1968 Plymouth Barracuda becomes lifelong companion
A military officer in Manhattan Beach, California, purchased a new Plymouth Barracuda in 1968. For more than a decade he enjoyed his sporty car, and by 1979, he and his car had moved to Virginia where the car was parked on the front yard of his home with a “for sale” sign in the window.
At that time young Tim Minor was fresh out of high school and had been looking for a sporty, muscular car with style. He saw that the Barracuda fulfilled all of his requirements and he quickly became the second owner of the car.
The 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S 340 became Minor’s daily driver, and he was so comfortable with it that he knew he would never part with the car. Unfortunately, after three years the car was involved in a minor fender-bender. Minor took his Plymouth out of service and, for the next 23 years, moved it from one storage facility to another until he could restore it to its former glory.
The Plymouth’s only power-assisted accessory is the steering. The factory-installed Chrysler Airtemp air conditioner with vents on the bottom of the dashboard is an unusual option. The electric wipers are not special but the windshield washers are. The washers are activated by manually pumping them using a footoperated pump on the floor. Wing vent windows in the front doors offer additional fresh air.
The three-spoke steering wheel does not hinder the driver’s view of the 120-mph speedometer in the padded instrument panel. A small storage compartment in the center console also houses the gear selector with gears located front to rear of: Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Second, and First.
At long last in 2010, Minor began a two-year restoration of his 1968 Plymouth. All of the brightwork was either polished or replaced. The reupholstered white seats are in sharp contrast to the black headliner and the black carpeting. Minor even located a woman in Texas who duplicated the seat belts down to the label from the original belts.
Prior to repainting his Barracuda in the original hue of Surf Turquoise Poly, Minor made certain the 340-cubic-inch V-8 was in superb condition and could still deliver 275 horsepower. Now whenever he fires up his car he enjoys the rumble tumbling out of the dual exhausts.
Returning the Formula S 340 to like-new condition has been a long time coming but Minor said the final result makes it worthwhile.
The odometer has recorded 109,000 miles, however, Minor enjoys the ride whenever he goes cruising on his 14-inch redline tires that support his car on a 108-inch wheelbase.
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