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1968 Barracuda Notchback

dj's 2000 xj

dj's 2000 xj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Edwardsville, IL
There is 1 for sale near me, I dont know anything about Mopar cars. I have alwasy had Chevrolet's. Does anybody know anything interesting about this one? It has a slant 6 225 2 bbl with 8.25 rear end. Automatic. Needs new paint and little bit of rust fixing. Thanks.
 
68 was the year just before the cuda/challenger redesign when they went flat and wide. They were nice cars, slant 6 was the base, 318 and I think 383 were the V8's that were available. IIRC they came notchback, rag top and fast back, they were based on the Valiant platform I think, yes, just looked it up here
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/plymouth/plymouth-baracuda-history-ar7907.html
Parts are available for them, her's one site
http://www.classicone.com/wsc/catalog/mopar/Bbody/6870Bbody/6870Bbody.htm

If it's in good shape and the unibody and rear quarters are not too bad as well as the firewall and rear window channels it's a good rebuildable car. The slant6, reliable as the 4.0 and 4.2 in the jeep line.
 
You either love MOPAR or hate them. It will be a lot more money to fix up the Cuda over say a Stang or a Camaro of the Same vintage. The Slant six can be made into a real power house. I have a buddy with one in a Duster that runs 12's!
 
Actually 69 was the last year for the A-body barracuda before it went flat and wide to the E-body platform. In 68 the available V8s were 273,318,340,383. Its a simple swap to a v-8 if your interested in it for something like that. They have really gone up in Value so if its a good deal you might be able to turn it for a small profit, but not alot of people looking for /6 cars. I have a 68 Fast Back Forumula S 340 that I will eventually get put back together, i need to quit messing with this damn jeep :D
 
Dubious about the 8.25 rear. The 7.25 was pretty much standard fare in /6 A body units. Though someone could have swapped in a 8.25 out of a M body when the 7.25 went boom.

What else...

Nice cars, nice lines, basic car :D

Came in many flavors. Back then options were your choice. I have seen 13" tires, foot operated washer pumps, single speed wipers. Auto was a 904 and I don't remember what the manual was. Carb was likely a Carter BBD or a Holley 2bbl. Ignition was point and coil, though you can easily convert to Electronic ignition by swaping a distributor and box in.

Brakes, came in small and smaller. Should have 4 wheel drum/shoe setup. The larger brakes came on the 14" Wheel models.

You will find few creature comforts in that car. It was one of the base models in the Plymouth line.

Other than that, it's all standard Mopar stuff. Body parts, including floor pans are available, but not from DCX. Most of the /6 performance parts are out of production (maniolds and such).

The V8 and /6 K frames are different, so you can't just bolt in a V8 with out some thought.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Barracuda

What does he want for it, if I may be so bold? Something reasonable I hope !
 
They make conversion mounts for the /6 to V8 swap anymore. You can also change the K-member out which is easy. The front end will most likely need to be rebuild anyways and once the suspension is out the K-frame is only 4 bolts.

There were disc brakes available but few have them. I put willwood front discs on mine as the old 10" drums were getting a little scary once the car got into the 12s lol.

They do make some performance parts for the LEANING TOWER OF POWER /6 lol. But I wouldn't mess with it.
 
Ahh, my first car was a 68 'Cuda Fastback!

V8 cars should have discs, mine did.

Also the torsion bars are the same for the I6 and LA motors.

Formula S is another story.

You can go K-member and Mopar performance has them new (spendy).

If you are going to get one from a yard get one from the desert as they are more rust prone than the rockers of an XJ.

Also be sure to really look at and fix the rust in the uni-body around the K-Member.

I think that all the V-8 A-bodies had the same k-members and suspension, so you should be able to just change spindles, bearings, and hubs to get discs.

Post up some pics!

Brad
 
Not all the V-8 cars had disc. My Formula S had power 10" drums. My dad has a 69 Original 318 car and it had manual 9" Drums, my Sisters 67 273 Dart has 9" drums as well. However I bought a parts car that was a Loaded up 273 car and it had discs.

Found some pics I had
24_22.jpg

image26.jpg

16_14.jpg


I have since shitcanned those wheels, didn't ever like them from they day they went on. Its got Holeshot HoleStars on it now, much much lighter and much better looking :).

Problem, its been apart for 4 years. I have a HUGE pile of parts to be installed and almost enough parts to build 2 motors lol.
 
Thanks for the responses. Just got back home. The owner just got divorced, now going to Iraq, needs it out of his Ex's garage. He is around 45 yrs old. $4000 starting price. I have no pics. The interior is all there, front seats are torn a little (says the dash is from a duster possibly). He doesnt know many specific details. He bought the car in Wash. State while in service about 10 yrs ago. Claims it ran 6 years ago. Same gas in tank still. Says will run if gas added to carb, we didnt do it the day I looked at it. The quarters arent that bad, But, has some filler in the rear area. It passed the knock test ( knock on quaters and sounded like metal/hand didnt go through) I think it's a $2500 car at most but the owner is quite proud of it and doesnt need the money. I would want to rebuild a 383 mag block that is froma police interceptor from the late 60's. Keep the auto, cruising vehicle, burn the tires, race a ricer kind of car. Had a cherry 1969 camaro til dec. 05 garage fire. Been killing me ever since. This thing has the biggest trunk I ever saw! I had a 1972 chevelle and the trunk wasnt this big.
 
$4k?

Well they do get money for junk now don't they ;)

If your wanting to put a 383 (That'd be a B engine) in it, I wouldn't bother unless you like the body style.

You will end up swaping:
Engine (of course)
K frame, Engine plate, or modify the K frame (beef up and different mounts)
Torsion bars
Tranny
Rear
Driveshaft
Wheels/Tries
Springs

Then install:
Frame connectors
Duals, some 3" should do nicely

Repair floors (you will need the integrity !) and sounds like quarters.

Not to mention all the little crap, seats, interior...

Now, if you were a True MOPAR fan, you wouldn't have squaked at the $4K and it wouldn't be still collecting dust in his EXs garage ;) Just kidding, the $4K is a bit rich for me too.

Get an old V8 Dart or Valiant, or even a late 70's early 80's F or M body do the same thing and you may have $4K invested when you are all done :D
IIRC the Police shops used to use M bodys (Diplomat, LeBaron), so you may actually get the power package you want with no mods needed.
 
The 383 (or any B block) makes them really nose heavy. You can get almost as many horses out of a 340 or 360 and the LA motor is a lot lighter than the B block. And it is pretty much a bolt up. The A motor wieghs nearly the same as the slant six, the LA motor is 40 or so pounds lighter than the A motor.
I'm hoping some day to find me a decent body. I've got a freshly recondiitoned 360 (pre smog) factory HP motor sitting in my garage. :)
I've found a early fifities (split windhsield), Dodge pick up, sitting in a weed patch. I've been looking hard at. I've talked to the guy a couple of times, but you can't be too eager, or you are likely going to pay through the nose.
 
When I get home tonight I will try to find an article on a 440 Baracuda. Yes it was for the strip. If I recall they talk about shedding tires in a straight line and handling like a wheel barrow.

I did have a '68 notchback, green, 318, police brakes. Foot pump windsheild waser. Also had the original documents and build sheet for it. I would love to have another.

Also saw a '70 Hemi 'Cuda go for a Million five on Barret's over the week end
 
Here's one (a '64 IIRC) that my MOPAR nut neighbor bought off a farm for $400 last month. All he wanted was the 340 in it to rebuild for his '73 Duster (has a 383 in it we yanked out), so we pulled the driveline in his backyard. He kept the engine, sold the tranny for $125, and the rest of the rolling chassis for $500 to some guy in Florida who drove up with a rollback and hauled it away.

So, all in all, he got an engine and $225 in his pocket out of the deal :laugh:

Jeff

cuda1.jpg


cuda2.jpg


cuda3_340.jpg


cuda_out.jpg
 
What a shame. That car with a 340 in it would be worth quite a bit.

My brother had a 69 Fastback Cuda with a 340. It would kick the shit out of most other big blocks on the block.
 
Someone must have swapped out the original motor in that 64, and the original motor in the duster :). 340 didn't come out until 68 and Dusters never had 383s :).
 
Yep, and yep. The 340 was redneck engineered to the max (you can't see in the pics). There was actually a 2 gal gas can under the hood with a fuel line stuck into it:shiver: He spent about 2 years building the 383 when he bought the duster. He/we pulled the whole front clip off and modified the engine bay to squeeze it in. You can barrely slip a dollar bill between the firewall and the rear of the engine, and he had to get pretty creative with the headers, especially the driverside around the steering box. We just tore it all down about a month ago, and he's sending out the rolling chassis to get soda blasted this spring. I'll see if I can get some pics.

Jeff
 
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