Bigger bumpers
Safety bumpers front and rear make the car about six inches longer: 193.0 inches against 186.6.245
Class of '73 · Plymouth Barracuda · 1973 body · third generation
1973Plymouth Barracuda
Safety bumpers front and rear, no six-cylinder engine, the 318 and 340 V8s, and production up on 1972.
The year in brief
Federal rules brought safety bumpers front and rear, and the car grew from 186.6 to 193.0 inches by Plymouth's catalogs. The six was dropped.245
Both models had the 318 V8 as standard and the 340 as the option. Power front disc brakes were standard on the 'Cuda.4one source
Production rose to 22,213 by Consumer Guide's figures (our sum), or 19,281 by plymouthbarracuda.net's and Wikipedia's.1267sources disagree
The story of the year
The 1973 uptick
Wikipedia calls 1973 a sales uptick. By our arithmetic, Consumer Guide's figures give 3,763 more cars than in 1972 and plymouthbarracuda.net's 791 more. The two disagree about 1972 itself: 240 fewer than in 1971 by Consumer Guide, 1,998 more by plymouthbarracuda.net.1268910
How to spot a 1973
What tells it apart from a 1972.
Production167
22,213 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | Barracuda | 11,587 |
| 'Cuda | 10,626 | |
| All hardtops | 22,213 | |
| Total | 22,213 | |
Consumer Guide's rows. plymouthbarracuda.net, and Wikipedia with it, gives 19,281: 9,976 Barracudas and 9,305 'Cudas. See the ruling.
Engines2411
2 engines. The letter is the engine code in the VIN.
Net horsepower, Wikipedia's figures. Wikipedia also says the 360 replaced the 340 in late-production 1973 cars; Plymouth's 1973 catalog lists only the 318 and 340.
Price when new3one source
Base retail prices in 1973 dollars, before options.
J.D. Power's price guide, the only source we have for the 1973 prices. It does not say what its prices are based on.
Colors4one source
16 factory colors. The color names come from one source4one source; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Silver Frost Metallic—
Blue Sky—
Basin Street Blue—
True Blue Metallic—
Rallye Red—
Mist Green—
Amber Sherwood Metallic—
Forest Green Metallic—
Autumn Bronze Metallic—
Sahara Beige—
Lemon Twist—
Honey Gold—
Golden Haze Metallic—
Tahitian Gold Metallic—
Spinnaker White—
Formal Black—
No source we have gives the number of cars per color, so the counts are left empty. The 16 colors are the chart in Plymouth's catalog, which is shared with the Duster and Valiant and prints no codes; the names were read off the page image. Lemon Twist cost extra.
Reading the VIN11one source
A 1973 VIN has 13 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
BH23H3B10000111one source · An example built from the code tables on this page, not a real car's VIN: a 340 V8 hardtop, 1973, Hamtramck, unit 100001; the price-class H is one of the classes in tpocr's table, used only to fill the position. None of our sources prints a real Barracuda VIN.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| B | Car line: Plymouth Barracuda |
| H · L · M · P · S | Price class: High · Low · Medium · Premium · Special (tpocr's list for all Plymouths; which the Barracuda used is not in our sources) |
| 23 | Body: 2-door hardtop |
| G · H | Engine (see the engine table) |
| 3 | Model year (1973) |
| A · B · C · D · F · G · R | Assembly plant (tpocr's table of Plymouth codes) |
| 100001 → | Sequential unit number |
Where to find it: On a plate on the left of the dash, visible through the windshield.1112
Questions about the 1973
How many 1973 Plymouth Barracudas were made?
22,213 by the count we use: 22,213 hardtops. The sources disagree on the total; the ruling on this page explains which figure we show and why.167sources disagree
How can you tell a 1973 Barracuda from a 1972?
Two signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: bigger bumpers; v8s only.245
What engines did the 1973 Plymouth Barracuda have?
Two engines, from the 318 cu in V8 to the 340 cu in V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.2411
How much did a 1973 Plymouth Barracuda cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: Barracuda hardtop $2,935; 'Cuda hardtop $3,120.3one source
What colors did the 1973 Plymouth Barracuda come in?
Chrysler-Plymouth Division, Chrysler Corporation lists 16 factory colors.4one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1973, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Open
1973 Barracuda production
Our ruling: Unresolved. Both sources show production rising from 1972, but by different amounts. We show Consumer Guide's rows, as for the other years.
What each source says (2)
- 11,587 Barracudas and 10,626 'Cudas: 22,213 (our sum)1one source
- 9,976 Barracudas and 9,305 'Cudas: 19,28167one source
Sources
- 1970-1974 Plymouth Barracuda Coupes HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-11
- Plymouth Barracuda Wikipedia · read 2026-10-11
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda 1970–1974: original MSRP (38 pages) J.D. Power (NADA Guides) · read 2026-10-11
- 1973 Plymouth Barracuda, Duster and Valiant catalog Chrysler-Plymouth Division, Chrysler Corporation · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Plymouth Duster, Valiant and Barracuda catalog Chrysler-Plymouth Division, Chrysler Corporation · read 2026-10-11
- 1973 Barracuda production totals PlymouthBarracuda.net · read 2026-10-11
- Plymouth Barracuda: the production table Wikipedia · read 2026-10-11
- 1970-1971 Plymouth Barracuda Convertibles HowStuffWorks (Consumer Guide Automotive) · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 Barracuda production totals PlymouthBarracuda.net · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Barracuda production totals PlymouthBarracuda.net · read 2026-10-11
- 1973 Plymouth Vehicle Identification Numbers The Plymouth Owners Club Registry (tpocr.com) · read 2026-10-11
- Mopar VIN Decoding StockMopar · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1971Plymouth BarracudaThe second year: dual headlights, a new grille, gills on the 'Cuda's fenders, a low-priced coupe, and production down to 18,690 by Consumer Guide's count.18,690 built (disputed)1972Plymouth BarracudaTwo hardtops, the Barracuda and the 'Cuda, single headlights again, four round taillights, and no big-block, convertible or Gran Coupe.18,450 built (disputed)
1974Plymouth BarracudaThe last Barracuda: a 360 V8 in place of the 340, 11,734 built, and the end of production in April 1974.11,734 builtSee the whole third generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1970–1974.