68 Barracuda mystery - Can someone provide some information?

[70chall440]

I own this 68 Barracuda FB project car which I have not decided what I am going to do with just yet (build it or sell it), however I was recently selling some engine parts to a local Mopar A body racer and he pointed out something I had not noticed. On my car's grille there is "PLYMOUTH" on the right side and "Barracuda" on the left side. This guy stated that he had owned a lot of 2nd Gen Barracudas and has never seen this before. I have done a little research and have yet to see this on any other car. The emblems and surrounds do not appear to be after market. It could be something cobbled from other cars perhaps, because the PLYMOUTH is definitely larger than the Barracuda script and is in all caps.

The car is up on a lift so I cannot open the hood right now and see how they are attached.

Looking for thoughts (relative to this subject...)

 

[4spdragtop]

Cool, never seen that before.

 

[A56]

That's not a 1st gen Barracuda grill to begin with. Waiting to see how they are attached myself

 

[Plymouth 65]

1st Gen 64-66, 2nd Gen 67-69 just to be clear. 65

 

[70chall440]

Sorry my bad... I mistakenly wrote "1st Gen"... I meant 2nd Gen.... I fixed it.

 

[mvh]

It's the rectangular frames that are weird... I could see a badge added to the grill mesh (some later Mopars do that), but those frames look clunky. But they are very neatly integrated. Does this car have the PLYMOUTH lettering on the driver side just above the grill? Your photo crops it out. If not, my best guess is that this is an export model... Mexico or Latin America. I wouldn't think Canada, but maybe...? Do you have the fender tag?

 

[70chall440]

It's the rectangular frames that are weird... I could see a badge added to the grill mesh (some later Mopars do that), but those frames look clunky. But they are very neatly integrated. Does this car have the PLYMOUTH lettering on the driver side just above the grill? Your photo crops it out. If not, my best guess is that this is an export model... Mexico or Latin America. I wouldn't think Canada, but maybe...? Do you have the fender tag?

I will look again today for the PLYMOUTH lettering on the drivers side above the grille and let everyone know. I do not think that there is a fender tag still on the car but I will look again.

The car has some strange things on it, what looks to be Mustang FB louvers on the sail panels and a variety of personal touches that are clearly amateur installed (sun roof, some plexiglass plates above the exhaust tips, etc.). The car was a very nice car when new, 318, AT, PS, console, white int, sunburst (yellow) ext, etc.

 

[mvh]

Whoa, the sail panel louvers are certainly "unique". That took some work. It looks like this might be a total one-off custom job. Surprised it doesn't have one of those rainbow 70s paint jobs.

 

[70chall440]

Whoa, the sail panel louvers are certainly "unique". That took some work. It looks like this might be a total one-off custom job. Surprised it doesn't have one of those rainbow 70s paint jobs.

I agree completely. I am not sure if I am going to build the car or not, but if I do I will be putting new quarters on (which I already bought) so those louvers would go, but I do kind of like them.

 

[clementine]

kind of like them

Me too.

 

[Pound]

They look surprisingly good on that car. Kind of breaks up the somewhat large sail panel.

 

[A56]

 

[70chall440]

Ok so I went and took a closer look at the grille and engine compartment. As I stated there isn't a fender tag but more curiously I could not find where one would be attached, not saying the holes are there but rather than I could not find them. The same issue with a certicard, not present and didn't find where one would be.

Now on the grille I removed the right side and as you will see from the pictures, the chrome rectangle, PLYMOUTH and Barracuda script are all cast into the grille, or better said they are a part of the grille and not removable at all. These grilles present as original Mopar pieces although I did not see a casting or part number on the half I was looking at.

There are holes for the drivers side PLYMOUTH script though which seems quite off. Of course this car is 57 years old and there is no telling who did what and when.

The mystery deepens... lol

 

[autoxcuda]

They are added emblems of another car and glued or epoxied on. .

 

[Murray]

There are many modifications to that car and your front grill is one of them.

 

[70chall440]

They are added emblems of another car and glued or epoxied on. .

Possibly but I don't think so.

 

[OneOfMany]

The PLYMOUTH looks like the grille emblem from a 67 Valiant, and the small Barracuda script might be from the glove box trim piece

 

[RustyRatRod]

It looks like an old ratty movie car. Those emblems are not factory. That doesn't mean it's not cool.

 

[HemiSSDart]

None of that is factory, plain and simple.

 

[70chall440]

Just for the record, I am NOT at all saying or implying any of this crap is factory, rare, etc. so all of the haters can calm down a bit.

The only thing I am questioning is the grille, the rest is obviously add on's. Now that said, I am not saying that the grille is factory however it is not an epoxied, JB welded, glued POS. However it was done it was done very well.

Hey maybe it is a long lost factory Plymouth show car for 1968... LOL

 

[matthon]

Definitely a 70s custom.
Head over to Instagram and look for old school street machine accounts, might find a pic of it in it's heyday.

Or check here:

Street Freaks, Customs, Rods, Street Machines...60's 70's 80's

 

[Cuda Al]

Just for the record, I am NOT at all saying or implying any of this crap is factory, rare, etc. so all of the haters can calm down a bit.

The only thing I am questioning is the grille, the rest is obviously add on's. Now that said, I am not saying that the grille is factory however it is not an epoxied, JB welded, glued POS. However it was done it was done very well.

Hey maybe it is a long lost factory Plymouth show car for 1968... LOL

Nobody hattin on you or the car, the grill is just as custom as the rest of the car, plain and simple, nothing factory about the use of the badges or frames in the grill.


Alan

 

[autoxcuda]

Possibly but I don't think so.

I'm only focused on the grille cause that was your original question.

The Plymouth emblem looks like chromed pot metal. Pot metal doesn't mold with plastic. BTW pot metal is not magnetic typically.

The way the plastic grilles were split molded, the rectangle and emblem could not be part of that same mold. You can see the parting line of the mold along the fins of the grille. That's where the two halves split apart.

To see the casting number of the grilles, you have to remove the chrome surround from the support brackets that go between the outer aluminum surrounds. The casting numbers are on the back side edges.

 

[70chall440]

I went and pulled it out and took a hard look at one the grille halves in the sunlight. The emblem and rectangular piece are indeed attached via some type of adhesive. AS I said, whoever did this did a good job of it.

Mystery solved!!! Still don't know what I am going to do with the car but it is interesting.

 

[A56]

Just for the record, I am NOT at all saying or implying any of this crap is factory, rare, etc. so all of the haters can calm down a bit.

The only thing I am questioning is the grille, the rest is obviously add on's. Now that said, I am not saying that the grille is factory however it is not an epoxied, JB welded, glued POS. However it was done it was done very well.

Hey maybe it is a long lost factory Plymouth show car for 1968... LOL

Well, I think you misunderstand most of the comments. Haters? Some of us have been around these cars to know what belongs and what doesn't to a certain degree. Yes, there are anomaly's but not to the aesthetic degree of your car. Most who are new to certain models hope, to some degree that they have some rare, maybe valuable factory special. That doesn't qualify here. As pointed out, someone at some time had their way with that car. Whether they saw the movie Highwaymen or Corky's and had access to a yard full of car parts, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Finally, usually factory-built show cars have a very low numerical vin or order number. Just my 2 cents