I have two one owner 71 Barracudas (BH), one with a scheduled production date of January 15 and the other, June 25. On the June 25 car, the most apparent differences I see from the January car are the inclusion of several 1972 features:

(1) The base steering wheel went from 3 spokes to 2 spokes. (2) The front bumper went from "no slots" to 2 slots; one at each end. (3) The rear shock access on the trunk pan was relocated.

So what about the AM radio. Did the 72 style black push button radio make it into late 71 production? Or did the 71 style chrome push buttons get carried over into early 1972 production?

I am asking because the radio was missing when I bought the June 25 Barracuda.

Thanks,
David

From what I have seen, chrome buttons were only seen on a 1970 model E-body exclusively.
71 and up had black buttons.
Others may chime in with opinions as I have not seen them all.
The buttons will not interchange, you cant put the chrome buttons on a 71-up and vice versa

Your ‘71 came with a ‘72 - ‘74 E-Body steering wheel?

That's not the first time I've heard that. Can anyone else confirm?

How many trunk torsion springs do they have?

Yes, just went to the basement to take a picture of it. I apologize for the poor image, but my digital camera is down right now.

Here is the January trunk pan (GK6) and the June trunk pan (FC7):

Here is the January bumper (GK6). The June bumper (FC7) with slots. All of the 1972 Barracudas that I have seen, have this bumper:

My 1971 GK6 Barracuda with a SPD of 115 has chrome push buttons. My parents bought it in the fall of 1971 with 13K miles. All of the 71's I have seen have chrome buttons. My question is whether there was some overlap between 71 and 72.

David

Interesting - thank you for sharing!

Nice cars.
I bet comparing the build sheets would be interesting

Thanks A990. I have both build sheets. The bronze car was built to be a lease car. I believe it was in the Avis fleet. It has cloth seat inserts, console, light package, PS, and AC. The In-violet car is interesting in the way it was optioned. It too is a 318 auto with AC. It has vinyl bucket seats and column shift. Whoever ordered it checked the boxes for color keyed sport mirrors, road lamps, and power front disc brakes....and the high impact color option, In-violet (FC7).

David

David, my late built (June) 71 GK6 Cuda original AM radio has chrome buttons. I converted to a thumbwheel AM/FM a couple years ago, but still have the original that was working perfectly when I removed it.

The 71 cuda's I've had were all chrome push buttons. I also have a June 1 build 71 cuda with a very original interior. It has several 72 parts but the steering wheel is a standard three spoke wheel. Also standard front bumper with no slots for the jack.

My 520 SPD 71 Challenger AM radio has chrome buttons.
The tag on the radio has a date code of 1231 which is May 3, 1971.

Does anyone else have the date codes off their radio's? This may narrow down the changeover in the buttons.

Four different front bumpers were put on a 1971 Challenger three different back bumpers. Rallye dash Tach after around June 1st is different than ones before. There were a lot of changes leading up to the 1972 Model and Plymouth and Dodge had different times when they changed things. The trunk floor pan change for the rear access shock hole change came first in a Challenger weaks before Barracudas. There are other panels that were changed before the end of the year and during the year that stayed into 1972.