I purchased the 'Cuda in September of 1988 with 80,000 miles on the odometer. It's kind of interesting how and why I ended up with it.
I had just graduated high school and decided to use the money I received to buy my first car. I wanted a MoPar muscle car, I've always loved MoPars, but my Dad thought it would be better if I bought something newer and plainer. I was having a hard time finding what I wanted though, and so it was at his insistence that I went to look at a 1976 Chevelle. When I arrived, I found the Chevelle sitting next to a 1970 318 Dart Swinger in the driveway. It turned out that the Dart was also for sale for $450, or $150 less than the Chevelle, and so I bought it on the spot and took it home.
The Dart was a great little car. I still remember the thrill of driving off and going directly to the nearest gas station to fill it up with leaded gas. At the time, I remember that I equated this with muscle cars, and it struck me as a wonderful and totally anti-social thing to do. The guy I bought it from had just taken it over from the original owner's estate and this man had taken pretty good care of it. It had 90,000 miles and it was mostly orange, except for the rust which was extensive. It was my little Road Runner though and I intended to restore it. I started with brand new tires, and then a complete dual exhaust. The technician at Car-X who was installing the exhaust didn't think much of the car though, and suggested that I buy his 1974 'Cuda instead. I'm sure there was no ulterior motive involved. The 'Cuda didn't have an engine though and it had been sitting in his garage for several years, so it wasn't the kind of transportation a community college-bound teenager needed. That was the end of that.
That all changed a day or two later though. Just days after buying the Dart and having spent more than its purchase price on new tires and exhaust, it was t-boned on my way to work. The poor Dart was still driveable but was totaled (notice that these are usually mutually-exclusive conditions). I went to the hospital to get checked out and stopped by Car-X on the way home to find out about the 'Cuda. A few days and $800 later, it was mine.
The fact that it didn't have an engine was a little bit disheartening, but it didn't stop me from dreaming. Even though '74s aren't considered as desirable as '70s and '71s, it was still way more of a muscle car than the Dart was. Come on, it's an E-body Barracuda, designed solely as a Hemi container. I can't tell you how many times I would sit in the driver's seat in the driveway thinking about the day it would hit the streets again. Many of my friends joined me to hear the plans for the car and the significance of this, the last of the E-bodies.
Since it didn't have an engine, I wasn't sure what I would do, replace the original 360 or go bigger. I was kind of glad that it didn't have the original engine as I probably would have felt compelled to use it. At some point I ended up purchasing a '74 police 440 to install in the 'Cuda, but never got around to putting it in since this would be a major project requiring a new K-member. So the car sat in my driveway under a cover waiting. A couple years later I was driving a 1969 New Yorker on a daily basis when that car was rear ended and nearly totaled. Before I retired it, I drove it cross country and took it on a top speed run of around 135. That ended in a blown transmission though, and the New Yorker's time had come. Before saying goodbye I yanked the motor and trans and dropped them in the 'Cuda for safekeeping.
It was a funny thing though, because it seemed as if the motor mounts lined up pretty well with the pads on the existing k-memeber. I thought about this for a while, until one day when I was sitting around sick from work with mono and curiosity got the best of me. I went out to take a look underneath and sure enough, a few bolts would be all it would take to secure the RB motor into the 'Cuda. Thankfully mono is a nasty sickness, and so I was able to take the whole rest of the week off from work. That was just enough time to get everything hooked up. I was able to find matching connections on the engine for almost all of the points on the 'Cuda's wiring harness except for the electronic ignition. The '69 motor had a distributor with points and I hadn't saved anything but the motor and the belt-driven accessories, so I thought I was out of luck. Then it dawned on me that I had that other '74 440 with an electronic ignition sitting in my neighbors garage. I ran over and removed the distributor. After making sure that I didn't install it backwards, the remaining wiring harness connections were able to be made. From this point, I simply changed the oil and let the starting fluid flow. It started right up.
As it turns out the 'Cuda is one of only 761 that came from the factory in 1974 with the 360 and an automatic. It is also an original black car, although the original vinyl roof and interior were white. It currently has a 1969 Chrysler 440 4-BBL with a 727 auto. The car has about 95K miles on it and the engine about 120K.
For all you '74 'Cuda owners out there, keep in mind that these are pretty special cars. Here are a few important facts about them:
-The 1974 'Cuda has almost the exact same suspension, drivetrain (360 vs. 340) as the 1970 and 1971 'Cudas. Of course, it didn't have a big block available, but it did have a more powerful small block than what was available at any time since 1971.
-Aside from the engine (a BIG aside, I'll concede) the '74 (and '73 and '72) 'Cudas were completely uncompromised from what they were in '70 and '71. Look at the Mustang in '74.
-1974 was the very last year of the 'Cudas. I'm sure Chrysler was disgusted by the dismal sales at the time, but as a result the e-bodies in general are pretty scarce, with the 1974s being the rarest. Here are the totals for E-body Barracuda production:
1970 - 54,789
1971 - 18,690
1972 - 18,490
1973 - 19,281
1974 - 11,734
Of the 11,734 1974 Barracudas made, only 4,989 were 'Cudas and 1,191 of those were 360 'Cudas.
Of the total E-body Barracuda production of 122,984, 1974 represents only 9.5 percent.
To contact me, please write to the following address WITHOUT THE DASHES: cuda-440@19-27.org
This is done to protect my e-mail address from harvest by automatic e-mail scammers.
© 2002 Mike - All rights reserved
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