mid 60's Barracuda and Satellite

[Guest straight shooter]

What are the main differences between the mid 60's Barracudas, Satellites, and Belvederes other than styling. Which was more expensive when new, thanks.

[keiser31]

The Barracudas are what Chrysler called "A" bodies. The Satellite and Belvederes are what are called "B" bodies. They are completely different and the A body is the small platform for the compact car. The B body was the intermediate size car and the C body was the large platform car such as Fury. The C body was generally the expensive spread, but it all depended on what options were ordered.

[Guest straight shooter]

Thanks Keiser that is exactly what I wanted to know.

[keiser31]

I might add that 1967 was the year for the A bodies to get a larger engine compartment so that Chrysler engineers could fit the various available V8 engines in the car....including the HEMI.

[Guest straight shooter]

Now I know why the early Barracudas only came with the slant six. Thanks for the added information.

[keiser31]

Now I know why the early Barracudas only came with the slant six. Thanks for the added information.

Actually, the 273 V8 was available in the first Barracudas. Some with the four barrel carburetor. I recommend this book...

Edited January 5, 2012 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Guest straight shooter]

Yes, you are right I forgot about the 273. They enlarged the engine bay to put in a the larger V8's.

[Guest Oracle]

The Barracuda (in South Africa the Valiant Barracuda) was the last right-hand drive Chrysler product out of N America in 1969 (Hamtranck Plant). The SE cars were all slant-sixes but the British market received V-8s, with the 383 from 1967:

At the 1965 London Motor Show, there were on the Chrysler Motors Stand a Chrysler Imperial Le Baron 4-Door Hardtop, LHD with 440 V8, posibly US-sourced, a Plymouth Fury III V8 4-Door Saloon RHD with 318 V8, Plymouth Barracuda 2 Door HT LHD with the 273 V8 and [Canadian] Plymouth Valiant 200 4-Door Saloon, RHD with the 225 inch Six and the 3-speed Torqueflite as with the others. On the Dodge Brothers Stand next door were a Dodge Polara 880 V8 Convertible RHD with 318 V8, 880 V8 4-Door Saloon, again RHD and 318 V8, together with I believe a RHD Dodge Dart. The Chrysler advertisement in the Show catalogue had the familiar Pentastar, and “VALIANT, PLYMOUTH, CHRYSLER, DART, DODGE, IMPERIAL” emblazoned, note the branding of Valiant and Dart

I think, but may be wrong, that the last convertible rhd Barracudas was in 1968 MY, and the final '69 cars were all Fastbacks. The '70 B Bodies were all lhd as the cost of tooling for rhd was too high. Chrysler relied on the Australian Chryslers to fill the gap just as Ford had done with rhd full-size cars after 1970 MY.

[NTX5467]

Actually, the first "Street HEMI" was in the 1966 B-bodies. 1965s had the "Street Wedge" 426/365 engine. The first NASCAR 426 HEMI race car was the '65 B-body, which out-paced the rest of the field at the Daytona 500 that year.

1965 was when the body changed, an evoluation of the prior 1962-64 "full-size" Plymouths, which were downsized after 1961, to the later-B-body wheelbase. Different design strategies resulted in the wider engine compartments for 1965 B-bodies, which would be needed for the wider 426 HEMI engines. There is some reliable information that some '64 Furys had pre-production 426 HEMIs in them, "on the street".

A "Collectible Automobile" article several years ago mentioned that a Chrysler exec overheard a conversation at a cocktail party he was at. It was a Chevy operative talking about a "downsized" car, which turned out to be the Chevy II, but the Chrysler guy thought it was the full-size Chevies. This, allegedly, resulted in the smaller 1962-64 Plymouths and Dodge "family cars". The Belvederes, Furys, and Polaras. In 1965, when the new C-body platform came out, the Belvedere remained for the intermediate cars, with Fury moving up to the C-body platform.

The first generation of Chrysler compacts was designed around the Slant Six, the 170 and 225. Chrysler had some neat factory speed equipment for that engine, back then, as did the aftermarket. There's a MOTOR TREND article on the first "LA-Engine" V-8 Valiant, circa 1964, mid-year.

The first gen Barracuda was a "different" car. With the "Formula S" package, it became a performance car that didn't get much respect. Those first years of 273 hi-perf V-8s had some neat items in them, compared to later 318s and 340s, which had neater stuff. When the body changed in 1967, the Barracuda really came into its own, helped greatly by a range of engines from the 225 Slant Six all the way to 340s, 383, and 440.

The new E-body Barracuda and Challenger came out for the 1970 model year. This platform also saw the specialty models, the AAR 'Cuda and Challenger T/A, with 340 6bbl V-8s and other special parts.

In many ways, E-bodies were short-wheelbase B-body cars. Production of this platform ended on April 15, 1974.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Edited January 7, 2012 by NTX5467 (see edit history)