1967 Barracuda S – European Styling Made The American Musclecar Way

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This car is every bit a show car, but as you can tell from the video it doesn’t take much to coax Gough into spinning the tires… even in the dirt.

In the video above from Petrolicious, the car might look familiar to some. If so, then you may have seen it at a car show in San Diego, on a cruise through the Temecula mountains, the Spring Fling in Van Nuys, the Coronado Speed Festival, or just about anywhere else. You also might have seen it here on our own site, because when we say this car gets driven, we mean it – and it sometimes gets driven hard, too.

Car owner Bob Gough has been in love with cars since he was a kid, and having lived in France while his father was in the United States Air Force, he fell for the sports car segment of that part of the world.  And who wouldn’t fall in love with foreign sports cars as a young teenager who sees them every day?

After those many years of being around European sports cars, Gough didn’t think too much of the American musclecar. He always felt that they were too big, and that they handled more like a cruiseliner than the automobiles he was used to seeing. But initial impressions were changed when he saw debut of the 1967 Barracuda, and it persuaded him to put his love for sports cars aside and to take another look at the American musclecar.

The Barracuda underwent an entire restoration, much of the work being done by Gough himself. He added the Tremec 5-speed to make the car even more drivable.

Gough felt that the styling of the ’67 Barracuda resembled some of those sports cars he was so fond of. With that newfound love, Gough eventually purchased a ’67 Barracuda S that would quickly become his favorite car. He soon learned that cruise ship handling was not so with the Barracuda S, due to suspension upgrades from Plymouth. With a better handling car and a 273 ci V-8 under the hood, you’d almost think that was enough. But nosiree Bob, things still needed to go through some improvements to get this Plymouth up to par with his wants and needs.

You can take the guy out of the sports car, but you can’t take the sports car out of the guy. The car itself went through a complete restoration in 1999, with everything brought up to its current, somewhat stock appearance. Gough has made a number of incognito improvements to his ’67 S, too. For starters, that mildly stock-looking small-block is a bit bigger now, sporting a 340 ci engine from a 1969 car, and with a hotter cam and some massaging the small-block sees roughly 380 horsepower these days.

Nothing was left untouched during the restoration; the interior was given just as much attention as the exterior, and the original 273ci was replaced by a potent 340ci small-block.

Gough has also upped the ante with the transmission, installing a Tremec 5-speed transmission in place of the factory automatic to give him a little better performance, and of course that overdrive helps out on those long trips he often takes. The braking has also been upgraded, and to clear the bigger brakes he had some custom 15-inch steel wheels made, which closely resemble the factory stock 14-inch wheels.

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The Barracuda S in with good company, including Bob’s wife, Debbie, who often joins him for cruises and car shows.

Currently the editor of his local car club’s newsletter, Mopar Club San Diego’s PentaGram, he’s also a past president of the club and is avidly involved in their events, including helping to organize their yearly car shows. If there’s a Mopar show or a car cruise within a couple hundred miles, chances are you’ll see Gough and the Barracuda there.

You could say Gough is a true Mopar fanatic now, and has a few other Mopars in the family, including a 1968 Dart GTS and a 1965 A100 truck. His recent purchase of a 2014 SRT8 Challenger Core brings the span of Mopars that he owns to about 50 years, give or take.

Decisions, Decisions

Modern muscle is pretty impressive these days, but so is this 1967 Barracuda. We asked Gough which car he likes the most – his 1967 Barracuda S or his new 2014 SRT8 Challenger. He said, “Well, you really can’t compare apples to oranges. How can you not love these new cars? I thought the Barracuda was quiet and handled well, but this thing, the new cars are so advanced. The steering is so responsive in the Challenger.”

His other Mopars will likely find new homes to help offset the expense of his new Challenger. But as much as he loves the car, especially after his SRT Track Experience trip to Laguna Seca, Gough will keep the Barracuda because he has so much of his own time invested in it.

The Barracuda may not have the steering, the power, the sound or the agility of the Challenger, but that Barracuda S is one relationship that Gough plans to hold on to, second only to that with his wife, Debbie, who often joins him on the many cruises he takes with the Barracuda.

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The car looks plain, however, it’s anything but plain. More power, better brakes and a Tremec 5-speed are hidden beneath the otherwise stock looking Barracuda S.

About the author

Michael Harding

Michael is a Power Automedia contributor and automotive enthusiast who doesn’t discriminate. Although Mopar is in his blood, he loves any car that looks great and drives even faster.
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