With all the fanfare the Ford Mustang received in April of 1964, few remember that the Plymouth Barracuda was there first. By 17 days. The Valiant-based “pony car” would always live in the shadows of the more popular Ford, including the seller’s 1969 edition. Plymouth produced about 32,000 Barracudas that year, while Ford peddled 300,000 Mustangs. This ’69 Barracuda once wore a floral-patterned “Mod Top” vinyl roof, though a more benign covering is there now. Located with a dealer in Celeste, Texas, this Mopar is available here on eBay for $25,500 OBO. Another attaboy goes to “Curvette” for this tip.
The 1969 Barracuda was in its third year of a three-year cycle, so the changes were few. An all-new Barracuda was coming in 1970 with a platform it no longer had to share with the Valiant, the E-body. Eagle-eye observers would note that all of Plymouth’s side marker lights were rectangular now instead of round. The 318 cubic inch V8 was the entry-level engine that wasn’t a Slant-Six, and a numbers-matching version of that motor is in the seller’s car.
This Plymouth left the factory with Y2 Sun Fire Yellow paint, which would jive with the hip V1P green and yellow floral pattern vinyl roof that came as an option on this vehicle. The seats, at the time, matched the roof covering (well, it was the hippie era). The seats have since been redone in upholstery that doesn’t go with anything, but still works. A new carpeting set needs to be sourced and installed.
YouTube barn finder Dylan McCool featured the car on his internet channel, where the car was made roadworthy again. Check out the decal across the top of the windshield that gives a shoutout to Dylan. The vehicle has recently completed a 600-mile road trip, so it seems to be dependable in the way it runs now. Documentation has survived with the Plymouth, including its broadcast sheet. More work is needed, but you can do much of that while you drive it.
Remember my neighbor chum with the dismal Fiat 850 coupe, this is the car he traded it for. His was a ’68, with a 273 2bbl/4 speed, and you might think, a Fiat for a Barracuda? Well, it was the 70s, and the Fiat was much more popular than a Barracuda, they were probably glad to see it go. The 318 replaced the 273 in ’69, and these coupes are pretty rare. It should be noted, of those 32,000 Barracudas sold, only about 12,000 were coupes.
RE: Mod Top. Darn hippies, the old man would say much more colorfully, I read it was a $96.50 option, in ’69 and’70, only 2876 cars had a Mod Top, only 1280 in ’69. That would have made this car incredibly rare.
In 1969, 937 Barracudas were built with the option; there were 2792 Mod Tops (Plymouth) & Floral Tops (Dodge) in 1969 and 84 Mod Tops in 1970. So 2792 freaks ordered these in 1969 but by 1970, only 84 repeated the mistake, one of whom put one on a Hemi ‘Cuda. Altamont had prevailed over Woodstock; the 1960s were over.
Not to me,,, :)
Haha, good work.
That Hemi Cuda was stolen and has never been found…..
Howard, half the attraction to this ‘Mod Top’ survivor would have been the matching interior–and this one doesn’t have that any more. I think that alone diminishes it’s value a bit but that’s me. I knew someone with a `69 Fury III sedan with a mod top–a rather scarce model. The interior matched in a brown floral pattern to go with the brown paint job, kind funky. Sitting in that car was like taking a trip to Woodstock! This fad that Chrysler chose to capitalize on was more fleeting than a Hemi Cuda!
The 1968 Barracuda had a 318. The 318 replaced the 273 in 1968. I own an all original 1968 Barracuda hardtop with the 318.
They replaced the only thing that made the car rare? Got it!
Actually the inside is not the matching “Mod Top” seats and door panels which are very costly to duplicate……
This is listed by the dealer in Texas that specializes in overpriced Mopars and muscle cars.
Steve R
Yep….had this one for sale for awhile now – missing the seats and door panels as well as the roof covering that make up the “Mod Top” option.
As I recall a couple years ago a mod top Mopar was sold at a collector car auction for big money. Barnum was right.
Even Imperial got in on the action but in a more subtle way. My 1971 Imperial LeBaron 2 door was white with a burgundy interior and a burgundy paisley vinyl top. Very subtle, you could hardly see the paisley, but they were there.
may have been a mod top but it’s not anymore. just a pebble grain top now. another high price Mopar from this same Mopar dealer
The material is still available to bring this beautiful beast back to its original glory! Glwta!
Is the roof and seat material still available if you wanted to bring it back to original? Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem with it all. Love the 67′-69′ Barracudas the most, and it also seems to have the rear defrost option which I don’t see much. That Dylan Mc not so Cool banner would get removed ASAP.
Why even mention “Mod Top” if both the vinyl roof and the upholstery are AWOL? It’s not a Mod Top Barracuda now, and never will be again unless someone spends an outrageous amount of money on locating and restoring both of those items? A dealer ought to know better than to mention it, because disclosing content that’s no longer present detracts from the value, not increases it.
These hardtop Barracuda’s are my favorite. Nicer in my opinion than the fastbacks and what came in 1970. Forget about the ‘mod top’, clean it up, which means get rid of the decal, and you have an uncommon daily driver. Fix and upgrade as you go.
Unfortunately that’s not going to happen at the given dealers ask. 10k seems reasonable for a vintage, solid, V-8 runner.
Spring of 1969, My neighbor/best friend’s mother bought this same car in a copper color with black interior and vinyl top. We took it for a joy ride on a stretch of interstate highway which was still under construction and not open to traffic yet. He hit 115 mph, and that still stands as the fastest I’ve ever traveled in a passenger car. I guess I’ve lived a sheltered life (I’m 75).