MPC/AMT '69 Barracuda?

[MrBuick]

What is the deal; just the 383 engine and not enough parts for the HEMI too?

I had the '68 annual and I believe it came with a slant 6 as well. Where did that engine go?

Back in the 1970s, I bought the Miss Mighty Mopar. I figured that I could make another stock Barracuda. Seem like the body was 1/2 '68 and 1/2 '69. I remember different side marker lights. Maybe MPC did that to match the drag car.

Yeah, the HEMI thing is kinda weird...I'm not really sure why they included valve covers and nothing else needed to complete a HEMI, and there's definitely not a slant 6. I don't see any way to do anything other than the 383 without some serious surgery somewhere.

[Mike Chernecki]

I'm a huge fan of old Buicks...I like the Apollo because it's basically a lesser-known Nova, and the GSX is just an awesome and rare car. The thumbnail photo isn't mine, it's just an Apollo that I'm inspired by. I've got two '73's in the garage (one donor) that I picked up at a salvage yard...I'm in the middle of bringing one to life.

Nice! Havn't seen one in years. Growing up my mom had a dark green 1972 Nova SS 350 4-speed posi (she still has it), the neighbors down the road, one had a dark green Apollo and another had a dark green Omega. It was cool sometimes seeing all three in the same place with matching colors.There was also a Ventura in the area but it was blue and didn't match with the rest.

[CapSat 6]

Yes, the original annual '69 came with both a slant 6 engine and a Hemi engine. If you have seen the hemi engine from the Fireball 500 car, the hemi that came in the original '69 is similar. Neither of these engines were any great loss - the big block that comes with it now is at least decent. It looks like they cloned the big block from MPC's '74 Road Runner and Monaco cop cars.

After putting out the '69 annual, they modified the tool to put out the Miss Might Mopar and Great Street Machines 'Cudas. They ditched the slant 6 and the custom parts, offered the Hemi only, and changed the side marker lenses to '68 style on the rear quarters and blank on the front fenders. The grille & taillights remained '69. 

They later issued these as the Killer 'Cuda (with decals inspired by the cartoon 'Cudas used in Mopar's advertising from the late '60's) and The Avenger. The Avenger was the last time the Hemi was seen. 

in the mid '80's, ERTL redid the body to mostly stock '69 configuration (without fixing the backup lights on the rear valence- the last time they were seen was the '69 annual). That's also when they added the big block engine, which to me was a good move- that Hemi really wasn't any great shakes- at least the 383/440 looks more the part. 

I think with this reissue they added some value without spending too much money- it's nice to see the custom parts back, and the kit in white plastic. The new wheels look like the same ones from the recent '67 Charger issue, whereas the original custom wheels were kind of weird. The decals are pretty nice, better than the originals here, too. I'm going to pick one or two of these up.

 

 

[Can-Con]

Yeah, the HEMI thing is kinda weird...I'm not really sure why they included valve covers and nothing else needed to complete a HEMI, and there's definitely not a slant 6. I don't see any way to do anything other than the 383 without some serious surgery somewhere.

Think of the hemi valve covers as a "bonus". They've been opening up the blocked areas on all the parts trees lately so that's why some older kits have extra odd parts.

 

BTW, I like Buicks too.

Took my driver's test in a 455 LeSabre 4dr sedan.  Owned a '73 Centurion coupe, '70 Skylark Custom cvt., '69 and '72 Rivieras.

Have a '68 Electra 225 Limited now that's been in the family for over 40 years.

[Bob Ellis]

CapSat 6, that's what I remember; only one marker light and it was a '68 style.

Does the chassis have single or duals?

[buildnething]

Does anyone know if they make the 340 stripes in decals? 

[1972coronet]

The Judy Lilly 1968 Hurst-Hemi Barracuda was most-likely cosmetically-updated to 1969 appearance ( as was the case with others' '69 Hemi A-bodies ) and then campaigned in either S/SE or A/MP . This is probably the case with the MPC kit , albeit an odd one ; why retool just the rear side marker lights ( '68 was round , '69 was a rectangular "reflector" . '68 Hemi Dart and Barracuda had fibreglass front fenders sans marker lights / provisions ) , but leave every-thing else alone ? IIRC , the shifter for the 4-speed is the (dreaded) "Inland" shifter . That changed by spring 1968 when Chrysler once again contracted with Hurst ( 1966-mid-1968 cars were "blessed" with the inferior Inland shifter ) .

A "1:1" 1969 Formula-S 383 Barracuda is a rarety , more so in hardtop ( bodystyle "23") and convertible ( bodystyle "27" ) . Rarer yet is a '69 'Cuda ( factory named as such ) 440 ; again the hardtop being rarest ; no 440 convertibles were built .

Looks like I'll be picking one of these gems up this go'round !

[Aaronw]

Yeah, you can build it completely stock.

Thanks, I like these and it  something different than a Mustang or Camaro. I like those too, but it is nice to have some variety.

 

Nice! Havn't seen one in years. Growing up my mom had a dark green 1972 Nova SS 350 4-speed posi (she still has it), the neighbors down the road, one had a dark green Apollo and another had a dark green Omega. It was cool sometimes seeing all three in the same place with matching colors.There was also a Ventura in the area but it was blue and didn't match with the rest.

My Grandmother had a beige Olds Omega probably a 73 or 74.

[CapSat 6]

Re: the chassis: the '67 through '69 annuals had single exhaust (slant-6 for the stock building option, remember?), the drag and street machines thru the '70's and early '80's had no exhausts molded in (at least- the Killer Cuda and Avenger Cudas I had showed no exhausts, I would imagine this began with the Miss Mighty Mopar or Great Street Machine, whichever came first), and from the late '80's to present- it had dual exhausts to match the 383. 

Keith Marks used to do the Cuda 440 graphics. I haven't looked at his site in quite some time, but I got a set from him some time ago. 

Here is a pic of my Avenger. It has the '68 style marker lights for both front and rear. I did come across a swap meet body that was molded in white that had marker lenses just for the rear. The plot thickens...

One pic also shows the Hemi from the Avenger (very similar to the one in the original '69), and the 383 from more recent issues.

 

[Mark]

Annual kits through '68 had single exhaust, '69 annual had duals (even with the slant six). 

[Mark]

The first post-annual issue was the Miss Mighty Mopar (in white), in '73 if I remember right.  Next one after that was the Great Street Machine (probably also white), then the (black) Killer 'Cuda, then the (orange) Avenger.  All of these had the gutted (no exhaust) chassis, and the '68 side markers.  The '69 grille, taillights, and hood were never changed. 

I've got a poorly built Miss Mighty Mopar kit...the body has no side markers on the front fenders.  Didn't the 1:1 cars have fiberglass front fenders without side markers?  I've got another white body with no scripts or trim on the sides, '69 hood with hood pins, and side markers on the front fenders.  I'd bet this one is from the Great Street Machine issue.  I didn't get a box or instruction sheet with it, and a number of other parts were missing.

[Can-Con]

The "Killer Cuda" I has was molded in white.

[Mark]

I've got a black one.  I wouldn't doubt that there are white ones though, as I have had other MPC kits from that era that were molded in both color and white.

[VRM]

Are those still the Recall Wheels on the chrome tree?

[1972coronet]

Are those still the Recall Wheels on the chrome tree?

Yep ! Those have been there since c.1988 . Those W23 wheels are even more rare in the A-body bolt pattern ( 5x4" circle with spindly studs ) !

[AC Norton]

The "Killer Cuda" I has was molded in white.

.......and black in some cases too. I have had both over the years,,,but bang for the buck, the best issues of this MPC 68/69 cuda , even though we all know its a 69....is the BOSS CUDA great street machines issue, and the AVENGER orange issue, the Avenger has a chassis with the stock exhaust deleted, and has some nice, useable glass packs and trac bars for  another build......I see the new issue includes those as well.....just my 2 cents.......the Ace.....

[unclescott58]

Are those still the Recall Wheels on the chrome tree?

The "recall wheels" look cool. There are new, good, sets offered on the aftermarket for those who like the looks of them, and want them on their real car. So I don't mind them being offered in the kit as the stock option. If done right in the first place, I'm sure you would have seen a lot of factory built Mopars running around with them at the time.

[1972coronet]

Just got mine today !  I positively LOVE it !

What really makes this kit so cool for me is :

1.) White Wall Tyres ! MPC hasn't had those since c.1971 !

2.) Crossram Intake ! While I'm sure it was originally intended for the Hemi , it will most-likely fit the 383 .

3.) Hurst Dual Gate Console ! Yes , the kit has a 4-speed ; however , that console can find its way in the kit with a Torqueflite swap , or it'll work with the Revell 1968 Dart .

4.) Optional , Separate Console . Intended for the custom version , but I'm sure it'll work with the factory buckets .

5.) "Mystery" Wheel House "Tubs" . Were these in the original MPC Annual ?

This version of the kit screams , "Bash me with the AMT Duster or the Revell Dart ! " .

I highly recommend this kit !

[Casey]

I'll admit it's also nice that they've retooled the 5-spoke mags

Can anyone confirm or refute these "mag" wheels are the same as found in the recently reissued MPC '67 Charger kit?

[CapSat 6]

Can anyone confirm or refute these "mag" wheels are the same as found in the recently reissued MPC '67 Charger kit?

They sure look like the same mags as in the '67 Charger to me. I like these much better than the ones that came in the original '69 Cuda annual kit, so in my eyes, this was a good move rather than spending the money to reconstitute the old ones. 

[Mr. Metallic]

I'm looking forward to getting one of these. I've been intrigued by the body style, but didn't want to mess with converting the HUG kit to "stock". I just happen to have a 71 Duster kit I can bash this with as well.

[AC Norton]

........just got home with the new  69 cuda now from my LHS. they were late getting them in, but it was worth the wait.  in looking closely at everything, my general opinion here is that its a nice , nostalgic kit, especially for the older crowd who, like myself built the annual back in '69 as I did.  the only 2 things I find irritating is that as I mentioned in an earlier post that all the great HEMI  race engine parts are included....except the cylinder heads .  I know, I know....not a deal breaker or to get your underwear in a twist over, however I think they should be in there, poorly cast as they were. unfortunately, my  mag wheel tree with the AMERICANS has bubbly , poor chroming,,,,where as the large chrome tree is fine.  the nice features about this issue,,,,white plastic, great slicks and nice Polyglas whitewalls, goodies like the trac bars and glass packs from other issues included....and a mind blowing decal sheet, truly one of the nicest ever, I have a partial sheet from the original, and this new sheet as you folks can see from this forum pictures posted earlier , is a winner... notice how strategically the box art has eliminated the large 426 HEMI  lettering from the hood sides, as the original art shows this, as the decal sheet from the original supplied them in a yellow color. anyhow, my 2 cents worth...i'll get a couple more,,,,hey, anybody got any Hemi heads they can trade, I have none , and now will need some....lol....the Ace...

Edited March 4, 2016 by AC Norton
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[Mr. Metallic]

So, has anyone performed the swap of the modern tool Duster chassis under one of these Cudas before? Care to share?

[gtx6970]

So, has anyone performed the swap of the modern tool Duster chassis under one of these Cudas before? Care to share?

I modified a Revell 69 Dart chassis for mine.

[1972coronet]

I modified a Revell 69 Dart chassis for mine.

Did you use the Dart's engine compartment as well ? The Shear Panels are completely incorrect on the Barracuda (not to mention its 1966 & earlier brake master cylinder , too !) ; the Dart's boiller room is 100% perfect for the B'cuda !