Figuring out what car my father had....

[freakaccident]

So I never really knew my father.  My mother divorced him when I was only a year old.  He was an alcoholic and that is what ruined his life and led to his death when I was 13. My mother never kept in contact with his family.  Fast forward 40ish years and I decided to reach out to what family was left.  My uncle and I talked and he tried to fill me in on how great my dad was pre-alcohol and told me stories. Apparently my father had been in the Army in Vietnam and was a helicopter pilot and then an instructor.  One day I received a typed letter describing a memory my uncle had with my father.  Here is what my uncle wrote to me word for word:

"One of the coolest expereiences I had in my young life was a time when he came home on leave from Texas when I lived in Milwaukee.  I was 18. He drove a brand new 1973 Plymouth Barracuda. It was a bad ass hot rod., 383 4-speed, big Holley four-barrel; it was blue with large 383 letters on the side. When he got to Milwaukee he stayed two days and decided to fly back to Texas to be with a girl so he left the car with me and told me not to race it. He came back two weeks later to pick up the car that I had run to death. I was out street racing every night (cashing in soft drink bottles to buy gas) that was back in the day when: Hemi Road Runners, big block Camaros, big block Mustangs, Nova's dominated the streets, lots of hot rods to race. Well when he got backl to Texas they had to put a new clutch in his new car plus tires, that was a great two weeks. He didn't even get pissed at me."

So my intention with this post is to try and figure out what car my father had back then. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Aaron

[1 Wild R/T]

Last year of the 383 was 71..
Only year with a big 383 was 71
70 would have a smaller 383 on the rear in whats known as the "Hockey Stick"

Chances are it was a 71..

[freakaccident]

I assume he came back from Vietnam with a bunch of money and just bought the car.  I am still trying to get info back from my uncle on the big 383 or the hockey stick.  Ultimately I would like to get it all figured out and build the car.

[freakaccident]

I showed him this car on ebay and he said it was the same color but with different wheels.  I assume it was a 71. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Plymouth-Cuda/233004733811?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D40719%26meid%3Dc7f23993120b405a801b0cfe0ecc4561%26pid%3D100970%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D233004733811%26itm%3D233004733811%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100970.m5481&_trkparms=pageci%3Ad068379f-f545-11e9-a639-74dbd1805b5d%7Cparentrq%3Af6acc56b16d0a4b7b703d5dbfffbeacd%7Ciid%3A1

[1 Wild R/T]

70

[xx88man]

First off.....    to the forum. This is a cool story. First off I would figure out how old your uncle was in 1973. I would show him pictures to try to figure out what the car was. The factory didn't put a 383 into a Cuda or Barracuda after 1971. The "large 383 on the side" makes me think maybe the car was a 1969 Barracuda. Look at Google images and try to compare to your uncle's memories. Good luck!

[freakaccident]

So I would need a 70 or 71 Barracuda if I wanted to recreate that blue car? 

[freakaccident]

First off.....    to the forum. This is a cool story. First off I would figure out how old your uncle was in 1973. I would show him pictures to try to figure out what the car was. The factory didn't put a 383 into a Cuda or Barracuda after 1971. The "large 383 on the side" makes me think maybe the car was a 1969 Barracuda. Look at Google images and try to compare to your uncle's memories. Good luck!

He was 18 so it was in 1973 but the car very likely could have been a new 1971 model my father had bought.  My uncle said it was new but maybe it wasn't brand new.  I don't really know.  Ill try to get more info.

[Chryco Psycho]

Welcome to the site  , unfortunately 71 Cudas are about the most expensive Cudas to buy & build

[freakaccident]

Welcome to the site  , unfortunately 71 Cudas are about the most expensive Cudas to buy & build

Are there major body differences between the years? 

[Chryco Psycho]

Yes the 71 was unique , , the 70 has a lot of parts that were retooled for every other year so 70 is quite different in numerous ways  ,
in 71 a lot was changed from the 70 & many of the parts will swap with later 71-74 years But the 71 whole front end was unique , 4 headlight grille , louvers cut into the fenders , different front header panel & valence with 1 year turn signal lights , the unibody & doors were similar to all later years overall but the tailights were 1 year only .
Lots to learn !

[JS29]

  @freakaccident I hope your research and plan are successful!