When I think of a Barracuda I think of a sexy E-body with a 426 Hemi and a whole lot of Black Sabbath or one similar to what Jeff recently happened upon on a walk with his rescue dog. I do not think of a Valiant-based, A-body “pony car” with an interior reminiscent of my grandmother’s vinyl dining chairs. And yet I’m in love.
A few weeks ago I stumbled across this 1966 Plymouth Barracuda outside of Bloomsburg, PA on my way to the body shop. This little gem is for sale at Alan Dent Motors in Lightstreet, PA. The original interior could use a sprucing up but there’s a 4.5L V8 under the hood, an automatic transmission and an under dash A/C unit that is supposed to work well. The exterior is in good to good +1 shape and the chrome isn’t too shabby. With a little TLC and elbow grease she’d be back to showroom quality in no time.
If I could get her for a lot less than the $8750.00 asking price I’d be thinking sweet commuter car! I’m such a dreamer.
Jeff Glucker
For that kind of money it had better have a push-button shifter on the dash. That's a deal breaker for me.
I always loved that back window, but nine grand is way too much.
The rear seat on those folds down and makes a flat area about the size of a double bed, so two people can actually sleep in one. I did that once as a kid.
You stopped by Dent Motors on your way to the body shop? If you hadn't, maybe you could have saved yourself a trip.
I actually guffawed when I read that – went right over my head…obviously…
If you hadn't stumbled, you might not have needed the body shop, either.
Truth be told, I went over because I'm friends with the owner – his wife was giving me her homemade canned pickles and I was looking at her new baby ducks and chickens. Ahhhh farm life.
The price is a little high for an automatic – $5,000 to $6,000 would be more reasonable. Any you're gonna really need that A/C to work in the summer. That big back window turns the rear seat area into a broiler in bright sunlight.
I can only imagine…I was figuring I could always toss the roast in there on the way home and dinner would be ready.
Such a great shape. So much nicer than the blandmobiles foisted on the market these days. Down here in Oz $8750 might just about get you the steering wheel. We have very punitive car prices, both new and old.
How much of that price is tax?
Very cool car, but as you can tell from my screen name (the val is for Valiant), I have a soft spot for early A body Mopars. A friend of my dad's had one of these. He got rearended and the back window popped out…went about 30 ft in the air. Came down in the grass and didn't break. The insurance company bought him a new one anyway, so he kept the original as a spare.
"4.5L V8" – don't you mean a 273?
You say tomato, I say 4.5L V8. Yes. I mean a 273.
you never know…there might be a 1st Gen Cayenne engine under the hood!
Sorry, just messing with you Amber. I always enjoy your posts. When I was a kid, one our of our neighbors had an early Barracuda, a gold one. I like the earliest ones, and any with a Slant Six.
It's all good. I was chuckling when I read your comment. The good part about this conversation is that a good friend who is a big car buff never realized that a 4.5L was a 273 – and now has all kinds of new engine swapping plans mulling around in his head. Ha!
@Ambersand:
As much as I hate to be a nit-picker… Oh, who am I trying to kid? At any rate, it behooves me to point out that the '68 that Jeff stumbled across (and Mad_Science subsequently found on Craigslist) is also an A-body, and therefore Valiant-based (even though it doesn't look much like a Valiant). [/pedant mode]Pony car his is not! But yeah, you're right…
Cool. With a set of '69 year of issue plates, the first year for reflective plates here in Texas. I can remember riding in a '69 fastback with a slant six with three-on-the-floor one time, when I was a kid. The guy (a friend of a neighbor's) drove it like a bat out of hell (he said it was his girlfriend's car, which explains that).
Another 1966 Barracuda at a much more reasonable price.
btw – "Barracuda" = A Body. The E-Bodies you talk about in the post, those are 'Cudas. They shortened the name
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