Mighty Mopar
Plymouth 'Cuda

1970

For 1970, the Barracuda was all new. Along with the Challenger, the Barracuda launched the short lived E-body line-up. The E-body was essentially a shortened wheelbase 68-70 B-body. That is why the suspensions and engine compartments are almost alike. Everything behind the front fenders is unique to the E-body. You can swap front sheet metal between the two. (I have seen it done on a station wagon with a Challenger clip.) Well, with the styling change, Chrysler dropped the fastback, but retained the hard top and convertible. And thus began the more popular generation of the Barracuda.

Also with the demise of the A-body, came the demise of the Formula "S". However, the did retain the 'cuda model that debuted in 1969. The base 'cuda came with the 335 hp 4-bbl 383 big block engine. But that was just the beginning. If you were willing to part with a few more bucks, you could have four other engines. The first step up was the 275 hp 4-bbl 340. People usually assume that the 340 was the base engine because it was a small block putting out less power than the 383. But in actuality, the 340 torqued up a lot quicker than the 383, and there was considerably less weight to pull around, which helped straight line acceleration and cornering ability immensely. Going a step beyond, Plymouth gave 340 'cuda owners further handling improvements by way of standard 15" rims (14" were standard on the 383). This made the 340 'cuda the best overall performance package of any '70 'cuda offered, except for the AAR. The 340 and 383 came standard with 3.23:1 rear gears and a 3-speed manual transmission. If you ordered the pistol grip 4-speed A-833 or the 3-speed automatic 727, you could get 3.55 or 3.91:1 sure-grip rear gears. You could also order 2.76 rear gears with your automatic, if you did not opt for a brake upgrade.

The next step up was the 440 block, which you could have in either 375-hp 4-bbl form, or the 390 hp 6-bbl version. The king of the hill was the 425-hp 426 hemi engine. These blocks came standard with the automatic and 3.23:1 rear gears. You could also get 3.55 or 4.10:1 rear gears with the automatic. If you went for the pistol grip you got a 3.54:1 rear end, with the option to go for the 4.10s. These cars also got stiffer suspensions, and the hemis came with 15" rims as standard.

The 440 6-bbl has always played second fiddle to the hemi in the public's perception, but the truth is that it was just as fierce a competitor on the strip, and could whip the hemi between street lights. This is because, like the 340, the 440 torqued up quicker than the hemi. And torque is correlated to acceleration. Power, which the hemi had more of, correlates to speed. So if you had two identically prepared 'cudas, differentiated only by the block, the 440-6 would jump out in front. The hemi car will only catch it over a significant distance (i.e. the end of a 1/4 mile strip). In a short race, the hemi is lunch. The hemi is also a very temperamental beast, requiring lots of tuning and attention. The difference today in price between the two cars does not at all represent the difference in performance between the two monsters.

The hemi 'cudas came standard with what Chrysler called the Incredible Quivering Exposed Cold Air Grabber, more commonly known as the shaker hood. The center of the hood had an enormous hole cut out of it, with the shaker mechanism poking through it. The shaker was a driver operated air cleaner housing, which kind of looked like a turtle shell with two nostrils. The driver had a cable under the dash, which determined whether the air was fed to the carbs from outside via the shaker, or from the engine compartment. On the hemi, bringing the cold air in could mean as much as a gain of 20 horsepower. Most shakers in '70 were textured silver, except for red cars, which got red shakers. The shaker was optional on all other '70 'cudas, except the AAR. Standard on the others was the beautiful performance hood. It came with two non functional scoops that covered most of the hood, and looked enormous from the passenger compartment. Cars equipped with the shaker, or the 440-6, were not available with air conditioning, because the compressor could not co-exist with the air cleaner. On all 'cuda hoods resided hood pins, which were unnecessary, but looked awesome.

Also adding to the look were the wild colors and stripes offered. Barracudas were offered in several colors, including 7 extra cost "high impact" colors: Tor Red (Hemi Orange), In Violet (Plum Crazy Purple), Lemon Twist, Lime Light Green, Moulin Rouge (Panther Pink), Sassy Grass Green, and Vitamin C Orange. If you wanted, you could even get your front, or both, bumpers covered with urethane and painted body color. This was known as an "elastomeric bumper". These colors were attention grabbers, especially when topped off with the "hockey stick" stripe. This stripe looked like an upside down hockey stick, which ran along the upper quarters. At the tail, the engine displacement, or the word "HEMI", was called out. The stripe was available in either black or white.

More in the way of the appearance of the beast were options for a rear spoiler, and the window louver package, which also included a black vinyl top and textured window chrome, which was painted black. Road lamps below the front bumper came standard. The dual exhaust actually exited through two cutouts in the rear valence panel, except for vehicles built for delivery to greater Los Angeles, in which case the exhaust turned down under the car. The tail light panel was painted an ominous black.

Sales were much improved over 1969. Just over 17,000 'Cudas were built in '70, including the convertibles and the AARs. And there was more to come in '71.

The AAR 'cuda was a mid-year addition announced by Plymouth in February. The AAR (and its sister, the Dodge Challenger T/A) was without a doubt the most complete package of style, straight-line performance, and handling that Chrysler built during the musclecar era. The AAR was produced only for 1970, in order to compete with GM, Ford and AMC in the popular Trans-Am series. World renowned driver Dan Gurney and his racing team, All American Racers, were hired to build and race two cars. The second was driven by Gurneys protégé, Swede Savage. Chrysler was late getting in the game, as the other manufacturers were veterans in this racing series. The racing 'cudas never saw the checkered flag and finished last in the standings. The cars usually qualified well, and found themselves on the pole on occasion. But the cars rarely finished, and typically limped home when they did. At the end of the year, Chrysler pulled the plug on its unsuccessful effort. The street versions, though, were a wonderful result of an otherwise horrible endeavor. To qualify for the series, Plymouth had to build a minimum of 2,500 street versions that shared most of the race cars' components. Plymouth actually wound up building 2,724 AARs (1120 4-Speed and 1604 3-speed Automatic), that way every dealer would get at least one and Chrysler could avoid restraint-of-trade accusations.

The only heart available in the beast was a 340 topped with 3 Holley 2-barrel carbs riding on an aluminum Edelbrock manifold. But this was not the same 340 that came in the other Chrysler products. The block was cast with stress reliefs and more meat, so you could convert to 4 bolt mains. The heads were totally different, as the intake push rods were moved over to allow for hemi-style rocker arms, and so you could grind out the rod lump in the intake port and put in bigger valves. Mind you, Chrysler did not do the extra work for you. Nor did these provisions add to your horsepower or torque. While the AAR's engine was putting out 15 more horses than a stock 340, this was due solely to the increased induction. About that advertised 290 horses, don't believe it. It was more like 325. The power was transmitted through either the 727 automatic tranny (column or console), or the Pistol Grip 4-speed A833. Again, the manual tranny in the AAR was special, as it had lower road race-oriented gear ratios (this version became standard in all 'cudas in '71). The standard rear gear set was a 3.55:1 sure-grip, with the 3.91 available as a no-cost upgrade. 15 x 7 rallye rims shod with Goodyear skins were the only way offered to put the ponies to the pavement. The tires, however, were staggered in height. Why? Because you needed the rear elevated to allow for the side exhaust exiting in front of the rear tires. Yes, side exhaust, with chrome "megaphones" at the tips.

Plymouth more than made up for the increased center-of-gravity by putting front and rear sway bars underneath, as well as stiffer shocks and rear springs. The subframe was reinforced further by the addition of the boxes that usually were reserved for Hemi and convertible 'cudas. To make room for the 15" rims up front, Plymouth bolted on the rolled-lip "hemi" fenders. Also up front were 11" disc brakes. Steering was routed through either the standard manual or power boxes, or a special quick ratio power box available only on the AAR and its sister. These modifications yielded a skidpad rating of 0.76g force, easily the best handling Chrysler during the musclecar craze.

But the changes did not stop there. Up top, a weight reducing fresh-air-induction fiberglass hood with an enormous NACA duct scoop fed air directly to the carbs. To eliminate radio interference problems with the hood, the antenna was moved to the top of the rear quarter panel. The hood pins on the AAR, unlike the other 'cudas, were fully functional as there was no hood latch. The hood, along with the fender tops and the front grille, was painted with a textured black paint. The red pin stripe in the grille of other 'cudas was replaced on the AAR by two Chrome loops surrounding a duplicate of the grille pattern. On the trunk lid sat a black "ducktail" spoiler.

As if this was not enough to grab your attention, the factory slapped on the most outrageous stripe ever to grace a production car. It is known appropriately as the "strobe" stripe. It was a black strip that ran the length and contour of the upper side, and was split into sections. At the front, the sections start out several inches wide. Each section then gets 4% smaller than the previous section. By the end, the sections are mere pinstripes. Then, in big reflective white letters outlined in black, comes the word CUDA, followed by the multi-colored AAR insignia (very similar to an interstate symbol). Every AAR came with the stripes, even black AARs. To say the stripe is noticeable would be a huge understatement. Usually, there is no middle ground, people either love it or hate it. According to the designer of the strobe stripe, the concept came from the sequentially activated tail lights on Mercury's Cougar, and was supposed to give the image of motion.

Up front, some of the cars came with optional chin spoilers. They were shipped in the trunk, along with the chrome exhaust tips, to avoid damaging them during transport. That's why no two AARs have the front spoilers in the same place, the dealers had to install them. To my knowledge, there were no instructions or template included to properly mount the spoilers. The spoilers that were left over were made available on '71 'cudas.

Most AARs came with limited options. One reason for this was that the AAR was supposed to be a bare bones race car for the street, not a luxury option. The other was that Chrysler delivered the cars to the dealerships on consignment, so they tried to keep costs down. Unfortunately, this meant you could not order one, you got what the dealer had. And most dealers only got one. Most of the AARs you will find with expensive options were cars that just happened to be on the line when production managers at the Hamtramck, MI plant decided to build AARs on a particular day. Of course, with a mid-year introduction, there was a lot of confusion, which also led to production mistakes. To try and help the dealers deal with/correct the mistakes, Chrysler issued a product bulletin outlining some of the changes made to the AARs. But the bulletin was highly incomplete, and not completely correct, so variations exist.

1971

Changes made to the Barracuda for 1971 were mostly cosmetic. Some structural improvements were made, and the 440-4 bbl was dropped from the lineup. The 440-6 dropped its compression ratio and lost 5 horses. The 383 dropped 35 horses, to 300. But the big changes were aesthetic. The front grille and valence were completely different. The open mouth grille from '70 was replaced by a very busy piece which now housed twice as many headlights, and six scalloped openings. the turn signals moved to the valence. The road lamps were now optional. Left over chin spoilers from the AARs were available in '71. On the other end, the tail lights were modified. In '70, the back-up and brake lights were a single piece. For '71 they were separated. The rear spoiler was also changed, but remaining stock from '70 was used up first. Also gone was the side gill trim piece, replaced by a thin chrome strip. But to keep the fish look, four gills were added to the upper rear portion of each fender. Inside, the seats were completely changed, but not improved, as they now offered no lateral support whatsoever.

The colors changed as well as the stripe. Most of the colors from '70 were retained, and some new ones were added. Of note were the additions of Curious Yellow and Bahama Yellow. The shaker was also a new color, as they all came from the factory in textured black (some leftovers from '70 may have slipped through). The hockey stick stripe was replaced by the "billboard stripe". This stripe, available in either black or white, covered almost the entire rear quarter. On the door, the engine displacement, or the word "HEMI", was called out. Initially, the billboard stripe was a joke created by a disgruntled employee. It seems that the designer of the stripe was upset that he had been assigned to a job, stripe design, not worthy of his talents. In a move meant to anger his boss, this person said to himself, "if you want a stripe I'll give you a stripe!" He then proceeded to cover the entire quarter panel, and brought the boss in to prove his point. Unbelievably, the boss thought it was great and approved it for production!

Sales for the 1971 'cudas dropped to less than 6,000 units. This was mostly due to the muscle car era coming to a close.

1972

The Barracuda received a blow in 1972 when the insurance companies and gas crisis combined inadvertently to kill the musclecar craze. The car's grill changed back to reminiscent of 1970's while the tail lights changed to 4 circles, much like the Corvette's. This was also the first year you could not get a big block in you Barracuda or 'cuda since 1966. Also, for the first time since 1966, you could not get a convertible. Also, this is the year the 340 got a cast crank.

1973

1973 was a middle ground year as the Barracuda did not change much. Only two real changes. The 225 was dropped from the engine lineup. And the bumpers were now 5mph crash test mandatory (ie. ugly, but 70-72 bumpers swap on if you use the 70-72 brackets - CZ).

1974

The Barracuda was canceled after the 1974 model year. It essentially looks the same as the 1972 with only minor changes to the drive train and options. The only change that I know of from 73 to 74 was that the 340 was dropped from the lineup and replaced with the 360. And thanks to an eagle-eyed reader, I now know that another difference in the 1973 and 1974 Barracuda was the seat belt arrangement in the back. In 73 both end of the belts came up between the top and bottom of the . In 74 the bottom came true a hole cut in the rear side panel.