I agree with you, Jim, but do you think an owner of such a car could make a net profit if he farmed out the body work and paint, and maybe also the motor and trans, but did pretty much all the rest of the work himself?
i literally spend HOURS every day on the internet looking at every 67-69 Barracuda i can find for sale on multiple sites. i think the problem with any kind of "profit" on these cars is that the current market appears to have a very specific "upper limit" of value on these cars and it looks to be somewhere between $60-70K. AND, the ONLY second generation Barracudas i've EVER seen sell for anything above $40k were a few of the "perfect" and completely original M-Code 69 cars. now, i have seen recently a guy asking (i believe) $75k for an original and "almost" perfect yellow 1969 Notchback with the "Mod Top" "paisley" vinyl top and matching interior. that car is very nice AND you could probably count the number of "very nice" Mod Top 69 Barracudas existing on your hands and toes. i would argue that THOSE cars are MORE rare than even the M-Code cars because the Mod Top was such a crazy option in 1969. but to bring really big money, the Mod Top car would have to be all numbers matching with a "correct" fender tag that showed the MT option. "very nice" 340, 383 cars are now selling for between $22k to $30k. i just corresponded with a guy who thought he could do a "quick flip" on a "decent" 69 383 4sp fastback that he paid $25k for and started out asking $35k for the car. he has already dropped the price to $31,500 obo.
i just bought a complete 69 fastback with rust but repairable. i paid $3500 for it. here in Pittsburgh, the least expensive body shop rate you could probably find is $100/hr. i'm guessing that this car would take two full weeks of work (80 hrs) in a shop to prepare for paint. that would be $8000. if you shopped around in my area, you could probably get the car painted for $7000. with the car plus body work and paint, you're now at $18,500. i have been talking to machine shops on building a 440 for my M car and i'm getting estimates of between $4500-$6000 with me providing the block. add $4500 in engine work to the within car and you're at $23,000. now you have to do the interior. a completely new interior - dash bezel, seat covers, carpet, door panels will cost around $2000. that puts you at $25,000. now, you "might" be able to get $28k out of this car so "theoretically" you could make around $3000. the problem that i'm finding with now actively restoring two of the 5 cars i have is that restoration parts are very expensive; body work paint and materials are very expensive; and you can't get an engine rebuild done for less then $4000. SO... my experience is that if you can do as much work as possible yourself and just "farm out" body work, paint and engine/trans work - the best you can hope for is to be very close to the "break even" point of investment versus market value for second gen Barracudas.
