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It’s All There: 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe

The owner of this 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe has commenced a fairly extensive refurbishment but has now decided to part with the car. It will need some work to finish it off, but if it is a car that appeals to you, then you might need to head on over to Hudson Valley, New York, to check it out. You will find the Barracuda listed for sale here on Craigslist, where it is being offered for sale with a clean title.

The Barracuda looks as if it is rust-free, and there is a fairly long list of new sheet-metal and trim items that are either already installed on the car, or are included in the sale. Some of these items include new panels, new moldings, and a new grille. The photos of the floors look really promising, so the base certainly seems to be there to create something pretty special.

The interior will need some work, but once again, the foundations are there for a great car, and all of the original and important components are present. The car came originally equipped with a floor change for the automatic transmission, both a floor and a roof console, power windows, and a beige interior. It’s a bit hard to ascertain the condition of the door trims, but while the headliner and a few minor trim items will need replacing and the front seats will need new covers, the rest of the interior trim looks like it’s pretty good.

For me as a purist, this is where things fall down a bit. The car originally came equipped with a 383ci V8 and TorqueFlite transmission. The owner places great store in the fact that the entire combination of engine, transmission, and trim makes this car 1 of 79 that was specified this way. The original 383 and transmission are long gone, and a 440ci engine and automatic transmission from a ’69 Road Runner have taken their place. To me, this destroys the rarity claim. Having said that, apparently, the 440 has had some work done on it and should be pushing out some decent horsepower to the Posi rear end. The car is also fitted with power steering and power brakes.

Determining a true value for this Barracuda is a tough call, as while it is an incredibly desirable car, the lack of the numbers-matching engine and transmission negatively impact upon any claims of rarity. Regardless of that fact, when it is completed, it is still going to be a very nice and potent piece of equipment. The owner is very firm on the fact that cash talks, and that he is not interested in any form of trade. He has set the sale price at $32,000, and that includes all of the parts and additional sheet-metal. Is this a project that you’d like to take on, and is it a car that you would really enjoy once the project is completed?

Comments

  1. Avatar The Walrus

    It’s an 8 3/4 SURE-GRIP… not a POSI anything. Please, for the love of God, when placing an ad get your nomenclature straight, particularly with a Mopar. Posi or Posi-traction, etc is GM speak for their POS in house unit. SURE-GRIP is Mopar speak for what was typically a DANA Power-Lock.

    Like 22
  2. Avatar Jimmy Ding

    In that vein Walrus, am I crazy or can no one use half-decent spelling and/or punctuation anymore? (let alone correct automotive nomenclature…) Is it impossible to use periods, capital letters and actual sentences when writing an ad? No personal swipes intended, but if you’re a wee bit challenged in that department, for Pete’s sake get your wife, mother or brother to help you. When I see an ad put together that badly I’m always a little uneasy about the poster. It’s like the guy recently who said, “I didn’t bother to vacuum the car for the ad.” Really? You want 30 or 40 large for a car, you can’t write an ad (or get someone to help you) and you didn’t bother to vacuum the car? Presentation is half the sale guys…:-)

    Like 16
    • Avatar OIL SLICK

      well here on the cuda farm thats how we do thangs

      Like 2
  3. Avatar Jimmy Ding

    …however, having pilloried that poor guy’s diction, I actually like the car. Seems like it has pretty decent bones. I’m a wee bit of a hot rod guy myself, so even though one half of me would like to take it back to it’s (supposedly correct) 383/TorqueFlite roots, I’d probably want to give that 440 a little cleanup & workout first and see how she goes. Who knows, the addiction to that big 440 power might be enough to persuade me to keep it in there and my purist side on the sidelines for at least a little while…:-)

    Like 3
  4. Avatar Larry Hawkins

    The Barracuda Gran Coupe was a luxury oriented vehicle that competed with the Challenger SE, the Mustang Grande, and the Camaro Type LT in that model year. The asking price for this vehicle is about 10 K to high.

    Like 3
  5. Avatar Max

    I don’t no much about proper English. But the car looks very nice, I only wish and dream about a car like this in my driveway. At first I was a little annoyed at the whole barn find thing. Making me want to go over to storage and import some mice to run around my roadrunner and pise on it. But for now , all just be happy to have a mopar. Keep up the good work barn finds.

    Like 1
  6. Avatar Bill Nagribianko

    “It’s all there” really? Is the engine there? Is the hood there? Are the wheels there? Is the carpet there? Are all the items under the hood there?

    I never did understand what “it’s all there” means.

    Like 6
    • Avatar mike r.

      or it comes with too much to list!! one of my favorites!!

      Like 1
  7. Avatar Christopher Wenz

    It’s all there. It was all there in the parking lot of 7-11 last summer. ;)

    Like 2
  8. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    I’m in the Hudson valley, so if anyone is interested I can look at it and take some pics. 32 large seems heavy and the primer scares me to death. Agreed the non original eng takes some value away. Too bad its not a 4 speed. Call if you need me, 845-635-3662. Cheers

    Happy motoring
    GPC

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Del

    Was this not listed a while ago ?

    Like 2
  10. Avatar Boatman Member

    The gills belong on a ‘Cuda, not Gran Coupe. So which is it?

    Like 2
    • Avatar The Walrus

      It’s a 383 GranCoupe attempting to command an elite 440+6 or Hemi price. It’s a 15K car on the best day ever of selling a ’71 Plymouth. It probably is a 1 of less than 100 car, and this guy drank the kool-aid on that point alone, having no concept that a GranCoupe will never bring a ‘Cuda price. Arguably you can’t even properly clone a ‘Cuda with this, since this car should have the inset rear window. Unlike cloning a big dollar ‘Cuda from a lesser car, this is $50-60K car even as a Hemi clone

      Like 2
      • Avatar cunnanm

        Gran Coupes did not have the smaller rear window like Challenger S/E’s

        Like 0
      • Avatar r s

        My brother and his wife had a 73 (?) Challenger SE (pretty sure it was one, it had all the nice stuff and trim) back when it was still just a used car. Very pretty, white w/ white vinyl outside, white & black interior, all the power stuff and AC, just a 318 but fine for the car it was. Wish the photo was better. Such a nice car, should have never traded it in.

        Like 0
  11. Avatar deak stevens

    I think he would be better off asking half the price, because it going to take 15 to 20 thousand to redo this thing.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar Troy s

    If that 440 came out of a ’69 Road Runner it would have been a six pack originally.Only way to get a 440 in a RR that year.
    I think this was listed a while back, I do remember a Gran Coupe that looked an awfully lot like this one.
    It has all the ingredients to make a fine running street machine, show cruiser, street/strip car….if it wasn’t so darned expensive.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Del

    Mish mash. Not going to get asking price

    Like 0

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