At a glance, this could be one of those “wow” cars. But when you dive deeper into the collection of photos, you can see that this original 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda needs a restoration. Though nearly 50,000 Barracudas were produced in 1970, just over 2,500 came with the Super Commando 383 cubic inch V8 and an automatic transmission. Factor in the Hemi Orange paint (original) and the likely survival rate and you’d conclude few are left like this one. Located with a dealer in Allen, Texas, this Mopar is available here on eBay where the magic number is $40,000.
When the Barracuda was launched in 1964, it was a fastback (kind of) derivative of the compact Valiant (as the Ford Mustang would be of the Falcon). It was not until 1970 that the Barracuda lost that association and got a platform it could call its own (well, almost, the E-body was shared with the new Dodge Challenger, but not any of the sheet metal). After a promising re-launch in 1970, Barracuda sales quickly tapered off as muscle car mania began to fade (enough so that Chrysler pulled the plug in 1974).
The seller’s ‘Cuda (the moniker for performance Barracudas) was one of just 2,540 to have the drivetrain combo that this one has (plus a few convertibles). It’s finished in Hemi Orange, one of Chrysler’s hottest Hi-Impact colors of the early 1970s. The car once had a vinyl top (likely black), but it has been pulled off revealing some rust below the back glass (hopefully that didn’t result in a leak into the trunk).
This Mopar hasn’t run in some time, supported by the lack of a radiator cap. We don’t know if a serious issue lurks within the engine or if something else caused this Plymouth to fall out of favor with its then-owner. We’re told it’s a numbers-matching machine, increasing the desirability to perform a proper restoration. Lots of paperwork will come with the car for the buyer to try to sort out its history. After a few months and a chunk of money, this could be a “wow” car once again!
I like the car and the color. I am busy restoring my second Mopar. 40k is way too much for a car that needs restoration. I know it’s cool but you can most likely double that price if you’re doing it yourself and probably triple it if you’re having a professional restoration shop do it. In my humble opinion,$15-25k is a much more realistic price. And that’s if it’s pretty solid underneath. But there’s a sucker born every minute or at least that’s what they say.
Tom, truer works were Never spoken!
The market will speak, and as mentioned probably a sucker out there. I do think this is where the market was 4 years ago.
Today at $20k I’m in and at $25k I may consider it.
Beyond that, good luck to the buyer.
Sorry NO SALE! But would love to Sail the Streets of San Francisco in Nash Bridges yellow 💛 CUDA. EVERYONE is invited for a smooth cruise with flags flying 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 in MY city by the Bay!
Since you mentioned Nash,I haven’t seen a tribute to his car.I just wondered if there is one!
Al, while not an actual post on Nashs Cuda, YouTube has several videos re that Cuda.
There is a reason the dealer doesn’t show pictures of the inside of trunk. The rust visible where the taillight panel meets the quarter panel along with the rust at the base of the rear window suggests there was a water leak which turned the back of the car into a sauna. Every piece of metal in the trunk is likely damaged. We used to hit the junk yards San Jose regularly in early-80’s mid-90’s and would regularly see cars that looked quite good until you got to the trunk and the entire internal structure was rotted.
This dealer has has several cars featured on this site, everything is overpriced. The find cool stuff, typically unrestored, then ask the moon for them.
Steve R
Why did Mopar change the styling from 70 to 71 ?
“Hemi Orange” is what Dodge called this color. Plymouth called it “Tor Red.”