When Julia parked her 1970 Plymouth Barracuda convertible after a minor crash in 2003, she thought she might never drive it again. Two decades later, that same E-body ragtop—her first car and a fixture of her youth—has been revived thanks to the team at Hagerty’s Driveway Finds series.
The ocean-blue Barracuda had been sitting dormant in a garage for 22 years, its paint dulled and tires flat, waiting for another chance. For Julia, the car held deep sentimental value. She bought it at 15, learning to drive along the foggy coast of Ocean Beach, top down and surfboard poking through the rear window. The Barracuda wasn’t just a car; it was part of her life story.
Plymouth’s 1970 Barracuda marked a turning point for the model, shedding its economy-car roots to join the muscle car wars with a wide stance, bold styling, and space for serious horsepower. Production numbers were low for convertibles—fewer than 1,400 total across all trims that year—making Julia’s car a rare survivor even before its long rest.
Under the hood, her Barracuda carried a 318-cubic-inch small-block V8, a clean and original powerplant that fired back to life after careful restoration. The team repaired the front-end damage using ingenuity and a two-post lift, reshaping the metal before blending the new paint to match the car’s factory finish. New brakes, tires, and a fresh fuel system completed the transformation.
When Julia saw her revived Barracuda roll back into her driveway, the years seemed to disappear. With the top down and the small-block rumbling, she took her first drive in more than 20 years—proving that sometimes, you really shouldn’t sell your first car.
