For Sale – What a Valiant Little Barracuda!

When I think of a Barracuda I think of a sexy E-body with a 426 Hemi and a whole lot of Black Sabbath or one similar to what Jeff recently happened upon on a walk with his rescue dog. I do not think of a Valiant-based, A-body “pony car” with an interior reminiscent of my grandmother’s vinyl dining chairs. And yet I’m in love.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this 1966 Plymouth Barracuda outside of Bloomsburg, PA on my way to the body shop. This little gem is for sale at Alan Dent Motors in Lightstreet, PA. The original interior could use a sprucing up but there’s a 4.5L V8 under the hood, an automatic transmission and an under dash A/C unit that is supposed to work well.  The exterior is in good to good +1 shape and the chrome isn’t too shabby. With a little TLC and elbow grease she’d be back to showroom quality in no time.
If I could get her for a lot less than the $8750.00 asking price I’d be thinking sweet commuter car! I’m such a dreamer.

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  1. dmilligan Avatar

    For that kind of money it had better have a push-button shifter on the dash. That's a deal breaker for me.

  2. Van Sarockin Avatar
    Van Sarockin

    I always loved that back window, but nine grand is way too much.

  3. PapayaSF Avatar

    The rear seat on those folds down and makes a flat area about the size of a double bed, so two people can actually sleep in one. I did that once as a kid.

  4. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    You stopped by Dent Motors on your way to the body shop? If you hadn't, maybe you could have saved yourself a trip.

    1. Ambersand Avatar

      I actually guffawed when I read that – went right over my head…obviously…

      1. FreeMan Avatar
        FreeMan

        If you hadn't stumbled, you might not have needed the body shop, either.

        1. Ambersand Avatar

          Truth be told, I went over because I'm friends with the owner – his wife was giving me her homemade canned pickles and I was looking at her new baby ducks and chickens. Ahhhh farm life.

  5. tonyola Avatar

    The price is a little high for an automatic – $5,000 to $6,000 would be more reasonable. Any you're gonna really need that A/C to work in the summer. That big back window turns the rear seat area into a broiler in bright sunlight.

    1. Ambersand Avatar

      I can only imagine…I was figuring I could always toss the roast in there on the way home and dinner would be ready.

  6. marque911 Avatar

    Such a great shape. So much nicer than the blandmobiles foisted on the market these days. Down here in Oz $8750 might just about get you the steering wheel. We have very punitive car prices, both new and old.

    1. Alff Avatar

      How much of that price is tax?

  7. jims63valvert Avatar

    Very cool car, but as you can tell from my screen name (the val is for Valiant), I have a soft spot for early A body Mopars. A friend of my dad's had one of these. He got rearended and the back window popped out…went about 30 ft in the air. Came down in the grass and didn't break. The insurance company bought him a new one anyway, so he kept the original as a spare.

  8. dukeisduke Avatar

    "4.5L V8" – don't you mean a 273?

    1. Ambersand Avatar

      You say tomato, I say 4.5L V8. Yes. I mean a 273.

      1. jims63valvert Avatar

        you never know…there might be a 1st Gen Cayenne engine under the hood!

  9. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Sorry, just messing with you Amber. I always enjoy your posts. When I was a kid, one our of our neighbors had an early Barracuda, a gold one. I like the earliest ones, and any with a Slant Six.

    1. Ambersand Avatar

      It's all good. I was chuckling when I read your comment. The good part about this conversation is that a good friend who is a big car buff never realized that a 4.5L was a 273 – and now has all kinds of new engine swapping plans mulling around in his head. Ha!

  10. Mike_the_Dog Avatar

    @Ambersand: As much as I hate to be a nit-picker… Oh, who am I trying to kid? At any rate, it behooves me to point out that the '68 that Jeff stumbled across (and Mad_Science subsequently found on Craigslist) is also an A-body, and therefore Valiant-based (even though it doesn't look much like a Valiant). [/pedant mode]

    1. Ambersand Avatar

      Pony car his is not! But yeah, you're right…

  11. dukeisduke Avatar

    Cool. With a set of '69 year of issue plates, the first year for reflective plates here in Texas. I can remember riding in a '69 fastback with a slant six with three-on-the-floor one time, when I was a kid. The guy (a friend of a neighbor's) drove it like a bat out of hell (he said it was his girlfriend's car, which explains that).

  12. PapayaSF Avatar

    Another 1966 Barracuda at a much more reasonable price.

  13. DanRoth Avatar
    DanRoth

    btw – "Barracuda" = A Body. The E-Bodies you talk about in the post, those are 'Cudas. They shortened the name

  14. Susan Davis Avatar

    I totally am loving this website 🙂 absolutely going to have to add this to my bookmarks.