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1 FEBRUARY 2018 Multa paucis qui coeperit finiatur On April 1, 1964, Plymouth announced their new top of the line Valiant, the Barracuda, a coupe with a glass fast back. Two weeks later, Ford announced the new Mustang, which was also based on a compact, the Ford Falcon. Unbeknownst to Plymouth, they helped create a new segment: the pony car. The Mustang, however, would get all the credit! The Barracuda was an attempt to lure the growing youth market into the Plymouth dealerships. Adding the fastback styling to the Valiant gave the car a sportier appearance, but it was still just a compact car at its core. Engine options started with the base 170 ci slant six cylinder, up to a 225 ci six, then on top was a 273 ci V8 which produced 180 horsepower, nearly 80 more than the base engine. The suspension was pure Valiant and the Barracuda handled just the same, no optional suspension packages were available.the first years sales were just over 22,000 cars. Ford sold nearly 100,000 more Mustangs. Plymouth had designed the Barracuda on the cheap, and it showed. Plymouth realized it needed to make some changes to capture more sales. In 1965, the 225 six became the base engine, the 170 was dropped. A second V8 was offered, the Commando 273 which was rated at 235 HP. A Rallye Suspension Package was a new option also available. More importantly, the Formula S package was introduced. This included the Commando V8, the Rallye suspension ugrade, a tach, firmer shocks, larger wheel and tires. This package really turned the Barracuda into a contender. Plymouth also removed the Valiant emblems from the car in an effort to distance the Barracuda from the rest of the Valiant line. This added power and handling cought the attention of the drag racing community, and even the Richard Petty took the Barracuda drag racing during the ban which was inacted by NASCAR against the HEMI engine. All of the noterriety and performance improvements boosted sales to nearly 65,000 cars, but this still paled in comparison to the Mustang sales of 500, brought some sheet metal changes which smoothed out some of the front fender s curves and give the front end a forward cant. The grill would become less busy looking. Tail lights were also changed, becoming flatter and the back-up lights would change from round to square. The dash board would be unique to the Barracuda, again furthering it away from the Valiant. Sales dipped to 38,000 cars.1967 would bring a whole new car to the showrooms. From the beginning in 1964, the Mustang was offered in three body styles, the Barracuda had just the one. The 1967 Barracuda would also be offered in three body styles. The car would be larger and could accept the larger V8s which were in Chrysler s inventory.the Barracuda was still based on the Valiant, but the designers hid that well. The Formula S package was still the hot ticket, but engines now ranged up to the 383 ci V8 with 280 HP. Unfortunately, 1967 was also the year Chevrolet introduced the Camaro, the Cougar was being sold by Mercury, and the Firebird debuted by Pontiac, all of these cars out sold the Barracuda.The car sold 62,000 units, last place in the pony car market. The 1968 models would receive a 318 ci V8 replacing the 273, a new 340 ci which packed 275 HP, and a 300 HP 383 ci. The 340 was probably the best all around performer and gave the car good balance. Sales fell again, to 45,000 cars, part of the sales decrease was attributed to the new AMC Javelin and AMX which were introduced that year. Plymouth could not catch a break, as the new AMC s out sold the Barracuda as well.

2 The big 440 ci V8 would be shoe horned into the Barracuda s engine bay in 1969, but there would be no room for the air conditioner or power steering. No power brakes either. Transmision was limited to the Torqueflight automatic. With 375 Hp, this set up was not for the average driver, and was usually ordered by the drag race crowd. Taking a cue from the hot selling Roadrunner, Plymouth offered the cuda option. This package was more go than show and featured heavy duty suspension, a four speed with a Hurst shifter, wider tires, dual exhaust, vinyl bench seat and blacked out grill and hood scoops. Of course, the bigger V8 s were available. The 426 HEMI was never officially offered in the Barracuda for public sale, although 50 were built by Hurst for drag racing. The 1970 Barracuda would be all new once again, there was no longer a Valiant connection, with a platform being based off the new Dodge Challenger. The fastback body was gone, but the convertible and coupe remained, no external body parts were shared with the Challenger. Base engine was the 198 ci slant 6, and optinal engines included the 440 and 426 HEMI. The cuda option returned, availabe with the larger engines on the option list. A new color coded elastomeric bumpers were availabe as was a shaker hood. The Barracuda would be entered into the Trans-Am racing series, facing off with Mustangs, Camaros, Cougars and even the Javelin, the Barracuda only manged one second place finish. This led to the AAR cuda, a street version of the race car powered by a 340 V8 with three 2 barrel carburators known as the a six pack. In 1971, the grill would change, and it would be the only year a Barracuda would have four headlamps. Other changes included the seats, rear tail lights, and trim options. The 340 six pack was gone and the 440 with a 4 barrel carb was off the option list, but still could be a special order, otherwise the 440 came with the six pack. The 1972 models would again receive a new grill, and go back to dual headlights. The tail lights change to 4 small circular shaped ones. The larger V8 s were all off the option list, leaving engine options with the 225 slant 6, the 318 and 340 V8 s. Heavy duty suspensions and the 15x7 inch tires were also dropped would bring larger bumpers, and engines were further detuned for unleaded gas, the only engines were the 318 and 340 V8 s, with the 340 would also be replaced by a new 360 V8 late in Although production had an uptick, 1974 would be the final production year for the Barracuda, with production ceasing on April 1, Plymouth couldn t catch a break with the Barracuda. Ford s Mustang was distinct in it s styling, not even close to resembling any other car made by Ford, were as the Barracuda was obviously a Valiant. The fact it took a year before performance options became available also didn t help sales. The second generation offered three body styles, and offered greater performance, but faced even more competition from GM and even Mercury.The final iteration of the Barracuda finally had its own platform, but was shared with the new Dodge Challenger, which would also out sell the cuda. The 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 was lighter and cheaper than the cuda and would be a better seller. Unfortunately, the muscle car era was waning due to government regulations and high insurance premiums and the Barracuda would become a fish out of water. CLUB BUSINESS SECTION JANUARY 2018 FROM THE PRESIDENT by Rockne Riddlebarger Greetings Model Citizens! We have a delegation ready to display models at the 2018 SCALE MODEL EXPO at Entertrainment Junction on March 3 and 4. The registration deadline was prior to this month s meeting and has been filed. This is a free event so if you would like to stop by the address is 7379 Squire Court, West Chester, OH I will not be able to attend the February meeting so I hope you all have a good time. I will see you at the Expo or at the March meeting.

3 VP VIEWS by Dennis Tull This month s theme, featuring the Plymouth marque, is a first in my memory. And I m glad the brand is getting its due recognition. In the early days of plastic modeling, the selection for kits of Plymouths was very limited. Other than the Jo-Han annuals that began in 1959, the SMP/AMT Valiant that began in 1960 and the Revell Valiant and full-sized Plymouths beginning in 1961, there were no vintage post-war Plymouth kits available through the remainder of the 60 s. Even though every year brought new annual kits to market, the Plymouths were never as popular as the Ford and GM kits of that era. Pyro Plastics produced a 1/32 kit of a 1932 Plymouth Convertible, which was later re-issued by Lindberg in their Old Timers line, however this may have been the only pre-war version in any scale until AMT debuted the 36 Plymouth Early Modified Dirt Racer in 1970 and then the 41 Deluxe Coupe in Both of these kits were re-issued at least 3 times. By 1975, we saw the re-issue of old Jo-Han annuals in their USA Oldies series, including the 60 station wagon, 62 Fury hardtop and convertible, 64 Belvedere Richard Petty version, 68 Fury 4 door sedan police car and 69 Road Runner. AMT issued the 70 Satellite in 1975 and Revell the 72 Duster in The only new Plymouth kit from the 1980 s that I found was the AMT/Lesney 80 Horizon TC3. The 90 s brought us a barrage of Barracudas, GTX s, Prowlers and a Pronto Spyder from Testors, AMT, Revell and Monogram. Finally, in the new millennium, we have at our disposal many kits of Plymouth products. The AMT/ERTL 58 Belvedere, the re-issue of the old Jo-Han promo 56 Belvedere as a kit, a 64 Belvedere by Lindberg/Model King and currently the same kit produced by AMT. Also, the recent 65 Belvedere and Satellite offerings from Moebius. It all makes for a Plethora of Plymouths. Coincidentally, the very first 1/25 th scale plastic bodied promo model was the 1949 Plymouth P door sedan produced by AMT simultaneously with the 1949 Ford sedan. Reminder! Please try to pay your club dues early if possible. The deadline is March. Also, this month s meeting will be a swap night. Bring some stuff! MEETING NOTES by Kevin Belanger Pretty good January turnout with 22 members and 56 models on the tables. We didn t have any door prize or raffle kits, so nothing was given out. FROM THE EDITOR by Mike Jinkens My grandfather owned nothing but Plymouths for as long as I can remember. My dad bought a brand new one back in the mid 1960 s and swore he d never by another (constant problems) Go figure. Plymouth had its fair share of quality problems and faced competition from within the Chrysler Corporation when Dodge introduced the Dart in 1960, a car that was priced definitely in the Plymouth market, the segregation of the brands was ending. Dodge had traditionally been marketed against Pontiac and Oldsmobile while Plymouth was the Chevy and Ford competitor. So why buy a cheap Plymouth when a Dodge was a couple of bucks more? By the 1980 s, the cars on the Plymouth lots were badge engineered Dodge, Mitsubishi and Eagle products that failed to appeal to the buying public. By the time Chrysler pulled the plug in 2001, the only unique to Plymouth car was the Prowler, a limited production vehicle that had a limited market, and certainly priced well out of the traditional Plymouth buyers range. The PT Cruiser, a car that became quite popular, had been slated to be a Plymouth, but became a Chrysler instead. The PT made more since than the Prowler, as did the Voyager mini-van and Neon. WINNER S CIRCLE by Curtis Epperson Hey Guys and Gals it's February and the theme is Plymouths I hope to have something new on the tables but I don't think it's going to be done. Dusting time. Everybody should have a Plymouth of some kind. It s also a Swap Meet night. See Y'all Monday night.

4 THE 2017 YEAR END CONTEST RESULTS Factory Stock 1 st Robb Shelby Tudor T 2 nd Derek Grau 69 Camaro Customs 1 st Bill Owen 57 Ford 2 nd Derek Grau 67 Chevelle Street Machine 1 st Mike Jinkens 75 Corvette 3 rd Derek Grau 69 Camaro 2 nd Paul Schneider 63 Corvette Straight line 1 st Bill Owen Color Me Gone 2 nd Bill Bench Jungle Jim F/C 3 rd Jeff Myers 57 Gasser Comp other 1 st Bill Owen Penske Corvette 2 nd Bill Owen 68 Corvette 3 rd Robb Shelby #9 Super Street Rod 1 st Ray Patrick 30 Something 2 nd Robb Shelby 29 Ford P/U Juniors 1 st Tavin Collier 63 Corvette roadster Curbside Street 1 st Liam McCreary 77 Monte Carlo lowrider 2 nd Jeff Myers Mako Shark 3 rd Mike Jinkens Dome-0 Curbside Comp 1 st Liam McCreary 94 Toyota P/U 2 nd Liam McCreary 2000 Skyline GTR TAVIN COLLIER 3 rd Robb Shelby 32 Coupe Pre Dec: 1 st Liam McCreary 2015 Stingray 2 nd Bill Schneider 97 Audi TT Commercial 1 st Robb Shelby Thames 2 nd Kevin Belanger Mack R685ST Miscellaneous 1 st Rockne Riddlebarger Engine Fire 2 nd Liam McCreary Snowmobile 3 rd Steve Bowser 61 Corvette Collectors Diecast 1 st Rob Rudney 59 XP74 Cyclone 2 nd Jeff Myers 06 Z06 Pace Car 3 rd Jeff Myers 07 Indy pace car Out of box. 1 st Ron Scheffel 71 Corvette 2 nd Bill Bench 65 Corvette 3 rd Derek Grau 29 Ford Out of box plus 1 st Bill Owen Callaway Corvette 2 nd Derek Grau Foose F rd Derek Grau 32 Ford Theme Award Bill Owen Penske Corvette THEME AWARD PENSKE CORVETTE MODEL OF THE MONTH 30 SOMETHING RAY PATRICK ROBB SHELBY JEFF MYERS DEREK GRAU

5 MIKE JINKENS ROCKNE RIDDLEBARGER DEREK GRAU IN THE GARAGE: Round 2 continues to re-issue many older kits with retro box art. The MPC 1969 Barracuda was released last year and has a new set of Crager style wheels and those tampo printed tires that we ve become accustom to in these re-issues. Build options include stock, custom and drag, all powered by a 383 V8. The decal sheet consists of basic drag race sponsors. The chassis is a one piece unit, similar to many models from this era. This kit originated in 1968 and was the first of many MPC Barracuda promos and kits. Unfortunately, all of these were fast backs, no convertible or hardtop versions were ever tooled up. The models were done by AMT but have been modified into various drag cars. MPC would follow up the second generation of cars with the models. A 1974 snap kit that AMT first issued back in the 1990 s is pretty easy to find and builds up into a nice replica. Interesting that Jo-Han never had an early

6 Barracuda in it s line-up, as they did so many promos and kits of Chrysler products, but did manage to put out a 1970 and 1971 Sox and Martin car, which would be re-issued as a streetmachine in later years. Revell/Monogram has also tooled up the 1970 and 1971 Barracuda. These were originally Monogram kits from the 1980 s and are in 1/24 scale. These older kits were done in a variety of releases, hardtop, convertible, and AAR. Revel also had a kit of a 1969 Formula S in 1/32 scale, and Monogram reissued the old Aurora tool of a 1965 model. More recently, Revell brought out a new tool of the 1970 HEMI cuda as a 2-n-1 kit and later a Sox & Martin drag car. Although a new tool, there have been complaints that some of dimensions are wrong. Of course, there has been several race and street machine versions of the Barracuda done up in 1/25 scale, with MPC leading the fray. Unfortunately, some of these kits had the tooling modified which ruined any chance of building these kits as stock. Polar Lights did a series of funny cars back in the early 2000 s including kits of the 1968 Barracuda, currently, there is a Candie s and Hughes car and a Tom McEwen car available. These are not easy kits to build, but the results are worth the effort. Monogram also did a couple funny cars based on the Barracuda way back in the 1970 s. These are hard to find today. There are some lesser known Barracuda kits. Lindberg also gave us a 1973 model in 1/32 scale. This kit was issued as both stock and some sort of race car. This may have been derived by the old Palmer kit. Palmer put out some nice box art, but the kit is not worth pursuing...amt did a series of 1/43 scale kits a few years back, and a 1968 Barracuda was included in that series. The Barracuda was the basis for the Fireball 500 custom car built by George Barris for the movie with the same name. I don t know much about the movie, but the car is certainly 1960 s cool. Even cooler is the new box art that the current AMT kit has.

7 C.A.R THEMES January 8 - Corvettes February 12 - Plymouth March 12 - Dodge Brothers April Years of Ford Trucks. May 14- Ford Torinos. June 11 - Bonneville Salt Flat cars July 9 - Broncos,Blazers,RamCharger: first SUVs August13-Jeeps. September 17 - Chevy Impala October 8 - Same Kit Night: AMT 59 El Camino. November 12 - End of the Year contest December 10 - Pizza Party/ Gift Exchange. UPCOMING EVENTS Feb 17, 2018 Blizzcon. 44th Annual Columbus Model Contest and Swap (IPMS) Arts Impact Middle School 680 Jack Gibbs Blvd., Columbus, OH, Contact: T. J. Misiolek tjmisiolek@columbus.rr.com March 10, 2018 Roscoe Turner IPMS Contest/Swap Raymond Park Middle School 8575 E. Raymond St., Indianapolis, IN, Contact: Erik Fox kriegkafer@hotmail.com March 17, 2018 Buckeye Classic Contest Swap Franklin County Fairgrounds 4100 Columbia St. Hilliard, OH Contact: Matt Gedert (614) Mcgedert@Gmail.com Newsletter: CARTIMESEDITOR@AOL.COM Club info: CINCINNATIAUTOREPLICAS.ORG