To many car aficionados, the name ‘Cuda brings back memories of small, sporty cars with big engines. Like a 383, 440, and the 426 Hemi. However, by 1973, changing conditions had eliminated all those motors and you could even get a ‘Cuda with a 318, previously thought of as an entry-level powerplant. This ’73 Plymouth is a project car that’s going to need a lot of work, although rust doesn’t appear to have staked a claim. Located in Granada Hills, California, the ‘Cuda is available here on eBay for $23,000 (Buy It Now) and you can tender an offer.

Plymouth had high hopes for its Barracuda pony car when it received a new platform in 1970, separate from the one it had previously shared with the compact Valiant. That led to a 50% increase in sales in a single year, but the polish on the apple quickly tarnished and Chrysler would give up on the market sector after 1974. In five years, the E-Body Barracudas saw production nearing 115,000 which sounds like a lot of cars, but lower than the Mustang Ford built in any single model year at the time.

Output dwindled to 19,281 units in 1973, and the cars were unchanged from 1972 except for the huge rubber bumper guards. The performance oriented ‘Cuda was about half that population at 9,305 cars and the 318 with an automatic transmission numbered 1,932 autos. That includes the seller’s car, which suggests that the number of survivors in that category is fairly small as of 2022.

The seller has owned this Plymouth for about two years, and we assume he bought it to restore but has changed his mind. It’s wearing Street Basin Blue paint, not a common color on Barracudas in 1973, It once had a white vinyl top, which has largely peeled away, and a white interior, which has been damaged over time by the lack of a windshield or back glass. While we’re not alarmed by rust, there are dents in the body including one from a hit taken from a fallen tree branch. The seller’s enclosing the sheet metal needed to make those repairs, along with a new back window.

We’re told the 318 V8 runs but not well. It smokes and has a bad carburetor. At 95,000 miles, it’s quite likely the drivetrain should be rebuilt. This ‘Cuda left the factory with air conditioning and power steering and front disc brakes. It may be one of the better Barracudas we’ve seen to retore, but the acquisition cost may put a lump in your throat. And a 318 ‘Cuda is perhaps the least desirable of the “Cudas built in the 1970s.