A properly built 1970 ‘Cuda carries more history under its hood than most people realize. That year’s redesign widened the E-body platform just enough to squeeze in engines no earlier Barracuda could handle, from the 383 Super Commando up to the fabled 426 Hemi. Fewer than 55,500 Barracudas were built for 1970, and even fewer got the biggest engines available. Here’s what made that one model year so pivotal for Mopar performance.
We looove ‘Cuda’s .. what about you?
Some cars need no introduction, and a properly built 1970 'Cuda might be the loudest example of that rule in the muscle car world. Before this custom leaves the driveway, its owner has already answered the question every gearhead asks the moment a Plymouth this shape rolls past: what's under the hood? The 1970 model year handed Mopar fans an entirely new E-body platform, five inches wider than before, built specifically to make room for engines nobody thought would fit in a pony car. That decision changed everything about what a 'Cuda could be. So what exactly is hiding beneath this particular custom's sheet metal, and does it live up to the platform's original promise?
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Why 1970 Changed Everything For The ‘Cuda
The all-new 1970 Barracuda was styled by John E. Herlitz and rode on a shorter, wider version of Chrysler's B platform called the E-body — the same underpinnings shared with the Dodge Challenger. The extra width, about five inches over the previous generation, freed up engine bay space for options no earlier Barracuda could accommodate, including the 426 Hemi. Plymouth built 55,499 Barracudas that year, with 18,880 finished as 'Cuda hardtops and just 635 as convertibles, making the drop-top variant a genuine rarity today.
The Engine Nobody Expected To Fit
Standard 'Cuda power came from a 383 cubic inch Super Commando V8 rated at 335 horsepower, but Plymouth's order sheet read like a wish list for anyone chasing serious performance: 340, 440, 440 Six Barrel, and the legendary 426 Hemi. Fewer than 1,000 buyers checked the Hemi box that year at an extra $871 — real money in 1970 — which is part of why Hemi 'Cudas now command jaw-dropping prices at auction. Whether this custom leans on a period-correct big block or a modern crate engine, it's chasing the same reputation those factory cars built five decades ago.
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