10k: Mopar Fastback: 1965 Plymouth Barracuda V8 318ci
The Plymouth Barracuda introduced the world to fastback shaped pony cars a full two weeks before Ford’s Mustang was released in April 1964. It is a good thing that the Mustang outsold the Barracuda considerable because otherwise we’d be left the strange term fishcar for sporty compact 2+2 fastback/coupes with long hood styling and rear-wheel-drive. That wouldn’t do at all. However, the Barracuda was a cool car and can be found for decent price, such as this 1965 Plymouth Barracuda
offered for $8,499 or best offer via ebay, located in Los Angeles, CA.
The 1964 Barracuda was based on the A-body Plymouth Valiant, but unlike the Mustang it did not come in coupe and convertible versions until the second generation was introduced in 1967. That rear wrap around fastback window was a technological feat for the day and required a collaboration between Chrysler engineers and experts at Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG – a company that is today known for its high end automotive paint products).
Under the hood of this Barracuda is a 318 cubic inch LA-series Chrysler V8 mated to an automatic transmission. The engine is not original to the car (largest V8 in 1965 was the 273 cubic inch V8 rated at 225 horsepower) but has been massaged for a few additional ponies.
On the inside, the seats don’t look bad, but many of the plastic pieces on the dash and around the cabin look to need some attention.
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I always liked the shape of these early Barracudas. That curved rear glass was the cat's ass back in the day.
On this particular car, the details really let it down. Underhood is messy, and the trunk is a total horror story. That makes it really look like this was a quick-fix-and-respray job. That's a shame cuz it looks good at first glance. All that can be sorted out, as long as rust was not patched over (seller claims never-rusted CA shell, so…..)
Yeah nice heater core out ! Black door panels and the rest is white lot's of other things gone wrong here.