When you say Barracuda—or better yet, just ’Cuda—you’re talking about one of Mopar’s crown jewels. The E-body muscle machine that could be had with a screaming 340 small-block, a tire-vaporizing 440 Six-Pack, or the deity-level 426 HEMI. Today, though, owning one brings you to the crossroads every Mopar junkie dreads:
Do you keep it bone-stock and resurrect it with a nut-and-bolt restoration, or do you throw tradition to the wind and unleash a modern restomod monster?
Let’s throw these two gladiators into the pit and see who walks out.
Video: Craig Jackson's 1970 Hemi 'Cuda - Jay Leno's Garage
Round One: The Case for Restoration
For the purists, restoring a ’Cuda isn’t just about wrenching—it’s a religion. Numbers-matching engines, date-coded glass, factory chalk marks on the firewall. If it didn’t roll off the Hamtramck line that way, it doesn’t belong.
- Historical Purity: A concours ’Cuda is a rolling time capsule. Pop the hood and you’re not just seeing a 426—you’re seeing 1970 itself, frozen in steel.
- Auction Royalty: Try taking a real-deal HEMI ’Cuda across the block at Barrett-Jackson. Watch paddles fly. That’s six- and seven-figure bragging rights you won’t get with a Frankenstein build.
- The Raw Drive: Sure, bias-plies and four-wheel drums are sketchy at speed, but they deliver the authentic white-knuckle experience. That’s muscle car history punching you in the gut.
Downside? Restoring a ’Cuda is a wallet-thinning, time-sucking obsession. Parts are rarer than hen’s teeth, and NOS pieces can cost more than an entry-level Challenger. But that’s the price of purity.
Above and below: The 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda in the lead photo and here is a one of two produced in this color combination! The details are bulleted below (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- 1 of only 2 Cuda Convertibles produced for 1971 in Sassygrass Green with White interior, top and billboards
- Dave Wise Report
- Matching numbers 340 CI V-8 engine
- 4-speed manual transmission
- Power brakes
- Shaker hood with hold-down pins
Round Two: The Case for Restomodding
- Restomodders don’t worship chalk marks—they worship seat time. For them, the Barracuda is a canvas for modern tech wrapped in vintage attitude.
- Modern Muscle: Drop in a Gen III HEMI crate, bolt up a Tremec six-speed, and suddenly your ’Cuda is dancing with Hellcats. Throw in coilovers, rack-and-pinion steering, and Wilwoods, and you’ve got a shark-bodied corner carver.
- Reliability: Forget vapor lock and carb stumbles. Modern EFI means it starts on the first crank every time, whether you’re cruising Route 66 or hammering it at a track day.
- Personal Touch: Restomods let you be the designer. Custom interiors, billet wheels, Bluetooth sound, and A/C that doesn’t wheeze like an asthmatic. It’s your Barracuda, your way.
But beware: Mopar purists will sneer at you across the car show lot, and resale isn’t always as sweet as a concours-stock ’Cuda. Restomods are more about adrenaline than auction houses.
Above and below: 1971 Plymouth Barracuda convertible restomod (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- Fuel injected Gen 3 426/540 HP Hemi V-8 engine
- Computer-controlled 4-speed automatic transmission
- Paddle shifters
- RMS front and rear suspension
- Wilwood disc brakes with drilled and slotted rotors
- Aluminum radiator
- Aftermarket air conditioning
- Custom Blue interior
- Factory dash updated with modern gauges
- Bucket seats with woodgrain center console and dash trim
- Sony audio system with subwoofer
- Power windows
- Power locks with keyless entry
- Custom StayFast canvas power-operated convertible top
- Power steering and brakes
- Car has been clear coated, sanded and polished
- Custom 'SRT 426 HEMI' badging
- Subframe connectors
- Billet aluminum pulley system
- Detailed trunk
- LED headlights
- Originally a 318 CI V-8 Barracuda Convertible
Video: Joe Rogan's 750 hp "Sick Fish" Cuda | The Perfect '70 Cuda Rebuilt by Roadster Shop is SICK!! - Autotopia LA
Round Three: The Hybrid Breed
There’s a middle ground gaining traction: stealth restomods. Keep the billboard stripes, shaker hood, and high-impact paint, but hide a modern heartbeat underneath. At a glance, it looks like a numbers-matching restoration. But drop the clutch, and you’ve got coilover suspension, fuel injection, and brakes that won’t leave you sweating on downhill runs.
These “best of both worlds” builds are starting to command serious respect—and serious money—because they please both the driver and the eye.
Above and below: Here's an excellent example of a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda 'custom' or 'hybrid' or 'sleeper' car (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- Original Sublime Green car
- 511 CI Hemi engine built by Jeff Shmanske, a Hemi Specialist out of California
- Rated at 700 HP
- Aluminum heads
- Dual Holley Sniper fuel injection
- Powdercoated Black serpentine belt system
- Tremec 5-speed manual transmission
- Pistol Grip shifter
- Reverse lights
- Dana 60 Moser rear end
- Classic stereo with Bluetooth
- Shaker hood with Hemi emblems
- Air conditioning
- New factory-style tinted glass
- Large tube headers and stainless steel exhaust
- Dakota Digital Rallye gauges
- Hemi hockey stripes
- Color matched mirrors
- Center console
- New interior
- New seatbelts
- 15 inch Rallye wheels
- Detailed trunk with spare and jack
Sidebar: Top Restomod Mods for a ’Cuda
- Gen III HEMI swap (Hellcat, Demon, or even Hellephant if you’re brave)
- Tremec T56 Magnum 6-speed
- Detroit Speed front suspension
- Wilwood 4-wheel discs
- Vintage Air climate control
Sidebar: Auction Kingpins
- 1971 HEMI ’Cuda convertible (ultra-rare) → $3.5M+ hammer price
- Numbers-matching HEMI 4-speed hardtops → regularly $500K+
- Restomod ’Cudas → $100K–$250K depending on build quality
Above and below: 1971 Hemi 'Cuda coupe - ready to burn down the tarmac (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- Highly original condition with exception of the core support which had been previously replaced
- Original drivetrain
- Mostly original paint
- Fender tag supported by Dave Wise Report
- 1 of 59 Hemi Cudas built with a 4-speed for 1971 and 1 of 10 thought to have been produced in B5 True Blue Metallic
- 426 CI Hemi V-8 engine
- 4-speed manual transmission
- A33 Track Pak with 3.54 gear ratio
- Power steering
- Power brakes
- Never previously publicly offered for sale
- Includes original broadcast sheet and Dave Wise report
- Billboard stripes added
Final Verdict: What’s It Gonna Be?
At the end of the strip, it boils down to this:
- Build for the Market: Go restoration. That’s where the six-figure checks are.
- Build for the Heart: Go restomod. Nothing beats shredding asphalt in a classic body with modern guts.
Above and below: 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- 1 of only 59 Hemi Cuda Hardtops produced in 1971 with the 4-speed manual transmission
- 1 of very few known to exist that retain the original Hemi engine
- Original body
- Dave Wise inspection report
- Very rare factory billboard car
- In previous owner's care for the last 15 years
- Professional restoration
- Original matching numbers 426/425 HP V-8 engine
- Correct A833 4-speed manual transmission
- A33 Track Pak with 3.54 Sure Grip
- Power brakes
- Shaker hood with tie-down pins
- Elastomeric bumpers
Either way, when a ’Cuda rolls up—chrome gleaming, stance menacing, pipes rumbling—every gearhead in earshot stops dead and listens. Because stock or modded, the Plymouth Barracuda doesn’t just show up. It shows out.
Classic Industries - The Source for Mopar Parts
Above: Full scoop - 1973 Plymouth 'Cuda
Whether you're restoring, restomodding, or doing something in between (say a smoking tire sleeper) for your Plymouth Barracuda (aka 'Cuda), or you are the proud caretaker of another Mopar car or Dodge truck, you can shop for Chrysler vehicles. You can also supplement your Mopar automobile shopping experience by asking the team at Classic Industries to mail you a printed Mopar Parts and Accessories Catalog by clicking the button below and filling out the short form.
But Wait! There's More...
Above and below: Plymouth began manufacturing Barracudas way back in 1964. Some call the Barracuda the first pony car, but since when is a Barracuda a pony? It's a fish! The Barracuda above and below is a 1969 model with the following attributes and provenance (photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions):
- Nut and bolt rotisserie restoration
- MCACN Concours Gold in 2019
- Rare M-code, 1 of 340 built
- Matching numbers 440 CI V-8 engine
- Matching numbers automatic transmission
- Scorch Red with Red interior
- Partial broadcast sheet
- Delivered new to Whitney's Chrysler in Ohio
- Long term ownership in Ohio for over 48 years
- Rallye dash with factory tachometer
- Bucket Seats with console
- Dave Wise visual inspection included
