The new Barracuda was based upon Plymouth’s compact Valiant. It was designed to compete with Ford’s new Mustang. To say that the Barracuda was just a restyled Valiant was an understatement. The car even had a “Valiant” badge on the rear of the car. Some of the major changes included the large rear glass that turned the car into a fastback. Also included were standard bucket seats, are rear bench seat that could fold down and substantially increase the cargo area. The major weakness of the Barracuda was the available power plants. The engines were underpowered compared to options available in the new Mustang. The Ford could be purchased with a 289ci engine with 271 horsepower. The top of the line engine available for the Plymouth was a 273ci engine with only 180 horsepower. The 1964 Barracuda was not yet a high performance muscle car.
1964 Barracuda
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3.4 (2) |
"To say that the Plymouth Valiant Barracuda is an attention getter is an understatement... A more accurate commentary is that it is a traffic-stopping, people-grabbing, where-do-I-sign-the-order-blank? Sort of attention. The simple addition of a sweeping fastback roofline seems to transform the mundane Valiant into a thing of purpose and poise." Car Life Review
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| The 1964 Plymouth Barracuda's rear window was the largest piece of glass (14.4 sq-ft) ever installed on an American car. | |
| Unlike any other year, all automatic 1964 Barracudas had a push button shifter on the dashboard. | |
| The 1964 Barracuda was the first pony car. The Barracuda would become one of the great muscle cars of the period. |
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1964 Barracuda For Sale |
1964 Barracuda Parts |
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User reviews
Average user rating from: 2 user(s)
Amazing
| Overall rating: | 3.5 | |
| Looks: | 2.0 | |
| Performance: | 4.0 | |
| Parts Availability: | 3.0 | |
| Collectability: | 5.0 |
Awesome
Plymouth won the race, Ford won the market
| Overall rating: | 3.3 | |
| Looks: | 3.0 | |
| Performance: | 3.0 | |
| Parts Availability: | 3.0 | |
| Collectability: | 4.0 |
Although the Barracuda beat the Mustang to the marketplace it was basically a reaction to Ford. Plymouth found out that Ford was developing the Mustang and they decided to go head to head. Both cars were largely based on already existing compact cars. But Ford did a better job of differentiate they pony car. The Barracuda looked like a fancy Valiant while the Mustang looked like a totally new car. Plymouth won the production race, Ford won the market.
