolls on 14″ steel wheels featuring sparkling trim rings and dog dish hubcaps.
The Mod Top was a regular production feature in 1969, reflecting the Flower Power era. The seller provides statistics surrounding the relative rarity of this option. They state that 937 buyers ordered a Barracuda with a Mod Top during the 1969 model year, and that a mere 24 of those combined it with Sunfire Yellow paint. That figure represents a paltry 0.07% of total Barracuda production, making this a rare classic indeed. The vinyl on this car looks as impressive as the rest of the exterior, but Plymouth didn’t limit the floral theme to the roof.
Buyers ordering a Barracuda with the Mod Top received splashes of the same pattern across its interior. Seats and door trims featured floral inserts, contrasting with the Dark Green vinyl chosen by this car’s first owner. The overall presentation is extremely tidy for a vehicle of this vintage. The door trims exhibit some edge wrinkles, which might respond positively to judicious stretching. It is hard to state it categorically, but I believe that there may be at least one seam separation on the driver’s seat base. This could be a trick of the light, but a competent upholsterer should be able to devise a solution if an in-person inspection reveals problems. I noticed some deterioration to the faux chrome on the dash, but there are no other significant faults. This Barracuda features a factory AM radio, plus an underdash Motorola 8-track player.
Purists will welcome the news that this Barracuda is numbers-matching. The first owner equipped the car with a 318ci V8, a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission, and power steering. The 318 represented the entry-level V8 within the ’69 Barracuda range, delivering 230hp and 340 ft/lbs of torque. Both figures are marginally higher than what buyers received from a Ford Mustang with a 302 under the hood, or a Chevrolet Camaro equipped with a 307. The seller believes that a previous owner rebuilt the engine in the 1990s, confirming that this Barracuda runs and drives perfectly. They include this YouTube video of the car in action, and it sounds as tight as a drum.
Although the Mod Top was readily available across various Mopar models in 1969, the fact that this is only the third example that we have seen at Barn Finds in over fourteen years reflects the rarity of this option. This Plymouth Barracuda emerged during that model year and presents exceptionally well as a survivor-grade classic. However, the reality is that it has to, because the seller’s BIN figure is well above the market average. Is this classic’s unusual appearance enough to tempt you to pursue it further?
A buddy of mine bought one of these for parts back in 79/80. It was a green car with the mod top, 340 4 speed car. It had bottomed out on something, I think he said it was on a railroad track, whatever it hit it had shoved the K-member back a few inches so it was a hard hit. Back then it was just another dead chrysler to me, I was into chevelles back then. I think the price was a couple hundred. It was a decent looking car just had the front wheels pointing odd directions
This is a nice car, though unremarkable other than the vinyl top, listed by the dealer for an eye watering price.
Steve R
Actually the insides – seats and door panels – were matched to the top….
Nice find. I’m pretty sure this is a “flipper” of the 69 mod top from the Klairmont Collection in Chicago. The auction liquidation of the collection was earlier this year. I just compared the 3 pictures I took during the auction preview to those in the sellers ad. My pictures show the double stripe redline tires and steering wheel wrap. The car was displayed passenger side out as driver’s side was on the wall. I wanted to compare the location of vinyl mod top pattern elements to location of trim. The sellers pictures don’t include a passenger side profile. Hopefully the seller took time to change all fluids etc as Mecum cautioned that all cars in the collection were prepped for static long-term museum display.
I went back to the Mecum website…same car VIN ending 9216. The Mecum website has a better collection of pictures as opposed to the seller.
Thanks for sharing the information you gave about the car.
Steve R
1) These look horrible as a hardtop, iffy as a convertible but great as a fastback.
2) I can’t see how a vinyl roof makes the car that much more expensive. Yes it’s relatively rare but you could put it on an any car, if you could find a flower power design
3) who’s idea was it to put a green interior on a yellow car? đ¤˘
Rarity on a easily used platform. They had just the right touch of whimsy for those of us who bend that way. I would love to get back into one.
Angel, I agree totally. Back in about 1973, we had a 1964 Corvair Monza turbo convertible 4 speed traded in at the Pontiac store I worked at. The car was originally black with a black top and black interior. (Tripple black) our customer had bought the car for his wife because she wanted a convertible. When he gave it to her all she could do was complain that it was black. So He took it to a body shop where they changed the color to a bright lime green and installed a “flowered” top. She hated that even worse. So he traded it in on a LeManns convertible. I bought the car for $400. (It had less than 30,000 miles on the car.) I took it home and spent the weekend stripping the paint off. (Since the paint was fresh, it took very little effort to strip it off) I took it to my then favorite body shop where their first comment was, I guess the wife didn’t like the top and color! ( I didn’t know that they had done the original change over.) They painted back to black and installed a new black top. I flipped the car a couple of weeks later after enjoying some nice day top down drives. I believe I sold it for $3,500 when I was done with it. It paid for another semester of school!
Did you look past the top ? The seats and door panels were a match – Mopar was thinking of “Woman Power” which was popular at the time…..
Beautiful looking Cuda. This has always been my favourite generation of the Plymouth Barracuda (“Cuda”). I hope this one goes to a good owner, someone to take care of it and drive carefully.
these are neat but you really got to want it. that also a big price as well
Cha ching No Sale Price too high
That vinyl top is hideous. Big dollar s.
I’m surprised no one has pointed out that Plymouth didn’t build a 318 4 bbl back then.
ST you are absolutely correct. This car was configured as a 318 2bbl.
It might be the correct engine, but not manifold
These are my favorite gen. Barracudas. Really love them but I think the Mod Top option was either a love it or hate it thing. I thought they were rather cool but I’d still prefer just a normal vinyl top, and if they don’t reproduce that material anywhere good luck with any repair work if it’s ever needed. I’m sure that hefty price tag is mostly just due to the Mod Top rarity option, but I think it would have to be a real collector and lover of these to pay it. Either way, groovy man.
Who bought it new in 1967 ?? Probly some old flower loving Granny who thought it was made just for her.
Those dog dishes need to go back on the low rent Aspen they came from. The beauty rings too. They probably came from a dressed up VolarĂŠ. We all know this would look better with uncool, the six âslotâ wheel covers it probably came with. If you really wanted to make it properly pop without trying to look to too overdone, a set of â67-â68 fake mag wheelcovers would do it. Then lose the goofy mudflaps and lower the price about forty grand and it might find a home.
You are right, these are late-70âs dog dish hubcaps. I was going to call them cheap until I saw that the âcorrectâ reproduction stainless version that say Plymouth are nearly $500 for a set, while the ones on the car are $160 a set and are stamped aluminum. These donât look right, for the money they are asking, get something better.
Steve R
A friend of mine told me years ago that ’69 Barracudas were hard to find. As I was going to several auctions a year at the time, I started looking for them. Decades later, I have seen very few of these in hardtop or convertible form. Also, I remember this one from the Mecum sale and it being so rare knew it was the same one.
I like them, but I’d go for one without the “period” top treatment, however, I think the green interior goes GREAT with the pale yellow paint!
When I was in high school,1969, a chick from another small town came cruising up to the Dairy Mart in one like this with the MOD top. I remember thinking that both her and the car were pretty sweet. And if I’m not mistaken, she was wearing flowers in her hair as well. The perfect combination for this 18-year-old hippie boy.
The Cowsills got it right!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZMc0-ZAUeY&list=RDdZMc0-ZAUeY&start_radio=1
Yes the days of flower power and women’s lib….got to just luv some car company being different.
Most have never heard of the 1956 Dodge LeFemme hardtop put out with women in mind.
I’m an old guy that grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and have never ever seen one of these before. I’m just sorry I had to see it now. I don’t know who at Dodge thought this look was a good idea but they only managed to make a good looking pretty ugly with that roof, interior, and luggage rack.