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Mopars Of The Month -
March, 2004 |
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1968 Plymouth Barracuda By
Rev. Dr. Jerold A. “Jerry” Garber |
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A LITTLE OLD LADY FROM
PASADENA……was the original owner of this 1968 Plymouth Barracuda.
Her name was Elizabeth Gerard and she honored the present owner with
the gift of this car in 1999. At that time I was finishing up a
Master of Divinity degree and serving the church Elizabeth belonged
to as an intern. One day she announced she was giving me the car she
had once told me about and that had not been out of her garage in
over 2 years. My senior pastor assured me there was nothing wrong
with the ethics of the situation – Elizabeth had no living relatives
– and after asking her to think it over for a week I told her I’d
give it a good home. When she gave me the signed title I noticed she
had taken delivery of the car on my birthday in 1968! Quite a
coincidence! When I backed, pushed actually, the car from her garage
it was scratched, dented, and dirty. But after I put in a new
battery I’d thought to bring along, it started the second time I
turned the key. The odometer showed 62,300 miles accumulated over 31
years. It still had original bias ply whitewall ties which were so
badly cracked they were replaced days later. It still has the
original spare. Restoration work on the car continues as I have the
time and resources. The car came with the vinyl top option that is
on it today. It has dealer-installed air conditioning and the AM
only radio still works.
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I added the Cragar S/S wheels, which
were just becoming popular at the time the car was built. Bodywork and
paint took a couple of months. I removed all the aluminum and had it
straightened and polished in North Hollywood, California. When I took
the restored aluminum back to the body shop, the folks there asked where
I’d found brand new parts! The rear bumper was straightened and
re-chromed. I converted the exhaust to duals with Flowmaster mufflers
and repainted the valve covers and air cleaner. Otherwise everything
under the hood is as it came to me. The engine is a 318 V-8. We lost
Elizabeth in June 2000. Her memorial service was the first funeral or
memorial I had ever done and I drove her car to the service. She did
live long enough to get a ride in the car once after the paint and
bodywork was done. She remarked when she saw it that it certainly didn’t
look like it did when she gave it to me. And when I started it she
grinned and said, “Doesn’t sound the same either!” The plates,
transferred to my name, are the original plates issued for the car in
1968. The dealer license frame is from Pasadena Chrysler Plymouth and
has been on the car since 1968. |
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Present Owner: |
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Rev. Dr. Jerold A. “Jerry” Garber, Pastor,
Zion United Church of Christ, Peru, Illinois |
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