Not quite sure where to start with this description, so I will start with the basics and then add more details as the auction runs.
This 'Cuda was owned by a long time friend. He bought the car in 1989 and proceeded with a bare metal restoration and did a terrific job. He used the car only for show and only rolled up approx. 10k miles in 24 yrs.
Tom had tried to sell the car for a couple of years, but finally marked it down so it would sell easily as he had personal reasons to sell and wanted the money for something.
I gave Tom his full asking price without question, and gave him multiple opportunities to change his mind. However; I knew at the time I could not keep it as I have two teenage boys at home. One is driving already and one will be driving next year. I love my boys too much to tempt them with a car like this; AND I love these old Mopars enough not to expose them to teenage boys. For that reason, I had recently sold a 2008 Challenger SRT8 Hemi Orange with only 2700 miles and after that I then I learned Tom's Cuda was for sale with an attractive price. With that info out of the way; on to the car.
I have owned multiple Mopars over the years so I know a little bit about them, but do not pretend to be an expert. Should you see anything in my description that does not seem accurate or correct, please let me know and I will amend the auction. As to the condition, I believe this to be a solid #2 car except for the interior. That will need to be redone as it has multiple tears in the upholstery.
This Curious Yellow 1971 Plymouth was built on September 25, 1971 and I have a pristine build sheet that I will try and image and include with the pictures.
THE VIN on this 'Cuda is BS23H1B156620. B - Ply. Barracuda; S - Special; 23 - body type, 2 dr hardtop; H - Eng. Code, 340 275HP; 1 - last digit of model year (1971) B - Assembly Plant (Hamtramck) & Sequence #.
The Fender Tag is from Top to Bottom; N42 N85 26 EN2; J54 M21 M25 M31 M88 N41; GY3 U A62 G36 J25 J45; GY3 H4X9 000 925 003824; E55 D32 BS23 H1B 156620
N42 Chrome Dual Exhaust Tips; N85 Tachometer; 26 26in Radiator, EN2 End of Codes Assembly Line 2
J54 Sport Hood 70-71, M21 Roof Drip Rail Molding, M25 Wide Sill Molding, M31 Belt and Hood Molding, M88 Low Decklid Molding N41 Dual Exhaust w/o Tips
GY3 Roof Paint Color Curious Yellow, U Built to Spec for USA, A62 Rallye Instrument Cluster, G36 Colored Keyed Left Hand Remote and Right Hand Manual Sport Mirrors, J25 Variable Wiper 3 speed, J45 Hood Pins
GY3 Body Paint Color Curious Yellow, H4X9 Split Bench Seat with Fold Down Armrest Black, 000 Standard Door Panels? 925 Built Sept 25, 1970, 003824 Production Sequence Number
E55 340 4-Barrel V8 275 HP, D32 A-727 HD Torque-Flite Automatic, BS23 Ply Barracuda Special 2 door hardtop, H1B Engine Code, 1971, Hamtramck, 156620 Production Sequence.
According to the Build Sheet, this was an 'ordered car'. Someone wanted the Split Bench and Column Shift Auto instead of the more common bucket seats with or without console.
The body on this car was treated to a bare metal restoration. When Tom bought the car it was an interesting Blue, perhaps B7 Jamaica Blue Metallic but did have some rust in the lower quarter panels and trunk floor. As Tom began looking closer at the car and removing paint, he found the original Curious Yellow paint underneath so decided to return the 'Cuda to it's original color. I have multiple pictures of the body restoration process both before and after the painting process. Tom told me when I bought the car that the only rust was in the back quarters and trunk floor; as if the rear of the car had been dipped in salt water? Maybe there was a trailer hitch on the car at one time and the car was used to tow a small boat? That detail is lost to history.
In any case the body received and EXTENSIVE and EXPENSIVE respray in 1989 by Tim's Custom Paint, maybe the best paint shop in the area. Tom and one of his Sons did much of the paint removal and some of the rust removal and stripped all of the drive-train, under-hood parts and body hardware before handing the car over to Tim for the detail.
Even with all of the preparatory work being done at home, the re-finish of the car cost $5000 in 1989! It looks as good today as I am sure it did then.
Tom Recently retired from Newport News Shipbuilding and I cannot remember if was an Engineer or Machinist, but he handled most the mechanical rebuild himself.
The engine was recently refreshed in June 2009 at mileage of 126,754.. I am not sure I can do the details justice but I will provide some informationl
The block IS the MATCHING NUMBERS BLOCK! I verified that myself. Tom recorded all of the Main Bearing Clearances, Rod Bearing Clearances and Ring End Gaps as well as the overborre (40) Crank +10
He used FELPRO 1008 Head Gaskets and Torqued the Heads to 96 lb feet.
The Current Heads on the Engine are Edelbrock Aluminum Heads. THE ORIGINAL HEADS are in boxes and set aside.
The CAM is a COMP CAMS GRIND CRS 268AH-10 with Gross lift of .464 on intake and exhaust and duration @ .050 of 222 and 226 intake and exhaust
The intake manifold is aluminum and low profile for hood clearance; painted orange to match the block and valve covers. I believe it is WEIAND but I cannot verify right now.
The Carb is an almost new Holley Street Avenger 670 CFM Vacuum seconday. There is a vintage Correct Carter Thermoquad that will go with the car but I do not believe it is the original Carb.
The distributor is a NEW MSD unit that has been added since I bought the car. We could not get the tune just right with the other distributor, it will go with the car.
The Ignition system is also MSD with the Tach Adaptor (moved from the interior of the car to under the hood since I bought the car) The tach adaptor is a noisy unit, the ride is better with it under the hood.
The Torque Flite A727 is also Matching Numbers. I personally verified that as well. That has also recently been rebuilt. Tom has a good friend that rebuilds transmissions and I think this is the second or third rebuild in the last 24 years.
The Headers and Exhaust are TTI with a balance tube and Dynomax mufflers. The original exhaust manifolds with go with the car.
The rear is a #742 case with 3.91 gears. The original gear set was 3.23 and I do not know if the case is original to the car. The sure-grip works perfectly and is not noisy and does not whine or chatter.
The rear tires are nearly new BF GOODRICH Radial T/A size 255 60R15 on replacement 15 inch Rally Wheels. The front tires are NEW 255 70R14 on two of the original wheels, the other wheels go w/the car.
The interior of the car is the weakest point. There are multiple tears in the seats and armrest from age and dry-rot. There is a least one seam separation in the headline. The front carpet has been cut so Tom could run a HURST floor shifter at some point during his 24 years of ownership. There is a small hole in the center tunnel to mount the shifter and run the shift cable. There is a very small area, maybe 3-4 inches in the drivers side floor at the accelerator pedal that was repaired when the body work was done. It was not large enough to justify replacing the entire D/S floor panel.
All of the glass is in good condition, the driver's and passenger windows travel up and down easily and are well aligned for an E-Body.
I recently had the wiper motor repaired as the wiper motor 'Park' feature was inoperable; a common problem on old E and B Bodies.
I have a new Instrument Panel Dimmer switch on order as the Instrument lights went dark on the way home after buying the car.
I have a new speedometer cable gear on order as Tom never really drove the car and he never changed the gear to correspond to the rear-gear or the larger 15 inch tires.
I think this is a good start.
The car is stored in my office garage away from teen-age boys.
I will post pictures of the fender tag and interior in the next few days.
I strongly encourage personal inspections or third-party inspections at a mutually convenient time.
I believe I have represented the car very fairly and I think my Ebay feed back rating should help establish my integrity.
I will assist the buyer with the logistics of transportation and MAY even be willing to drive the car to the new owner after DISCUSSION with the buyer.
DO NOT bid on this car if you need permission from your wife/girlfriend/Mother/Priest/Lender. DO NOT ask what the reserve price is; it is slightly less than the BUY IT NOW PRICE.
I do not HAVE to sell this car as I can keep it at my office as long as necessary, but would rather see it go to another Mopar Fan who can enjoy it as they see fit.
Please let me know what questions you have. If they are pertinent and will help other buyers, I will answer the question honestly and to the best of my ability and post it for everyone to see.
First Edit; I incorrectly stated the production date as 1971; it is certainly 9/25/1970, not 9/25/71 which would be the 1972 production year.
Second, I forgot to mention that when the car was painted, the grill was removed and repainted to Curious Yellow body color and a small crack in the upper center of the grill was repaired. After a few miles of driving, the crack re-appeared and has not changed in 24 years. These 1971 only 'cheese-grater' grills are notoriously fragile. Again, no change in that crack in 24 years, but wanted to disclose it.
I am sure there will be details and pictures added later as well as answers to your questions. .
Thanks for your interest in our 1971 'Cuda.
Plymouth Barracuda for Sale
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Mon, 16 Jun 2014
We're plenty used to seeing classic cars selling for millions of dollars. It's just that they're usually European: Ferraris, Bugattis, Mercedes and the like. There are some rare American exceptions, usually wearing the names Duesenberg or Shelby. But what we have here is the most expensive Chrysler product ever sold at auction.
The vehicle in question is a Plymouth Barracuda - specifically a 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible, chassis #BS27R1B315367 - that Mecum Auctions just sold after eight solid minutes of feverish bidding for a high bid of $3.5 million at its auction in Seattle, Washington. That figure positively eclipses the $2.2 million paid for a strikingly similar Hemi Cuda (chassis #BS27R1B269588) fetched nearly seven years ago in Scottsdale and another that was the first muscle car to break the million-dollar mark in 2002.
Wed, 19 Dec 2012
Before Chrysler had Street and Racing Technology, it had Performance Vehicle Operations. What the two entities have in common, before SRT became its own brand, of course, is that each was created to take Chrysler and Dodge (and Plymouth, before it was unceremoniously killed off) vehicles to the next level of style and performance.
We'll leave the question of whether or not the old Plymouth (and later Chrysler) Prowler was ultimately a stylish, performance-oriented car to you, but the boys and girls currently leading the SRT charge at the Pentastar headquarters are keen to accept the retro-rod into the fold.
According to the automaker, all of SRT's current high-performance models owe a debt of gratitude to the old Prowler, due mostly to that car's use of lightweight bits and pieces and innovative construction techniques. If nothing else, the fact that the Prowler's frame is "the largest machined automotive part in history" is pretty cool. Read all the details here.
Thu, 25 Sep 2014
The US Marshal's so-called Blood Muscle Auction was completed earlier this month, with the prestigious nine-car field (two cars were added following Autoblog's initial story, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 and a rare, mid-restoration 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda) finding new and hopefully law-abiding owners.
While we'd normally recap the stars of the show, in this particular auction, every car's sale was newsworthy. The full list of sale prices doesn't seem to be published, but according to The New York Times, the auction brought in a total of $2.5 million, or an average of about $277,000 per car.
The king of the contest seems to be a 1970 Plymouth Superbird (above, right), complete with a 426-cubic-inch Hemi V8, which brought home $575,000. The trio of Yenko Chevys, meanwhile, all easily cleared the six-figure mark, with the Yenko Camaro (above, far right) clearing $315,000, the Chevelle crossing the block for $237,500 and the supremely rare - one of just 37 - Yenko Nova (shown above, left) selling for an even $400,000.
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