Words: Tommy Parry

Nearly seven years ago, Jason decided to buy this appetizing ‘66 Barracuda off his father. It’s been a slow push to get it to where it is now. When he purchased it, the Plymouth was in decent shape aesthetically and despite living in upstate New York, it’d been lucky enough to avoid any real rust issues.

The car came to him with a 273 Commando, and that was enough – at least for the moment. What he really aimed for was an improvement in handling: Better brakes, bigger wheels, and grippier tires would do the trick. Well, that and a few cosmetic tweaks, including better wheels and few black accents for a menacing look.

After tinting the rear glass, Jason started fettling with the footwork. Four disc brakes underneath a set of black TSW Jarama wheels, measuring 18 x 8” in front and 18 x 9.5” in the rear, gave the Barracuda the stance, traction, and sense of purpose he was after.

With the stance meeting his standards, he sought out a better engine. He tore apart the 340 sitting in his garage and put in an order for a set of forged pistons and a forged crank. Then life intervened and Jason had to put this project on the backburner for an unbearably long run.

In the last year, the clouds cleared away and Jason’s been able to attack the project again with new vigor. In addition to a new hood and a paint job, he’s been inspired by some of the other projects on Pro-Touring.com and decided to retrofit the suspension.

If all goes to plan, Jason should be able to install the HDK front suspension and Street Lynx four-link in the rear come summertime. It’s been a long, slow slog for this Barracuda – but something this beautiful is worth the wait.

To keep tabs on Jason’s progress, you can visit his build thread here.