I captured this ratty trio of early to mid 1970’s MoPars on Christmas Day 2024. Finding this trio leads me to the question, what is your favorite MoPar letter/body code as it applies to the 70’s muscle-era cars? To consider that matter, let’s take a closer look at this gnarly group that might get a second chance at automotive life someday.
Some may say these cars are too far gone to be considered for any type of restoration. The argument goes, cars in this condition would be better used as candidates for parts and hard-to-find pieces that are not reproduced for someone else’s current project car. I see the point of that argument. However, with the popularity of restoration shows of MoPars on TV and YouTube ( I am thinking Graveyard cars specifically), these still could provide the basis for an old Mopar to be revived.
Let’s go in alphabetical order, shall we? Starting with “A”. The Plymouth Duster in our group is a ’73 or ’74 model. I must say that I am partial to A bodies, so this would likely be my choice, although because it is a 73-’74 they begin to get heavy with additional bumper bracing, door bracing, etc. This example likely has(d) an LA V8 in there under the hood. We’ll never know for sure, but only someone as crazy as me would build up a slant 6 and put true duals on it. I don’t think this is that car.
I did not get a good enough set of pictures on this one to discern if it was a ’73 or ’74. Outside of reading the VIN tag, the only other way I can tell a ’73 from a ’74 A Body MoPar is the addition of roof-mounted retractable combination shoulder/lap belts that were connected together; on a ’73 model, the shoulder belts were still an optional use item. The belts were neatly tucked in above the window of the driver and front seat passenger. At the discretion of driver and front seat passenger, their use was decided or not. Want lap belts only? Fine.. click in your lap belt, and it will shut off the nanny dashboard warning light and the associated wired-in parallel under-dash seat belt buzzer. Not so for ’74. If you plugged the seat belt from the retractor into the latch, you got both hip and chest restraint.
Just a few bubbles on the lower quarters and some peeling body filler on the roof? It will “buff out”.
From the front, this Duster looks somewhat presentable, needing only some headlight bezels to complete the front end.
Flanked by some notable GM fiberglass cars here, one may wonder if it is a low rider with MoPar Factory Rallye wheels in the 4.5″ bolt pattern? No, likely the left side torsion bar is snapped. I have had MoPars like that in the past. They come into the shop riding on the bump stops. It also appears that by the warping and peeling body filler on the roof, it could have been a ultra rare sunroof car that had the hole in the roof filled?
Next is the “B” of the group. One could argue this is a B body version on the fuselage design, quite a departure from the ’68-’70 Coke Bottle design MoPar B bodies that preceeded it. These mini-fuselages did not linger long however, as they only existed for 4 years before Chrysler Corp hit their thoroughly broughamified stride with PLC “B” body Chargers, Furys and Cordobas in 1975.
I have never owned a B Body MoPar. Underneath, they are essentially E Bodies with different sheet metal, proportions and glass. Many of the underpinning are shared, leaf springs torsion bars, upper and lower control arms, spindles, etc. The B Bodies could be had as a 2 or 4 door. None had Vent windows and the trunk was a usable size, unlike the E Body which had enough room for a bag of golf clubs or two (even less if the car had a full sized spare tire). This B body is a ’73 or ’74 Plymouth Road Runner, or Sport Satellite, with some Road Runner additions.
I see many of the ’73 and ’74 from all MoPar body models at local cruise nights and other shows with the 5 Mph energy absorbing black chucks of rubber removed in an effort to clean up the car’s looks. These large black protrusions existed on most, if not all MoPars until ~’75-’76 when the energy absorbers were placed in the frame behind the bumpers.
This Plymouth B Body looks to be “imported” from California some 20 years ago. Images were captured in western Pennsylvania.
Without a too detailed close-up inspection, it seems to be complete, save for the missing interior bits and the rust under the halo vinyl top that the car once wore.
Upon close inspection, I see a Satellite callout on the dash above the glove box. This car might be a Satellite after all. It has the console, Slap Stik shifter, air conditioning, and the Rallye Dash. It had bucket seats at one time.
The faded color of this “B” body (whatever color it is) is likely original. I cannot tell for sure without seeing the fender tag or Broadcast Sheet, but I guess that it rolled out of the Los Angeles production facility as a JY1 Lemon Twist car. I have owned my E Body Barracuda for 30+ years, and it is the much more subtle and subdued JY3 – Honey Gold. An additional splash of yellow paint is found on the rear bumper (applied a la Jackson Pollock).
Here is my E Body 1973 Barracuda that I have owned for over 30 years. It is a factory JY3 Honey Gold color car with a paint restoration completed in 1995.
Vinyl tops harbor moisture and rust! Yikes!! Is this B Body too far gone? Maybe, but there are folks at MoPar swap meets that will likely have a roof panel for you, such as those found at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA. It is also possible that AMD has a roof panel for this B body.
Missing Hood pins and some Bulges in the hood? Maybe a 340 or 360 once existed under there. The venerable Big Block would likely have been a Hot Rodders’ swap-in-only item after the ’72 Model year for the B Body Mopars.
Here, some non-factory aluminum wheels have been installed. Today, the additional brightwork is missing from the wheel arch openings.
The last letter today is “E”. This is a 1970 Dodge Challenger. Sorry, if you are an Imperial fan, no”D” bodies exist here, and if you are an Aspen-Volare fan, there are no F’s at this location. By 1967, the “D” Body ended, and all Imperials from 1967-1975 were badge engineered “C” Body Chrysler Variants. None of those were present on this day/location either. You C body fuselage fans (and I know there are many of you) will have to find C body fuselage content elsewhere on CC.
This challenger has quite a story to tell. It seems to have many Pre-1980’s modifications still existing on the car. and some hackery by former owners.
As I said earlier, I have owned an “E” Body 1973 Barracuda since 1994, so a few things jump out when I can study a bunch of pictures like these. This car is quite well optioned. The yellow on the floor suggests that this car was delivered in a different color than the dingy blue/black we see on the outside. It was likely a similar hue to the B Body sitting next to it on the day I captured these photos.
Here we see the Rallye Dash, a common option that included the 150 MPH speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, and clock. The standard dash had only a 120 MPH speedometer. Other options are air conditioning, rear defogger, rear-seat speaker fader control, and speed control. The turn signal stalk is not the standard fare, thin stalk for lane changes. Period add-ons include the graphic equalizer for the radio under the HVAC and temperature controls. Some bits of red are showing up on the dash pad too… more on that later.
The new-for-1970 E bodies were ma MoPar’s first foray into heavily sculped plastic interior parts. Many of MoPar’s other lines, being produced at the time from Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth, as well as Dodge trucks, still had some sort of fabric-covered pressboard door panels and lots of exposed metal in the door frames(especially in the A and B bodies of the time). The E body had no division bar or vent windows, either of which freshened the look. (I love the vent windows in my A bodies). The door panels on the E Body are entirely sculpted and molded plastic. The Dodge Challenger’s door panels are a bit chunkier than those of the Plymouth sister car, the Barracuda.
All ’70-’74 Plymouth E-body Barracudas had similar sculpted plastic door panels like these. If you had the high-performance ‘cuda model, then you got the potmetal emblem affixed to your doors to remind you what you are driving. I think the Barracuda’s door panels are more refined and less macho compared to the Challenger’s.
A few More Curious things catch my eye – The Dash and panels were painted or dyed black at some point – this car either had a red interior or someone swapped it from another car. In 1970, those Fratzogs still had some meaning too! Spot the Power Window switch for the right rear window in this shot as well.
Consoles were a common option – most “E: Bodies had them. The console, along with the bucket seats and Slap Stik shifter, was shared between the E body and the 1971-74 B body cars. Those without the console, or having a bench seat or column shift are the “rare” cars. I think this car does not have the Slap Stik Shifter – I believe that option came out in 1971.
Fun Fact that you can share on our next automotive trivia night: None of the external sheet metal is interchangeable between the Dodge Challenger and the Plymouth Barracuda “E” Bodies. Not even the roof or quarter panels – They are totally different stampings utilizing different body lines. The Interiors and underpinnings are the same, minus the door panels and the script on the dash, which would change to an aluminum Appliqué placed on a rectangular pad for 1971.
This Challenger has Hood pins, Bumper Guards, and the Scooped Hood – All Options (hood pins may be non-factory)
This is such a classic look; fans of Vanishing Point and the 2008 reboot of the Challenger love this face, too.
A few shots of the rear of the ’70 Challenger reveal some hacking by a previous owner to get the dual exhaust to exit right through the valence.
The ’70 Challengers are one of the few 60’s-’80’s rear wheel drive MoPars with the fuel filler on the right side of the body. Most are driver’s side or in the rear behind the license plate.
Junk in the trunk awaiting that restoration someday. The trunk opening on the ’70 Challenger looks larger to me than the trunk on my ’73 Barracuda. It surely is wider, possibly by 4″ to 6″. Differences in the tail panel and dutchman panel design possibly give this car more trunk access as well.
Here in this picture, we can see the noticeable difference in the rear window area on the E Body Challenger as compared to its Plymouth Barracuda brother which has a much smaller rear window, again with a totally different roof and quarter panel stampings. The early Challengers were also available as an SE model which usually had many more options as well as a fiberglass “plug” that gave the SE a different rear window. All Challenger SE’s were vinyl top equipped to hide the fiberglass plug and other construction work in the rear window area.
For reference, my ’73 Barracuda again to compare the differences in the rear window and trunk area.
Very old Big Boss Tires and wide Cragars are some popular day 2 modifications that seem apropos for this car. I see a bit of yellow again on the quarter panel to rear valence crease under the bumper and inside the trunk lid.
BONUS! I visited again on Christmas Day 2025, and there was another “B” Body that had appeared. – This 1968-1970 Road Runner, Satellite, Coronet, or Super Bee was begging for some glamour shots. It’s missing so much stuff that I didn’t care to investigate it much further.
So again, I will ask what your favorite Muscle Era MoPar letter? I know which one I’ll pick.
Related CC reading:
1974 Plymouth Gold Duster – There’s Gold In Thar’ Hips
1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus – Haven’t I Heard That Name Before?
1970 Dodge Challenger – The Life Of The Party
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T – The Big Reveal
1970 Dodge Challenger – Vanishing Paint
Of these, E. If the B had a loop bumper, though…
Noted. The ’71-’72 B’s With the Loop Bumpers on the Road Runners and to some degree the Charger as well are well more desirable than the Rubber Blocked ’73-’74 Models. also Big Blocks could still be had in them too,
It’s a lot of a dilemma for me. The colour-coded bumper (GTX?) is just as appealing as the chrome. But I’m getting off-track. Extraordinary that the Barracuda and Challenger look so similar but don’t share any external skin. For all that effort, one would have thought greater differentiation could have been achieved.
After 40 + Years of attending MoPar-specific shows and gatherings, as well as owning my own E Body for much of that time too it is amazing that back then those 2 cars were not just badge egnineered corprate copies of each other, like was later to be seen with the Volare’ / Aspen, Omni / Horizon, / Voyager / Caravan and countless others. The Dodge and Plymouth E Bodies share very little between them save for the Underpinnings, Seats, console, dashboard, and gauges. Back then, Chrysler was trying to make the E bodies very identifiable as a Plymouth or a Dodge. Then all of that design and engineering money and focus needed to suddenly shift to small cars and fuel economy. Rightfully so, given the challenge of the times.
Yep, I had the Joe Herlitz interview in Collectible Automobile (which I very foolishly gave away) where he describes this period, and the decision to not share any panels. That part I understand, but the glass? Surely these would have looked as different with the same glazing.
FWIW, in a country that is so utterly bountiful with fantastic automotive shapes, I keep coming back to the 71/72 Plymouth B coupe as my favourite. But again I digress.
Don, I left a comment about the glass further down. They do share the key glass (windshield and doors). That would have been prohibitively expensive not to. It’s one thing to differentiate those areas of the exterior panels that attach to the underbody, like fenders, door skins quarter panels and such. Although the roof panel is clearly different at the rear, longer and different C pillar shape, undoubtedly the pressing is essentially the same where it meets the windshield header. The cowl and windshield header is by far the most complex and expensive body pressing/component, which is why they are so widely interchanged. And door structures are way up there too.
It was all very similar to what GM had been doing so successfully for so long. And of course others too, but yes, it was very ambitious to do it with what would have been a modest volume pair of cars even in the best of times.
The car leading the “parade” is a 1973 Plymouth Duster. It has the rubber-block 5 mph bumpers. The 1974-76 had hydraulic impact absorbers and the grill texture changed for 1975-1976.
This bugs me a bit since I ‘thought’ that all 1973 A-, B-, and E-body Mopars had the big, solid rubber ‘boobie’ bumper guards shown on the Duster.
Yet, images of the author’s 1973 Barracuda clearly looks to have the next year’s slightly smaller rubber and chrome bumper guards made possible by the bumper reinforcements and I’m sure he’d know the model year of his car. Maybe they were changed at some point?
FWIW, the bumper guards on the Satellite are the giveaway that it’s a MY1974.
B-bodies had big-blocks optional until all B/RB engines were dropped after 1978.
Yes, the ’71-’72 Satellite/RR coupe may well be on the top of my list of best American designs from the golden era.
None of the above, thank you. Make mine a fuselage C -body, and if it need be a “muscle” machine, a ’70 Sport Fury GT. Though I had (and flipped last year) a ’70 Charger R/T 440 6 Pack 4spd, one of the most desirable B-bodies, I still prefer the big ones.
If pressed to pick one of today’s featured cars, it’d be the Challenger. Still recall the morning at college in the Fall of ’69 when I opened the Baltimore Sunday Sun paper and saw the Challenger announcement and that front end that so closely resembled that of the DeTomaso Mangusta, one of my favorite cars of all time.
RE: the image with the power rear window switch…safe to assume the front door was likely replaced at some point? I can’t imagine that Chrysler offered a rear-window-only power option…
Perhaps the door card was already black – which saved on a bit of interior re-dyeing…and given what looks to be missing master power switches in the front door, it could have likely been the only replacement option available at that point.
Good catch! I would be willing to bet that the passenger front door was replaced with a crank-up wind mechanism. The driver’s door would have had 4 window switches.
I never had a B body either, though I spent some time around a 74 Charger (albeit one with a slant 6 and a 3 on the tree). Of these cars, the 68-70 B body would be my choice. Operable and complete, of course. Because very windows and a more substantial body structure. My preferred A body is the 70-72 Dart Swinger/71-72 Plymouth Scamp, for the same reasons.
I mark the Satellite as a 73 based on the steering wheel. I much prefer this design to its 1974 replacement, with the huge fat center hub.
None of the sheet metal or glass is interchangeable between the Dodge Challenger and the Plymouth Barracuda “E” Bodies.
I really appreciate your posts and your detailed knowledge of so many things Mopar, but the E Body Barracuda and Challenger do share the same windshield and door glass.
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1971/plymouth/barracuda/parts/DW758C.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20159654158&gbraid=0AAAAAD_j9qDtODvoFxjdBXf9iWRIz_dcH&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7IjOBhDyARIsAFzrWQzoGFbXsQGDTvQcFkjB_RgJOweyIiZsCN8NLa1WnYWBRlFAysMBwWIaApwJEALw_wcB
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1971/dodge/challenger/parts/DD4423C.html?
gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20159654158&gbraid=0AAAAAD_j9qDtODvoFxjdBXf9iWRIz_dcH&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7IjOBhDyARIsAFzrWQysoGdmF0tLhQ-snx2sJNBFz0t4QH5i0ZhH0E5A4D8ReBmbMwxT_XMaAtWzEALw_wcB
It was ambitious enough that Chrysler spent the extra money to differentiate these cars so extensively (and successfully, in my opinion, as they do have a different feel despite the obvious underskin similarities), but when it comes to windshields and doors, these are extremely expensive areas to differentiate, as it involves the very essence of the basic body (under)structure. This is why so many cars for so many years from the various manufacturers shared the same key glass. I learned this very early regarding all the big Mopars from 1957 through the 1966 Chrysler Imperial.
Thanks again for sharing so much of your Mopar knowledge here.
Thanks for the correction, Paul. Please edit the information in the post if you have not done so already. Maybe it is only the rear quarter windows and the backlight that are different.
Ok; I took out the “glass”.
I’m actually quite interested to know how much commonality there is between these E and B-Body coupes. In fact, their windshields look quite similar, but apparently they do not interchange. I wonder about their cowls; I have this faint distant memory about reading back at the time that there was a fair bit of underbody similarities which is precisely what allowed Chrysler to afford building these unique coupes, as the E and B coupes apparently shared certain key underbody elements. The cowl would be the most obvious (and expensive) one.
The rear axle housings are different widths. If I recall correctly from my many years of looking at greasy bare 8 3/4″ housngs at swap meets the widths of the housngs are different with the ’71-’47 B body being an ~1″ wider overall.
I doubt the cowls are the same, but according to the internet it says they are similar enough as E Body cowl and firewalls are reproduced, while B body ones are not for ’71-’74.
I have spotted that the bulkhead wiring connections on the 2 platforms are identical. They have a white bulkhead pass through that is not found on any MoPar A body, F, Body, Truck or van from the 1960’s or 1970s, but that wiring does exist at least underhood on both the 70-74 B and E Bodies. (it could be shared by other C body platforms later too, and the ’75-’79 B bodies but I do not have enough firsthand knowledge of those cars to comment on it).
I wold have to surmise that since the E body was a mostly clean sheet design, likely starting in ’67 or ’68, when it was time to retire the coke bottle B body it made sense to borrow as much corporate under car stuff as possible for the one year later redesign for the all new 1971 B Body.
Heck, the Defrost vents for the Original ’92 Viper Fit my ’78 B van, so Chrysler was not shy about sharing the corporate parts bit when needed. It makes sense to me.
Chrysler used the same defroster vents from the early 60s (A-bodies) to 1997 (B-vans).
The E-body wasn’t a clean sheet; it shared A LOT with the 62-72 B-body.
If my cousin and her husband only knew at the time what rarity they owned in 1970. It was a 1970 Barracuda Gran Coupe with a 318 4spd pistol grip shifter, one of only 168 made in that configuration! Myself, I have never owned a ABE body but did have 2 F bodies, 78 Diplomat and 79 Volare. I now own a 66 New Yorker as my classic, C-Bodies forever!
Well, if we are doing our ABC’s, then I’d go with the letter C as in 1965 Chrysler 300L. Most of these cars are not great handlers so if one is consigned to going fast, in a straight line, then do it in some style and comfort I say.
Although I own an A-Body, I’m inclined to agree; I still think my favorite would be a ’65 New Yorker two-door hardtop.
In this group, I’d choose the Challenger, because they still look great today.
Well, if staying inside the question, then a B body being either a 69 Charger or 69 GTX 440 four speed if you please.
It’s been a hard decision, one I thought I might come back to in a few hours, but of the three I think I would prefer car B, thank you. If it had been a year or two earlier I would have jumped at the B-body instantly; they were a lovely clean design. I get the need for bumper mounts, but were there any structural differences under the skin that needed such vast changes? Or just ‘new year new look’?
The A-body, while a nice coupe, and a different body from anything we saw down here, is perhaps over-familiar cowl-forward as a Valiant-derivative. And the E? It’s (visually) like the Barracuda and Challenger are two totally separate cars and I couldn’t choose between them.
Plus, the B wins the “What on earth is that?” award, looking both American and unfamiliar.
Re: the shifter in the 1970 Challenger. It’s a Slap Stick but a one-year-only version that used a round knob and a sturdy solid metal lever.
Beginning in 1971, all B- and E-bodies with a center console got the ratcheting Slap Stick shifter mechanism, but the round knob and metal lever was replaced with a quite flimsy, hard-plastic T-handle. It was not uncommon to see these handles broken and often duct-taped back together.
The automatic console in the A-body coupe never got a Slap Stick, but made do with a longer, metal shaft and round woodgrain plastic knob (also used in the 1968-70 B-body).
That Shifter (that you mention) also found it’s way into the C bodies equipped with a console. Not sure what the model year range would have been for it my my Dad’s mostly original ’71 Sport Fury has it.
https://flic.kr/p/2pZfEdF
Yeah, the lever and selector bezel is the same as the one in the A- and earlier B-body hardtops, but the console in which it’s installed, while similar, is slightly different, likely just due to the size difference of the cars.
It would be interesting to know the final year that bucket seats and console could be ordered in a C-body. Just off-hand, I’d guess it was in that 1971 Sport Fury since I believe that was also the last year for that model, too.
The dealer data books say you could still get buckets in the Fury Gran Coupe through 1973, although the console was only available through 1972. (Even on the last Sport Fury, the buckets normally came with a center cushion with a folding armrest; that still came with the buckets in 1973, but the console was no longer offered to replace it.)
Gotta be an A body for me. Dusters and Dart Sports.
That would get my vote too, but we already assumed that. My Stock E body is very wishwashy ’round corners even compared to a totally stock ’62 Valiant save for 14″ wheels and 215-225 70R 14 Tires added.
Well, it would have to be both B & E for me, as I own a ’70 Charger, and a ’74 Challenger. I lusted after the Barracuda, but the deal to buy one fell through. I think your Barracuda looks great, but I don’t care for the color (my Challenger’s original color). I changed mine to B-5 Blue; my car also has the rare rear window defogger and the corresponding 4 switch panel in the Rallye dash. 🙂
Noted, Thanks.
I see so many E bodies at meets and shows that are purple, red, or Hi-Impact Color repaints. When I look inside the door I find them to be mustard yellow, brown, or honey gold Often the painters missed under the window sweeps because the car was not completely disassembled on the color change.
I live by the motto: The color the car was made, is the color it stays. I realize that not everyone agrees with this, but that’s me.
I rarely ever see honey gold MoPars out there, and that is okay with me.
They all have their merits. The driver’s ed car that I was trained on was an A body Dodge Dart with the venerable slant six.
Until I drove a Tesla Dual Motor Model Y, the fastest car I had ever driven was a B-Body; a ’69 Charger R/T with what I thought was a 383 with a six-pack, but later learned on these pages that the six-pack was a 440 thing. Cool car either way to an 17 year old kid in 1977.
If I had to choose one from this lot though, it would be the letter E – I like the Challenger, but prefer the author’s ‘cuda more.
And as others have mentioned, a big ol’ C Body Fuselage is so cool. Make mine that ’70 Hurst thing that was featured here years ago, you know, that gold and white one, featuring that sexy blonde… what was her name? Linda Vaughn if memory serves. That car was too big to be cool and too cool to be big. Love it!
This question would have been hard to answer if you had not shown your Barracuda, it looks like a twin to the first E body I ever saw as a kid.
A small black and white pic from my first bible, World Cars 1973, so out of this group, it has to be E of the Barracuda variety. I think the 73 is particularly nice, which is unusual for the last face lift of a series, they don’t often get better with each revision.
But I think the 68/69 B body Plymouth coupes, are just automotive design perfection.
And then there are earlier Bs and Cs, nope it’s still too hard to pick just one.
If I could pick one in good condition it would be the 68-70 Road Runner B body. Not as flamboyant and more workaday but that’s me I guess.
Of course these are all in execrable condition and I wouldn’t take any of them. I’ve already spent too much of my life trying to fix terminally rusty cars.
I would be a B body guy. My first car that I actually paid for was a ’74 Roadrunner that I ordered in May, of ’74, somehow was built as a Satellite Sebring, 400 engine, in the awful “weak assed green’ (Our name for it) with a white half vinyl top. Inside was a bench seat with the ugly skinny steering wheel, but the worst thing about the interior was the checkered seats. The dealer offered me the car for an amazingly cheap price, but I passed. I wanted my “Silver Frost Metallic” Roadrunner with red stripes and the only color for any interior, IMHO, black. Just before Thanksgiving, it showed up, on the truck with it was a ’75 in the same colors. Yuck.My car was one of the very last, possibly THE last ’74 built, and it had a bunch of problems, including the wrong wheel bearings, carb issues, and it had the really weak “taxicab” 8+1/4″? rear end, which broke after a set of borrowed slicks was too much for it. The drive from Irwindale to Vegas with the howling rear was not a fun trip. A trip to SNAP for a 8+3/4 3.55 Posi and the car was fine until I stupidly traded it for the truly awful 1977 Power Wagon. The pic is not my car, but a twin.
I’ll take the Duster. Much lighter than an E-body, MUCH lighter, stiffer, and better handling than a 1973+ B-body. 408ci stroker dressed to look like a 340, please.