Iowa gearheads revive a long-lost 1964 Barracuda with on-the-spot repairs and a smoky parking lot sendoff.
A 1964 Plymouth Barracuda long forgotten in a field is back from the brink, thanks to a group of determined car enthusiasts who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty.
The team behind YouTube’s DailyDrivenDeathTraps set out on a 400-mile round trip with just a single blurry photo and a gut feeling. What they found was a weathered, non-running first-year Barracuda sitting dormant for over a decade—its oil pan weeping sludge, its fuel tank rotted through, and its history uncertain.
Despite its condition, the team believed the Barracuda deserved another chance. Equipped with a trailer full of tools and optimism, they got to work immediately.
The car, which may have originally been equipped with Chrysler’s iconic Slant-Six, now carries a 273-cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburetor—likely making around 180 horsepower when new. Decades of neglect left its fluids looking more like milk than motor oil, raising red flags about a possible internal coolant leak. Undeterred, the crew flushed the engine repeatedly until it began to show signs of life.
Originally fitted with a pushbutton automatic, the Barracuda now sports a floor-mounted shifter connected to a classic TorqueFlite transmission. Though plagued by leaks in the engine and a fist-sized hole in the gas tank, the team managed to get it running and even coaxed a smoky burnout from the tired rear tires in a parking lot.
Parts availability proved challenging, and a long drive home under its own power was out of the question. Still, the crew viewed the mission as a win. “This car’s not dead,” one of them said. “It’s just waking up.”
The car, now back at the team’s Iowa garage, is set for a full inspection and likely a full restoration—evidence that no classic is too far gone when passion and perseverance meet on the backroads of America.
