There are many project cars built at West Auckland Engine Reconditioners (WAER) that have been featured in the NZ V8 magazine and others; one of them was Marion’s 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. While the Barracuda took 4 years to build, the story can go back 30 years ago, when Eric promised to buy another muscle car after he sold his E49 Charger.

When Eric finally bought the car 30 years had passed. The car was a six cylinder 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Fastback which just happened to have all of the options that Eric was looking for. The first step of the rebuild was to strip down the complete car to a bare shell and deliver the body, doors, boot lid and front guards to Kiwi Metal Polishers for a dip in the acid tank. After that, it was then delivered to Profile Autobody for the restoration and modification of the body.

The engine and the driveline of the Barracuda was designed and built at WAER. The engine is a 400 Mopar block fitted with a 4.150 stroker crank to give 496 cu in, JE forged 10.3-1 pistons with Moly rings , H-beam con rods, enlarged Hemi sump and windage tray, modified Hemi oil pick up and oil galleries, Rollmaster timing kit with Iwis chain, ARP fasteners, bullet solid flat tappet camshaft. Johnson solid lifters, Cometic multi-layer steel head gaskets, ported Edelbrock alloy heads, Comp Cams double valve springs, 10-degree chromoly retainers and locks, Crane Gold Series roller rockers, Custom 3/8” x 0.389-inch chromoly pushrods, Ported Edelbrock alloy, six-pack manifold, three Holley carburettors modified for full adjustability and jetting, billet air cleaner with a K&N air filter, Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator and electric fuel pump, Mopar Performance electronic distributor, MSD ignition, TTI two-inch headers with four inch collectors connecting to a three-inch exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers.

The driveline consist of a 727 TorqueFlite transmission highly modified and fitted with an A&A reverse band apply manual valve body, custom 3000 rpm stall converter and a Gearvendors overdrive unit, The diff is a narrowed Dana 60 with 35 spline axles and a Truetrac LSD,

The front suspension used upgraded torsion bars, strengthened lower control arms, tubular top A-arms, Rancho adjustable shock absorbers with a Moog suspension kit, The rear suspension consists of a CalTrac inboard rear suspension system with Rancho adjustable shock absorbers. The wheels are 15” x 6” front and 15” x12” rear Weld Racing Pro Star rims, 195/70R15 Hankok tyres, and 15” x 16.5” x 31” Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro rear tyres. The performance of the Barracuda is approximately 580 – 600 hp (horse power).

Check out the restoration here