CATCH of the DAY

WITH SOME FAMILY ASSISTANCE, MATT MITCHELL & KATIE BOURKE CREATED THE HAND-CONTROLLED BARRACUDA OF THEIR DREAMS

- CARLY DALE

THE late 60s and early 70s gave us the golden era of American muscle cars. They were proportioned so deliciously right, and none more so than E-body Mopars like the ’71 Plymouth Barracuda. Fronted by a brawny, shark-like mouth, its tight style lines flow through to wonderfully curvaceous hips, topped by a perfectly structured roofline.

It’s these features – coupled with the rarity of ’71 Barracudas – that drew Matt Mitchell and partner Katie Bourke into a hunt for an example to call their own.

“We always wanted to do a restomod, creating a reliable car for us both to use,” Matt says. “For me, it’s more than just a car with hand controls. As a tetraplegic, I need to consider the seat height and positioning, and access to other control points.”

Thankfully, Matt and Katie had someone in their immediate circle who understood these needs and was more than qualified to take on the job. Matt’s brother is Andrew Mitchell, owner of Auto Transformers and builder of the showstopping ‘Gold Rush’ Lincoln Zephyr (SM, Aug ’15). Given Andrew’s fondness for modified rides, it was a given that the Barracuda wouldn’t fall victim to a granny-spec resto. In fact, the project steadily escalated, with an extra 18 months spent on the bespoke bodywork alone.

Once stripped, the body was found to be mostly straight, though poorly repaired damage to one rear-quarter soon came to light. Furthermore, the right A-pillar had more holes than a Chux cloth, and tinworm had devoured the boot floor. This is all regular fare for the Auto Transformers team, who swiftly rectified the issues before the fun stuff began.