MCLAREN UPGRADES CLASSIC PLYMOUTH

At the 2024 United States Formula 1 Grand Prix, held at Circuit of the Americas (CotA) in Texas, the McLaren F1 team unveiled a suitably all-American car. The 1973 Plymouth Barracuda presented by McLaren had been upgraded in several areas as part of a special project with team partners, eBay, ahead of the US F1 round.

Purchased from eBay, the classic Plymouth pony car was then modified with a range of new parts, all of which were sourced through eBay Motors. Following its completion, the car was driven to CotA by McLaren team driver Lando Norris and displayed at the McLaren garage throughout the GP weekend.

After the grand prix, the car went to auction with eBay as a fundraiser for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Founded in 1950 with the goal of making engineering a desirable career path for women, the SWE provides training and development programmes for women looking at jobs in engineering, as well as scholarships and networking opportunities. They also advocate for women already in the industry.

The Barracuda sourced from eBay, a 1973 model, was in mostly stock condition as purchased, although its factory 318 V8 (as indicated by the VIN) had been replaced with a 340 V8. While period-correct for a ’73 Barracuda, how close the 340 was to stock is unclear. Images of the car provided by eBay show a modern ECU, aftermarket valve covers and a few other non-standard parts.

With the goal of upgrading the car using parts sourced entirely through eBay Motors, the transformation started with a set of ceramic-coated full-length headers from Doug’s Headers, matched to a Pypes Performance Exhaust 2 ½-inch exhaust system. The induction system and internals for the 340 V8 were apparently left untouched.

The front and rear suspension was replaced with a QA1 Mopar Street Performance coilover system, with the braking upgraded to discs on all four wheels using a Dynalite Pro Series kit from Wilwood.

The factory-look wheels were replaced with a set of American Racing Torq Thrust D alloys in 15x6 (front) and 15x8 (rear) sizes, shod with Cobra Radial GT tyres in 235/60-15 and 255/70-15 sizes.

Inside, the front seats were replaced with Elite V2 sports buckets from Braum Racing, with the related brackets sourced from eBay Motors, too. New carpets and floor mats were fitted, while the factory two-spoke steering wheel was replaced with a three-spoke, wood-rimmed ‘California’ wheel from Momo.

The car’s 7-inch headlights were upgraded with Holley RetroBright LED units. New parking light lenses and bezels were also fitted, along with new side marker lights and repro lenses for the tail and reversing lights.

Red inserts for the grille and bonnet scoops were repainted black, but the bigger transformation to the exterior was a full wrap, using 3M 2080 film in Gloss Bright Orange to replicate McLaren’s signature Papaya colour. This covered the Barracuda’s original silver paint and non-standard strobe stripes, but the black vinyl roof was left as is.

Given this build was to be a fundraiser for the SWE, it was appropriate the work was done by a female - Alex Taylor of Alex Taylor Racing. Based in Arizona, Alex grew up around cars and has been running a Camaro in quarter-mile competition since she was 16.

Upon the Barracuda’s completion, Norris drove it to CotA, where he signed the dashboard as the finishing touch.