by With just 98,512 miles (158,500 km) on the clock, this incredibly rare 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe Convertible is sure to generate some love among pony car enthusiasts.
The top performance versions of the Charger, Challenger and Cuda got all the love and ink, but some interesting variants aimed at an emerging personal luxury car buyer segment are just now coming into favor with collectors.
The Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe hardtop and convertibles of the early Seventies was essentially a copy of Dodge Challenger and it shared the E-body platform with those cars. The Plymouths were, at the time, a sort of poor man’s version of other Chrysler products, but not the Gran Coupe. It was pure luxury and the Barracuda line was offered in three models, a base coupe, the luxury Gran Coupe and the performance-tuned Cuda.
Packing the 383ci (6.3-liter) OHV V8 and decked out in a True Blue Metallic wrapped around a blue leather and vinyl interior, this ‘Cuda was no high-compression muscle machine – most were in fact everyday drivers – but it did represent the top of the line in well-appointed models, and just 596 of them were built as convertibles.
This one is owned since the 1970’s by an enthusiast who happened to have several of these superb Barracuda Convertibles. Originally fitted with a 318ci (5.2-liter) V8, it got a date-code-correct 383ci V8. Fuel is supplied by a Demon carburetor, and though rebuild history on the engine is unknown, the seller says it runs “strong after it warms up a bit” and that it produces “no smoke at start-up.”
It does feature the TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission.
Said to have been restored during the 1980’s, this ‘Cuda has frame rails and floors which are said to be “perfect,” but the seller does call out “minor rust” in the passenger’s-side quarter panel and “some rust” where the driver’s-side quarter panel connects to the rocker panel. The convertible top is in excellent working order and the top appears in good condition.
This example is fitted with a Shaker hood and hood scoop assembly which is authentic and vintage.
The interior was retro-fitted with a Rallye dash, center console and – for authenticity and awesomeness – an 8-track player. The leather-trimmed front seats were included as elements of the original Gran Coupe package and the dash pad and steering wheel seem in good condition as well.
This car includes power steering, drum brakes, vintage Goodyear Polyglass GT tires and to complete the vintage excellence, those tires are mounted on vintage Cragar S/S mag wheels.
To make certain the buyer is comfortable with the authenticity of the vehicle, the seller is offering the car with a clean Washington title in his name and additional documentation includes the original fender tag, VIN-matching cowl and radiator support numbers, and the original VIN tag affixed to the door.
