No Reserve 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 Project

The third-generation Plymouth Barracuda is one of those cars most Mopar fans dream about owning, and with only five years of production, it’s also a textbook example of how quickly things can change in the automotive marketplace.  Muscle cars were still a hot commodity back in 1970, and the E-Body had a bay that could accommodate anything from an inline-6 to a big block V8, including the monstrous 426 Hemi.  However, just about everything that could go wrong with high-performance offerings did not long after, and by ’72 a small block was the best you could get.  This 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda still has the born-with 340 under the hood, and 240 HP wasn’t bad at all for the period, especially since ratings had recently changed from gross to net.

This one looks reasonably good from a distance, but a closer inspection reveals that some bodywork will be needed to get the sheet metal back up to top-notch condition.  There’s a good-sized dent in one of the front fenders plus rust showing in the lower extremities, the latter not uncommon at all on these cars.  An experienced bodyman might be able to make repairs and salvage many of the panels, although it may make more sense to replace at least the quarters.  Other than a missing pan under the rear bumper, the ‘Cuda appears to be pretty much complete on the outside.

Unfortunately, the 340 is not operational at the moment, and we get some sad news that the owner passed away about 3 years ago.  The car has been sitting since, but the seller says that the engine will turn over and run with a carburetor rebuild plus some tinkering.  This one is equipped with an automatic transmission, but there’s no word on its present condition.

Inside, the dash looks like it’s been in a high-degree oven for decades, but it’s nice to see that this one’s a factory A/C car.  The front buckets will require recovering, and the seller also mentions some rust in the driver’s foot area of the floorboard that will need to be addressed.  While this one needs quite a bit of work, I’ve seen far worse starting points for E-Bodies, and being a factory 340 example, this one seems like it might be well worth the effort.  If you’re ready to get started, this one’s in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and can be found here on eBay, with bidding currently resting at $5,600.  Is this 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda good project material?