This 1968 Chrysler Barracuda Is A Real War Fish

Jacques took this 1968 Chrysler Barracuda and made it into something unique and I must say that it suits him perfectly.

Mopar, saying the word always puts a smile on my face. You see, the Chrysler Corporation is very close to my heart. Ask anyone that knows meits always been Mopar or no Car. All Chrysler cars are cool all of them. But my favourite without a doubt is the 67 to 69 Barracudas. Oddly and in some ways detrimental is the fact that they were distributed and sold under the Valiant name in South Africa. Its always been a bit of irritancy for me that very few South Africans know how significant these cars really are.

So I would love to set the record straight right here and nowapart from the crappy English Girling brake systems, the steering box that bolts to the right-hand side chassis rail rather than the K-member and the fact that its a right-hand drive car.its 100% Plymouth. And No! It is not an Australian car either. Please feel free to share this with absolutely everyone.Article and Photos by Etienne Fouche

The second-generation Barracuda was Plymouths counterattack against Ford’s famous Mustang and Chevys Camaro. The second-generation Cudas sold pretty well, but not close to the numbers that General Motors and the Ford Motor Company were cashing in. Where they did dominate, however, was Drag racing.

While Ford and Carroll Shelby were kicking womanising Ferrari ass on the International race circuit, Mopar was dominating NHRA Drag Racing in a big way. The most famous of their quarter-mile arsenal were the Hemi Dart and the 68 Hemi Cuda. Campaigned famously by the likes of Sox and Martin, Arlen Vanke etc. Packing a 426 cubic inch Hemispherical combustion chambered big-block V8 with a 3-speed 727 Torqueflight or A833 4-speed manual.

They killed anything and everything down the quarter-mile. Lets not forget the Hemi under glass with a rear-mounted motor running the whole 400 meters straight on its rear wheels. Even today the power plant of choice when it comes to straight-line racing is you guessed it, a Hemi. Knick named The Elephant Motor for obvious reasons.

Jacquess 68 Cuda has a raked stance courtesy of the 275 wide BFs at the rear and re-set leaf springs reminiscent of the Hurst race cars.mixed with a Tarantino Death Proof and World War 2 menacing presence.Achtung Baby!!! Fronts are 205 15s lining up flush with the wheel arches. I just love the Luftwaffe side markings purposefully sanded and faded for that weathered and war-torn look. Inside you find all sorts of well-thought-out touches and signature add ons. From the snakeskin steering wheel cover to the Wehrmacht-inspired insignia on the seats to the ignition switches hidden inside a dash-mounted tin container.

Jacques also fabricated his own four-point harnesses and reinforced mounting spots for those back street dog fights. He took this car and made it into something unique and I must say that it suits him perfectly. So many Muscle Cars and Rods these days are trailer queens, all shiny and worshipped by their owners. My feeling is that its pretty darn cool the way that Jacques expressed himself honestly through his car, while most people are too scared and worried about what the thing to do is, or what the rest of the cool kids will say.

When he took ownership of the Cuda it was white with disgusting Boksburg Boeing 20-inch wheels more suited on a dolphin shape M3 rip-off. Obviously, the wheels were the first to go (good riddance) and period-correct 15-inch deep-dish alloys took their rightful place inside the wheel wells. The fatter wheels bring out the Coke Bottle curves and muscular overhangs of the body. The chrome trim contrasts with the matt black paint and embellishes the lines and features even further.

Under the hood hides the famous kanniedood 3.7-litre slant 6, drenched in the same WW2 and almost Rat Rod mix. The long cast intake manifold still proudly rocked the stock two-barrel Carter Carburettor. The torquey long-stroke 6-cylinder exhales through tubular headers with no silencer and sounds pretty brutal. There is a possible turbo-charged conversion in the near future or a V8 engine swap. Either way, it will go hand in hand with the look of this War Fish.