I’m sure it’s tempting to list a car like this with only a few poor, potentially misleading photographs, which is why I really admire this seller’s honest portrayal of the car and the explicit pictures they have included of the rusty areas. The car is currently in Seabrook, New Hampshire and is offered for sale here on eBay with an opening bid set at $3,500 with no reserve. The seller has rejuvenated the car since acquiring it after 20+ years of storage and it now runs, although it’s from a bottle, and the car still has no brakes. I’ve been looking off and on for a ’64-’65 Barracuda for my wife, and they suffer from the same rusty areas this one has; rear quarters and rocker panels. And as I looked further into the auction listing, there was more rust to be seen!
The good thing about the profuse number of pictures of the rust on this car is that a purchaser knows exactly what they are getting into. I wish all sellers were this honest! It is a bit of a daunting project, but I’d rather start with a car like this if I’m restoring something than a car covered in body filler! What I don’t know is what the market will bear for a car with this kind of rust. Are any of you Barn Finds readers Barracuda experts?
As you can see RUST was a very cheap option on cars from the upper Midwest and the northeast during the 60’s. I would try to find one in the desert southwest or west coast where the RUST option was more expensive so no one got it.
@JW — You got me laughing tonight, which is pretty difficult–good job!
@Jamie Glad I could help sir, we all need to laugh sometimes.
My cousin bought one of these back in the late seventies, for about five hundred bucks, we used it to drive back and forth from a construction site in Kansas, about a fifty mile trip each way, the passenger side floorboard was so rusted out, that I had to be careful not to put my construction boots through and on to the asphalt, breezy too in the winter.
It’s a Formula S, so its definitely worth saving. Should have a high-compression 273. It has a 4-barrel, so its likely correct. Too bad he didn’t include more information on that. $4K or less would be a fair price for what it is. If it was a 4-speed I would probably be hitching up the trailer for a ride to NH.
I saw the Formula S badges, but from the engine compartment photo on ebay, the valve covers are not the 273 Commando style, but look more like a later model 318. Switching out the valve covers on the original engine is unlikely; more likely is a 318 swap on which they installed the cast iron 4 BBL manifold from the 273 (and they had Carter, not Holley, carbs). If you are buying a rusty S for that kind of money, it should have the correct mill.
I’ve owned my ’64 ‘cuda for more than 25 years – they are great cars that get a lot of attention.
The Valiant bodies of ’63 to ’66 were notorious for rusting the front floor pans also. Anyway, I prefer the ’67 to ’69 Barracuda body. I does not look like a Valiant with a big glass window in back so much.
I live 10 minutes from here – I know the house, if anyone wants more pics or even video, happy to swing by.