1964 Plymouth Barracuda 273 cu in V8

"Friday is fish day", and what better way to keep the tradition going than the Plymouth Barracuda. Truth be told, it wasn't always the mighty muscle car it eventually became...let us all examine what can only be translated as..."the beginning."

Automotive trends in the early-mid 1960s had all the U.S. manufacturers looking at making sporty compact cars.

Since the Plymouth Valiant was on the ropes due to the success of Chevrolet's Corvair Monza in the economy market , it prompted Plymouth to refocus its sights on the sporty-compact market. Chrysler's A-body Valiant platform was chosen for the company's efforts in this direction.The result was the Barracuda, launched in mid-1964 as a '65 model. (Originally, Plymouth's executives had wanted to name the car "Panda", an idea that did NOT sit well with the car's designers. In the end, the name "Barracuda" was selected thankfully, as the name "Panda" does not exactly translate to "badass" on the street... no matter HOW hard you try!) This was not a direct reply to Ford's Mustang as some may believe due to the fact that the two models appeared almost simultaneously. Most think that Ford's Mustang gave this type of vehicle its name "Pony Car ", but in actuality, the Barracuda fastback, released on 1 April 1964, pre-dates the Mustang by two weeks.

In reality, Barracuda was the existing Valiant with a new superstructure. A fastback hardtop coupe with a huge compound-curve backlight and stubby trunklid. A fold-down back seat could be used to create a seven-foot-long cargo deck for hauling things like surfboards and hero sandwiches. (Hmm...think they might've been a little hungry at the time they came up with that rationale?)

Despite its origins, Barracuda offered a combination of sporty looks, good handling, utility, and room for four. Close to 65,000 were sold for model year '65 , (faaaar below Mustang's near 681,000), but brought added business all the same. And unlike Mustang, Barracuda didn't "cannibalize" sales from its sister models.

The 225 slant six was standard for the 1964-65 Barracuda, with the 180-bhp 273 V-8 optional. However, a high-performance 235-bhp 273 V8 was also offered with a high-lift, high-overlap camshaft, domed pistons, solid lifters, dual-contact breaker points, unsilenced air cleaner, and a sweet-sounding, low-restriction exhaust system. It was rallye suspension equipped with heavy-duty front torsion bars ,anti-sway bars, and stiff rear leaf springs, firm-ride shocks, and a 4-speed. This 235-bhp number could do 0-60 mph in eight seconds flat. (Yep...quick little bugger ain't it ?) Another quick note: 1964 was not only the first year for the Barracuda, but also the last year for push-button control of the optional Torqueflite automatic transmission, and 1964 models were the only Barracudas so equipped.

Despite it's low initial sales in comparison with its competition, the Plymouth Barracuda managed to grow not only in popularity, but like it's namesake, it also grew from a fairly formidable guppy into one nasty street fighting fish in it's 10 year production run...spawning such potent pavement pounders as the AAR 'Cuda, 440 Six Pack, and the dominating 426 Hemi 'Cuda. Come up against one of those....and you're "gonna need a bigger boat!"