Some of us were lucky enough to have found, inherited, or purchased a big-inch Mopar as our first car; a handful may have even gotten a real Hemi in those misspent youthful days. The rest of us, though, got our earliest introduction to Pentastar engineering with Slant Six and LA-powered cars. The Slant was indestructible, but the LA engines-273, 318, 340, and 360-were the company's pedestrian V-8 mills, with all but the 318 being offered in the '64-'77 years in some sort of performance trim.
The 318 did get a little respect, however. With a small investment, it would respond well to speed parts, especially a set of better 340/360 heads and good aftermarket intake/exhaust systems. Though it was a two-barrel motor from the factory all those early years, even as built it had some pep and often gave birth to bigger and better Mopar dreams for its owner.
When Scott and Shelby Martin began to restore their '69 Plymouth Barracuda convertible, there were several ways they could go. A gnarly big-inch stroker swap would have worked, or a dress-up-into-pseudo 340 Formula S trim was a possibility. Whatever direction they planned to travel, it all began when local friend Don Reed accepted a distant new job in 1998 and needed to sell his car (which was already completely apart for a restoration). the decision was to make this project a bone-stock cruiser-318 two-barrel and all.
"I brought it home in many pieces," Scott recalls, "and it sat in the garage a couple of years." Residents of Roanoke, Virginia, the Martins stored the many boxes and hardware and spent a good deal of time gathering the parts to do the little Plymouth-one of just 973 convertible examples built that year-right. This included a spare parts car to acquire a set of 1969-correct front fenders and hood. it would not be until 2001 that Scott got serious about getting the car completed.
After the spare car had been taken apart, Scott installed the bolt-on sheetmetal, while bodyman Matt Owens affixed the replacement rear quarters and performed the rest of the metal work. Following that, Richie Brown layed down Martin-Senour Viper Red basecoat/clearcoat on the fresh tin. Then Butch Helms did the final wet-sand and buff job before installing the black sport stripe.
Meanwhile, the interior and top got the show-quality treatment from Mike Whitlock at the Custom Seat Cover Shop in Salem, Virginia, with fresh vinyl skins created directly from rolled stock installed on the seat frames. One interesting gauge in the rally dash is a "performance monitor" that measures manifold vacuum. the car was also equipped with a console and a floor-mounted automatic shifter from day one. The other little details needed were purchased from Layson's Restoration Parts, while Paul's Chrome Plating was responsible for making the original hard parts shiny again.
The engine is a replacement from a low-mileage '69 donor. Nope, nothing major was done to it, in keeping with the factory stock ideal. in fact, other than a timing chain and a few little pieces, it has not been apart. At the time of the car's creation, 318s were built with a 230hp/340lb-ft torque rating, with about 9.0:1 compression, a .373/.400 hydraulic cam for cylinder scavenging, and a cast crank. The carb was a BBD two-barrel with 1-1/4-inch throttle openings. there was no displacement call-out on the crinkle-black air cleaner.
Scott left the rest of the driveline intact as well: a 904 auto transmission and the 7-1/4 rear with 3.23 open-end gearing. One compromise was a set of 14-inch Rallye wheels, shod with road-ready 205R70-14 BFGoodrich TA tires, which allow the 63,000-mile car to cruise down the road pleasurably.
The 318 may not have been a tire-churning workhouse back in the day, and some of us certainly would have chosen a more performance-oriented route with a hot red A-Body convertible. For the Martins, however, the fun comes from the appreciation this car now gets at shows and cruises as a pretty close time capsule to what left the dealership back in 1969. At the 21st annual All-Mopar Show in Farmington, North Carolina, the car was the only two-barrel machine in a large contingent of well-done A-Bodies and took home First place in the stock category . . . for the third straight year. Scott drove all the way from Roanoke for that show, and says the car gets about 1,000 trouble-free miles a year on it these days. Two-barrel or not, cruising in this ride seems like it would be fun to us.
This is the performance indicator,...
This is the performance indicator, centered between the 120-mph speedometer and the second cluster of four gauges to the right. Under hard acceleration, the gauge lost vacuum and showed performance. Under normal "pedestrian" driving, it would indicate how economical your driving habits were.
The LA-series 318 was the...
The LA-series 318 was the workhorse V-8 of the Chrysler engine lineup for several decades. It would not receive four-barrel carburetion until 1978.
The only visible deviation...
The only visible deviation from stock is the set of 4.0-bolt-circle, 14-inch Rallye wheels shod with BFGoodrich rubber for fun weekend cruising.
Fast Facts
'69 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible
Scott and Shelby Martin
Roanoke, VA
Mopar Power
Engine: The second-gen (LA) 318 was the most basic V-8 engine in the Chrysler line from the late-'60s into the '90s, and would eventually get such goodies as a four-barrel carburetor and high-flowing heads. In 1969, however, all of them were the same as the one found in the Martins' car, with a two-barrel pot, restrictive exhaust manifolding, and 9.2:1 compression, but good cruising manners. For many of today's Mopar enthusiasts, the 230-gross-horsepower little mill was the beginning of a great relationship with the breed.
Transmission: Chrysler had two automatic transmissions during this era: the bigger 727 and the 904 series found in this car. Often disrespected as a weak link, it has come into its own in recent years as a drag-racing unit that uses less horsepower than its bigger sibling. This one is stock.
Differential: Since the engine was not a fire-breather, the Barracuda has a 7 1/4 rear under it, with an open-end 3.23 ratio.
Horsepower & Performance: The car is a V-8 Mopar, need we say more?
The LA-series 318 was the...
The LA-series 318 was the workhorse V-8 of the Chrysler engine lineup for several decades. It would not receive four-barrel carburetion until 1978.
Sure Grip
Suspension: Basic premium pieces went into the rebuild, but since the idea was to keep the car stock, there was no need to go too far with the handling gear.
Brakes: This one has the stock, nonpower drums.
Wheels: While the factory would not release these 4-inch, bolt-circle Rallye wheels until 1970, the Martins decided they liked them better then the original steel-and-hubcap setup, so they are now part of the package.
Rubber: Though restored, nobody wants to drive on bias-ply tires, so a new set of BFGoodrich TA radials (205/70R14 size) now help the car color inside the highway lines.
High Impact
Body: Like many drop-tops, this one was showing its years, so another '69 Barracuda was sacrificed to bring the sheetmetal back to life. Scott did the bolt-on pieces, but gave the fresh quarter-welding process to Mac Owens, who also did the final panel alignment before the car was shot.
Paint: Since modern paint is pretty cool, the Martins left the '60s behind and went with Martin-Senour Viper Red basecoat/clearcoat, which was laid down by Richie Brown. Butch Helms did the final graphics, and Paul's Chrome plating worked their magic on the shiny side of things.
Interior: The interior was completely redone using hand-cut material. Salem, Virginia's Mike Whitlock and the Custom Seat Cover Shop get credit for both it and the virgin top.