The third (and final) generation of the Barracuda has always been a personal favorite. Together with the Dodge Challenger built off the same platform, they were some of the best looking (and best performing) pony cars of their time. While most of the collector attention today points to the muscle versions of these machines, a “regular” edition Barracuda is a pleasant sight. Like this 1972 survivor that has been pampered by its single owner for the past 49 years. It’s located in Gresham, Oregon and available here on eBay for $33,000 (Buy It Now). The Make Offer function is also available. Special thanks to TommyT-Tops for this tip!
1970 was the year of change for the Plymouth Barracuda. That’s when it shed its association with the Valiant, which it had been based upon since 1964. The Barracuda had actually beaten the Ford Mustang to market by 17 days in what began the pony car market movement. In 1970, the Barracuda was built on a shorter, wider version of Chrysler’s existing B platform, called the E-body, instead of the A-body as before. Sales perked up immediately, jumping nearly 50 percent over 1969, but they cooled again with the decline in muscle car sales and were down to under 19,000 units by 1972. Nearly 7,300 of those cars would be the 2-door coupe with a 318 cubic inch V8 and a TorqueFlite automatic, like the seller’s Plymouth.
This 1972 edition is said to be a one-owner car and we’re told the seller still has the original title that was available in wallet size in those days! We’re also told that it’s rust-free with only one repaint (either Honey Dew or Honey Gold) and no sheet metal work having ever been done. Everything shines up nicely, including the black vinyl top, although I wouldn’t have parked it for photos where leaves could fall on the trunk. But it is picturesque. The 1972 models differed from their immediate predecessors by going back to the use of single rather than double headlights.
The green interior looks tidy, but not perfect. The door panels look faded and if the carpets were green, to begin with, they look gold now, so possibly a swap would be in order for black or dark green. There is a cover over the dash pad but it’s not hiding anything as the uncovered dash looks fine in another photo. The seller goes to a lot of trouble taking exterior shots of the car, which we appreciate, but not one of the insides of the trunk. We hope that’s as nice as the rest of the car.
Under the hood is said to be a numbers-matching basic V8 which has 94,000 miles on it. So, the car has been no garage queen over the years but protected none-the-less. The seller says the Barracuda runs great and it certainly gives the impression it could be driven anywhere with no concerns. Hagerty indicates that a ’72 Barracuda in Excellent condition is a car worth in the mid-$30,000s. So, the seller has priced his perhaps 10 percent below that. Hopefully, whoever buys this one leaves it alone and doesn’t try to turn it into a tribute with a transplanted big-block.
Expensive, rightfully so, if it’s as advertised.
Steve R
You rarely see standard model Barracudas, Chargers, and Challengers. It seems gearheads are just itching to take these ‘regular’ cars and throw a huge, high horsepower engine in them. Even at the asking price, this would be a nice addition to someone’s collection. Hopefully, they will leave it ‘as is’.
Hopefully, they will leaf it ‘as is’. (Damn, I wish I had thought of that sooner!)
HaHaHa!
What a beautiful automobile. If only she had A/C and a black interior she would be perfect to me. I like the leaves idea, looks intentional based on the “clumping” pattern on the rear deck.
Many are still unaware that the Challenger and the Barracuda are different cars underneath. The Challengers were larger cars in the following ways; Wheelbase: 2 inches longer, Overall length: 4.7 inches longer,
Overall height: 0.2 inches taller, and
Overall width: 1.7 inches wider. Noticeable differences when parked side by side.
As beautiful as the Barracuda are, from 70 to 74 the Challenger significantly outsold them, with a total of 188,606 Challengers versus 126,586 Barracudas produced from 1970-’74.
Well they were quite different outside also, meaning the styling sheet metal.
Underneath they were exactly the same, apart from the 2 inch stretch of the Challenger wheelbase.
What was underneath both was the following “The E platform was really Chrysler’s long-standing B-body platform with a few inches taken out of the middle to tighten things up: The 117-inch-wheelbase Charger begat the 110-inch-wheelbase Challenger, and the 116-inch-wheelbase Road Runner laid claim to the 108-inch-wheelbase Barracuda.”
Nice car. As is.
Hate the taillights on these, glad they went back to single headlights. Give me a ’70 Cuda any day.
I LOVE the taillights. That’s what makes the world go round!
On Mannix, he drove many cars & later “drove a ’72 ‘Cuda convertible – that’s right, the ‘Cuda convertible that Chrysler discontinued at the end of the 1971 model year. The convertible must have been pretty important to the Mannix persona because Chrysler modified one of the earlier cars with a grille and taillights from a ’72 to create the illusion”
http://i.pinimg.com/originals/87/48/f1/8748f1a4e1ad18a0d1fca817c710e14a.jpg
& ouch! –>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkrDk-VnTs
I know where there’s an unrestored ’70 cuda convert.
318’s ran great and could get 20 mpg. Lots of low and mid range response so perfect for normal driving.
This car was the epitome of a perfect design. Clean simple lines that could not be improved upon. Of course, Chrysler tried to improve on them and they added too much ‘bling’ and ruined their looks (IMHO).
What a sweet survivor. Would love it parked in my drive. It’s awesome that folks like this keep a classic in this condition for all these years. This a tad off the subject but how about that 200 plus muscle car collection in CA in a former Walmart store. Wow is all I can come up with.
I’d much rather have this Barracuda than any of those muscle cars.
This one brings back lots of great memories. Except for the paint color (mine was dark green repaint over the original lime color), this one is close to identical to my first car – 1973 Barracuda that I bought for $1,600 in 1978.
Column shift 318, PS, PB, green interior. Those non-bolstered seats – I fell out one time while taking a really sharp left turn. 2 seconds of staring at the ceiling felt like an eternity.
There is something about the look of the 72 – 74 Barracudas, it is the first car that I fell in love with and will always appreciate seeing them in this condition. 30K might soumd too high to most, but this is what they can get for them, and means that I will never have another.
If only we had a crystal ball when we owned cars like these to see what they would be worth in 45 years.
So true! I sold my Barracuda to buy a ’70 Corvette Convertible, and this car is now worth more than that one!
Buddy of mine drove a 72 Cuda with 340″ and auto trans of the lot back in the day. Orange with black interior. I told him to keep it. He said he couldn’t afford to. It was a sweet car. He added big fat tires in the rear to accent the stance!
This one reminded me of his! I often wonder where it ended up.
On the other hand, I kept my Olds, it’ll be 51 yrs this May.
Fun to see these cars from my youth, still running around!!
I hate the feeling of dishonesty I get when I see a seller pushing the fact that it is a one owner car when he clearly is flipping it.
It is easy to look at a seller’s history and see that all they sell are cars and trucks, and have 2 other vehicles for sale right now.
There are a few dealers that appear to be private parties selling on these sites. Anyone who peruses these ads knows who they are and must wonder what other dishonest descriptions do they use. I would hesitate to do business with any of them.
“Hagerty indicates that a ’72 Barracuda in Excellent condition is a car worth in the mid-$30,000s.” Hagerty is so self servicing, working with the insurance agencies to inflate values. No way is this car “worth” as much as a 2018 Challenger R/T. Also- some Chevy guy painted it- wrong color and black firewall. Yech.
My only issue with the car is that someone painted the engine bay black instead of leaving it the body color. That would make me want to look it over better- Why would someone who took such good car of it to keep it original go and paint it black ?
If I pay full price will the seller clean off the battery corrosion?
I agree with Don something don’t add up. Why would the engine compartment not be body color, what is under that dash pad? Interior looks funky door panels beat up. Lots of surface rust. Makes me think owner cared at 1 time but than let it sit outside for a few years before this flipper bought it, threw lipstick on it and is trying to get Cuda money for it!!!
I think the carpet was replaced with incorrect brown one – the original one should still be green in the areas where the floor mats cover it – right?
I doubt you could special order brown carpet & the rest inside green from the factory, even back then – even tho the carpet matches the exterior body color.
No, it’s just faded, green carpet.
Nice but too much for a 318 car. And that green interior….barf…
Says it has had one repaint in the original color. Then why is the engine compartment black?
The only thing I would change are the tires I throw some white letter tires on there
Color isn’t honeydew, that’s for sure. Honeydew was a slightly more yellow than ivory non-metallic. I had a 72 Gold Duster in that color.
Too much hype in the seller’s description. How much does the value go up if it’s a one owner car? What good is that wallet size title gonna do the new owner? It’s still a 318 car with almost 100k miles, with few options, in a less than desirable color combo. Clearly it’s been messed with as evidenced by the black engine compartment.
I have nothing against Challengers/Barracudas but E-body prices have been insane for a long time and there’s no way this car is worth $30k.