Same Owner 33 Years: 1974 Plymouth ‘Cuda

The Plymouth Barracuda got a new lease on life in 1970 with its E-body platform developed especially for it and the Dodge Challenger. But market tastes were changing, and the decline in demand in the performance sector led to a quick fall in Barracuda sales. Chrysler pulled the plug on the pony car market in the Spring of 1974, so that was the end of the Barracuda. This ’74 edition is a real deal ‘Cuda of which fewer than 5,000 were produced. With a substituted engine, this Mopar has had the same owner for 33 years and can be found in Suffolk, New York. Available here on craigslist, the asking price is $28,000. Thumbs up to Tony Primo for the tip!

All the big-block V8s were discontinued in the muscle ‘Cuda in 1972, so the car only had two engine choices. The base Mopar V8, the 318 cubic incher, was standard and the 340 was now optional. But the 340, too, was gone after 1973, replaced by a 360. We don’t know which was in the seller’s car from the get-go, but a 400 is there now and has some upgrades in the camshaft, intake manifold, and carburetor.

Though the seller has had this Plymouth since 1993, it’s been driven rarely but kept up. So, the claimed 71,000 miles could be legit, though how many of those are on the 400 is not addressed. It’s paired with a 727 automatic transmission, and the machine has a B&M shift kit and a posi-traction rear end. The car also sports a Rallye dash cluster and factory air conditioning, though the latter is in-op.

We’re told this is an easy project, yet we don’t know what that means other than fixing the A/C. The ’74 Barracuda was virtually unchanged from the year before and only found 11,734 buyers. Even AMC sold more Javelins that year, though both American Motors and Chrysler gave up on the pony car segment at the same time. As a result, these Mopars seem to have become more sought after than Mustangs or Camaros from the same era.