w00t My Search Is Over I Finally Found Another Barracuda With A Front End Like Mine!!!!!
Here is another view of the car like mine
Almost every Mopar Barracuda fan thinks my 1968 Plymouth Barracuda convertible has a 1967 front end. But the fact is I have an original 1968 Barracuda owner's manual (images below), which was still in the glovebox when I bought the car, which shows my front end in the manual illustrations.
So, this is an interesting mystery. Every other 1968 Barracuda I have seen has Plymouth written in small letters on the driver's side, and this is the style accepted by the Barracuda enthusiast community. Yet since everything on my car is original with all matching numbers, and the owner's manual illustration shows my front end, I have no reason to believe the front end is not the factory original.
Possible Explanations I have no way of knowing if Chrysler used 1967 illustrations in their 1968 manual, but that sounds unlikely. To further cloud the mystery, a few years ago I talked with an old-timer from Chrysler who told me that on the factory lines in those days, things were not always exact. If for some reason they ran out of a part, they would pull one from the replacement parts for another model year and use it.
From decoding the VIN numbers, my VIN shows this Barracuda is a 68, built in the Dodge Main plant in Hamtramck Michigan, with a High price level and a "Los Angeles" 318 V8 with a 2 barrel carb. Based on this info, I now surmise that most surviving 1968 Barracuda's do not share the same VIN specs as mine and this explains the differing front ends.
I'd be very interested in hearing from any other 1968 Barracuda convertible owners whose vehicle shares the same VIN specs as mine which might help solve this mystery; if any are left. From what I understand, 2,840 convertibles were made it 1968, of those I have no idea how many were assembled at the Dodge Main plant.
1968 Barracuda Owner's Manual Cover
1968 Barracuda Owner's Manual Interior Page
A couple of things I can think which may explain the discrepencies are as follows. One, Chrysler published the 1968 owner's manual with illustrations from the 1967 model year. Two, the wrong front end was put on the car at the factory.