1 of 1,141: 1971 Plymouth Cuda 340
Plymouth treated the Barracuda to an all-new platform in 1970, the E-body, and buyers responded enthusiastically, sending sales up by 50%. But a year later, production would drop by two-thirds thanks to a shift in consumer demand for “muscle cars”. This 1971 edition is the ‘Cuda 340 and needs a ton of bodywork done, but it’s from the only year the Barracuda was built with quad headlights. Located in Santa Ana, California, this rusty machine is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $20,011.
This ‘Cuda was probably a stunning car when it was new. And fairly rare. Only 1,141 were built as a coupe with the 340 and a 4-speed manual transmission. And if you reduce that to the number that only wore FE5 Rallye Red paint, the figure may be more like 100. The seller’s car comes with its original VIN tag and fender tag, although we wonder why the latter is painted blue when the rest of the car isn’t. Given the amount of corrosion in and out of the vehicle, it’s been sitting and exposed to the elements for some time.
Expect to keep the guys busy at the body shop if you decide to take this Plymouth home. Among other things, the following areas will need sheet metal attention: the trunk floor, quarter panels, floorboards, fenders, and even the A-pillars. But we’re told the frame rails, rocker panels, and doors are all good. And that excludes the interior, which is likely going to need just about everything redone.
Mechanically, the car is not complete. Someone has been pirating parts off the engine and out of the compartment it rests in. And we don’t know if this ‘Cuda is numbers-matching, which would be a key factor considering the overall poor condition of the rest of the auto. But, if you have the time and bank account needed to restore this ‘Cuda, you will eventually have yourself a very desirable classic car.
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Comments
Looking at the background photos, it’d be interesting to see if any match anything found on the other 2 MoPar cars there.
Can’t say this is kind of rusting is anything like most ‘70’s era cars found in most California junkyards we’ve gone through unless the car was brought out west years afterwards.
Maybe Someone with big pockets will save it.
..” it’d be interesting to see if any *missing parts*match anything found on the other 2 MoPar cars there.”
Bodyman, and mechanic 🛠 🔧 are going to be busy.
If the trunk and floorboard is That bad there’s no way that the rockers would be usable. Would have been nice too to see what’s under that scoop, might be nothing there but lifters and pushrods,…
Too much that’s beyond hope here and too many question marks for $20K, I’ll pass thanks.
And the notion that it’s rare is a bit of a stretch at with the number approaching @1,500 built. By way of comparaison there’s a locally listed 1970 Challanger RT convert in lime green with a 340 And slap stick shifter: the owner has a yellowed later from Chryco saying that the Challengerr is one of 11 built with exactly that combo.
Stats can be easily be manipulated with the right set of formulas and perceived outcomes.
My daughter once told a (now ex-boyfriend): “Your perception is not necessarily my reality”..
Smart girl-dunno where she got it but it wasn’t from me..😆
340 wasn’t an option in a 70 Challenger R/T. The 340 was added to the R/Ts in 71 but they dropped the R/T Convertible for 71.
Unless you happen to have a decent body lying around, you can kiss your nest egg goodbye with this one.
Junk box money pit..Not worth it.. My opinion
Someone with big pockets and a love ❤️ for this car would do whatever it takes to get the job done ✅ on this baby! Straight to Graveyard Cars is where it’s best for this beauty!
EGADDS,I know where a good body was 40 years ago…lol. I recall one of these hitting the yard. The car had hit something on the right side front. The suspension, fender, grille and hood were toast. Like usual then the 440 was extracted as was the tranny and then it sat around. I get a call for a left fender. Yup have, no dents or rust…send it. Two days later the fender is back…no good…why not? need one without the gills. How about I send the gills and the damaged other fender…no, the customer doesn’t want them. That fender laid on the roof of that car until I ran it through the press….My have times changed.
my sister in law bought one of these new, it was a POS , I don’t see what people see in these cars, they were made cheap and didn’t have frames to support the horsepower and keep the bodies from twisting, in the early seventies I went with a friend to Grand Spalding Dodge, we looked at the used Mopar’s on his lot, most of the big block cars sat lobsided, the doors didn’t open and close properly which told us the unibodies were tweaked, absolute junk from the start.
I had one also and it still ranks as one of the worst cars I ever owned.
It sold for 40k
Bid now 22,500K. The guy that tossed that bid out gets the “you’ve got to be kidding” award which is number three for December. This is going to be an expensive Christmas present.
Ten years ago nobody would be paying that kind of money for stuff like this but all the good project cars have long been scooped up and what’s left is terminal cases like this that people are trying to get top dollar,…
Feel sorry for the guy that baught this he’s pretty much paid 22.5K for the serial number tag at this point.
No coming back from that cancer
Supposedly this “thing” sold for $40,200.00. HOLY $#¿¥!!! Who was unintelligent enough to pay that kind of money for a giant pile of rust and a title? Sure hope they weren’t planning on selling it for even what they paid for it. Must be something sentimental because they’re gonna be into it more than I’m into my house. What is it with people and Mopar these days? INSANITY!!!
Insane…Restore this correctly and you will be into it for almost twice what’s it’s worth ?