Mopars Of The Month - February 2008

1968 Plymouth Barracuda by Bruce Ritter

Submitted via 440'S PlymouthBarracuda.net

I am the proud owner of what is basically a 2 owner car. As such, I have all the original records, including the original window sticker, sales slip, and owner's manual. My dad bought the car from the original owner as part of an exchange for a converted camper van (he ran Contempo Campers back in the hayday of the Camper Van Conversion) for my mom in 1970. It had only 23000 miles on it. At the age of 12 I started doing all the maintenance on the car, and it was the car that I eventually learned to drive in.

When I graduated college, my parents wanted to sell it and get me a 'new' (read 'used') car . I convinced them to, instead, get the engine rebuilt (at 126,000 mi), NOT replaced, the seats re-upholstered, and gift it to me. Since then I have put another 84,000 miles on it, had it repainted twice (the second time to match the original paint still on the inside of the door frames), and had the engine, and now the transmission, rebuilt. Please note: REBUILT, not replaced, so all VIN stampings still match. It sill runs, although it is pretty much just sitting now, waiting for a long due for a full interior revamp.

Also note, it was seen (and heard) briefly in the 1978 ABC after school special "It's a Mile from Here to Glory" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385788/). It has the original 2bb carburated 318cid engine, 4 speed manual transmission, and limited slip differential. I got tired of replacing the points, so I ended up updating it to an electronic point ignition system (requiring a distributor change), but everything else is pretty much original, if rebuilt.

Bruce Ritter - Auburn, WA