dynodonn
Well-Known Member
1965 Barracuda Formula S
This car was built at the Chrysler plant in Los Angeles, CA in April 1965, which was the first model-year for production of the Formula S option. The best estimate I have seen says that only about 2 percent of 1965 Barracuda production had the Formula S option, so only about 1300 were built that year. The car spent its entire life in California until being transported to Connecticut by a car collector. I bought the car in 2011 and had it transported to Milwaukee, WI. This car was sold to me as numbers-matching; since VIN numbers were not stamped on components in 1965 I am told this cannot be confirmed. This car is for sale only due to health concerns.
This car is extremely clean. There is no evidence of rust or rot anywhere on the body, frame or underbody. The floorboards and trunk floor are also clean and dry. I was told by the previous owner that it is an original Formula S car, which had one repaint in 1998. The bright red paint with the black Rallye stripes still shines, but does have a few minor flaws. All the chrome is in excellent shape; the front bumper could stand to be re-chromed but is still presentable. The odometer shows 56,000 miles which I was told is the correct mileage. It has the rare 273 CI/235HP Commando V-8 engine which had a larger AFB carburetor installed but retains the Commando air cleaner and finned valve covers. It also has a Torqueflite automatic transmission with floor shifter, an 8-3/4 Suregrip rear, power steering, and drum brakes. The engine pulls strongly in all gears, has excellent oil pressure at all RPM ranges, and generates no smoke or strange noises. It also has had a true stainless steel dual-exhaust system installed, but does retain the original Commando exhaust manifolds.
A few modifications have been made to the car for the sake of drive-ability. The engine's ignition system was changed to an MP electronic ignition, and I installed a modern mini-starter. The floor shifter has been changed to a Hurst unit still using the original floor console. Seat belts have been added for safety, and there is a modern stereo/CD player in the glove compartment. The speakers were installed with Velcro so they are easily removable. The interior is all-original except the carpet which I intended to replace; the front seats are losing a little bit of foam which has dried out due to age, but the seat covers are all in great shape with no rips or tears. A conversion to large bolt pattern wheels was done by the previous owner, and American Racing wheels with modern radial tires were installed. The front valence under the bumper does have some minor damage in the center, but this is very hard to see and could easily be repaired. I see some signs that some small parts off of a blue car were used for repair/replacement at some time, but when or why this was done I have no way of knowing. The original gas tank developed a bad leak, so I removed it and installed a modern fuel cell in the trunk. I have all the miscellaneous parts necessary to put in a new stock fuel tank, including the sending unit.
The headlights, taillights, turn signals, running lights, ammeter & temperature gauges, dash lights, interior lights, windshield wipers, AM radio, horn, etc. are all functional. The only exceptions to this are the gas gauge, which was disconnected when the fuel cell was installed, and the back-up lights which are in place but are not currently connected. An aftermarket fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, and Sun-Pro tachometer have been installed under the dash. There is no spare tire due to the fuel cell in the trunk, but I do have the original bumper jack. There are two car covers, a new carpet kit from ACC, and some small spare parts that also come with the car.
The car does have a few miscellaneous squeaks and rattles; please remember that this car is 50 years old and is original it has not been restored. As mentioned this car has a few flaws but you won't ever be ashamed to be seen driving it or at a local car show. I have reduced thr price to $16,0000 for the car but I am open to reasonable offers. I have done my best to present as much information as possible about this car, most of which I learned by trial and error. I have no objections to having the car examined by a serious prospective buyer or their agent, but "joyrides" will not be permitted. Please note that I also have a clear Wisconsin title for this car, so prospective buyers need not be concerned about that . I will take additional photos of the body, engine compartment, trunk, etc. and them to serious buyers.
One other note: I have been told by so-called experts and various VIN de-coding tools on the Internet that the VIN number on all Barracudas built with a V-8 engine in 1965 should begin with "V85" as the first three digits. I have spoken with the original owners of V-8 powered Barracudas both at car shows and on various web sites and have concluded that this is not true. Some have owned cars where the VIN did not start with a "V" and others have seen VIN numbers that did not have a "V85" as any of the first three digits. As any true Mopar hobbyist knows "Ma Mopar" did whatever she wanted to "back in the day" so who can say for sure? At any rate the VIN on this car begins with "185" so please keep this in mind if you try to decode the VIN.
This car was built at the Chrysler plant in Los Angeles, CA in April 1965, which was the first model-year for production of the Formula S option. The best estimate I have seen says that only about 2 percent of 1965 Barracuda production had the Formula S option, so only about 1300 were built that year. The car spent its entire life in California until being transported to Connecticut by a car collector. I bought the car in 2011 and had it transported to Milwaukee, WI. This car was sold to me as numbers-matching; since VIN numbers were not stamped on components in 1965 I am told this cannot be confirmed. This car is for sale only due to health concerns.
This car is extremely clean. There is no evidence of rust or rot anywhere on the body, frame or underbody. The floorboards and trunk floor are also clean and dry. I was told by the previous owner that it is an original Formula S car, which had one repaint in 1998. The bright red paint with the black Rallye stripes still shines, but does have a few minor flaws. All the chrome is in excellent shape; the front bumper could stand to be re-chromed but is still presentable. The odometer shows 56,000 miles which I was told is the correct mileage. It has the rare 273 CI/235HP Commando V-8 engine which had a larger AFB carburetor installed but retains the Commando air cleaner and finned valve covers. It also has a Torqueflite automatic transmission with floor shifter, an 8-3/4 Suregrip rear, power steering, and drum brakes. The engine pulls strongly in all gears, has excellent oil pressure at all RPM ranges, and generates no smoke or strange noises. It also has had a true stainless steel dual-exhaust system installed, but does retain the original Commando exhaust manifolds.
A few modifications have been made to the car for the sake of drive-ability. The engine's ignition system was changed to an MP electronic ignition, and I installed a modern mini-starter. The floor shifter has been changed to a Hurst unit still using the original floor console. Seat belts have been added for safety, and there is a modern stereo/CD player in the glove compartment. The speakers were installed with Velcro so they are easily removable. The interior is all-original except the carpet which I intended to replace; the front seats are losing a little bit of foam which has dried out due to age, but the seat covers are all in great shape with no rips or tears. A conversion to large bolt pattern wheels was done by the previous owner, and American Racing wheels with modern radial tires were installed. The front valence under the bumper does have some minor damage in the center, but this is very hard to see and could easily be repaired. I see some signs that some small parts off of a blue car were used for repair/replacement at some time, but when or why this was done I have no way of knowing. The original gas tank developed a bad leak, so I removed it and installed a modern fuel cell in the trunk. I have all the miscellaneous parts necessary to put in a new stock fuel tank, including the sending unit.
The headlights, taillights, turn signals, running lights, ammeter & temperature gauges, dash lights, interior lights, windshield wipers, AM radio, horn, etc. are all functional. The only exceptions to this are the gas gauge, which was disconnected when the fuel cell was installed, and the back-up lights which are in place but are not currently connected. An aftermarket fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, and Sun-Pro tachometer have been installed under the dash. There is no spare tire due to the fuel cell in the trunk, but I do have the original bumper jack. There are two car covers, a new carpet kit from ACC, and some small spare parts that also come with the car.
The car does have a few miscellaneous squeaks and rattles; please remember that this car is 50 years old and is original it has not been restored. As mentioned this car has a few flaws but you won't ever be ashamed to be seen driving it or at a local car show. I have reduced thr price to $16,0000 for the car but I am open to reasonable offers. I have done my best to present as much information as possible about this car, most of which I learned by trial and error. I have no objections to having the car examined by a serious prospective buyer or their agent, but "joyrides" will not be permitted. Please note that I also have a clear Wisconsin title for this car, so prospective buyers need not be concerned about that . I will take additional photos of the body, engine compartment, trunk, etc. and them to serious buyers.
One other note: I have been told by so-called experts and various VIN de-coding tools on the Internet that the VIN number on all Barracudas built with a V-8 engine in 1965 should begin with "V85" as the first three digits. I have spoken with the original owners of V-8 powered Barracudas both at car shows and on various web sites and have concluded that this is not true. Some have owned cars where the VIN did not start with a "V" and others have seen VIN numbers that did not have a "V85" as any of the first three digits. As any true Mopar hobbyist knows "Ma Mopar" did whatever she wanted to "back in the day" so who can say for sure? At any rate the VIN on this car begins with "185" so please keep this in mind if you try to decode the VIN.
