71 HEMI Cuda Convertible 4 speed

[DavidC]

Just watched one sell in Seattle for 3.5 MILLION at a Mecum auction. I believe 11 were made in 71. Fun days back then.

Dave

 

[jhenderson]

According to the commentators 11 were built but only 2 were sold in the U.S. Wonder where the rest went? Or are?

 

[rscurtis]

What's really amazing is that if you roll the clock back about 30 years, no one wanted these cars.

 

[jgillott]

What's really amazing is that if you roll the clock back about 30 years, no one wanted these cars.

By the time they were 10 years old around here, most of them were well rotted away.

 

[DavidC]

With the 2 in the U.S. this one still had the original engine. There was no comment where the other 9 went. This one was bare bones, floor shifter Pistol Grip, no console, steel wheels with dog dish hub caps (not even the Rallye wheels. The owner (car collector) had a few cars there and was very remorseful at selling this one. Just goes to show how you can get attached to things. As I keep going up the ladder I know some day the 70 road runner will leave and it makes my innards queezy everytime I think about it.

Dave

 

[AEdelheit]

I grew up next to a Mopar guy, he had a 68' Dart GTS 383 convertible 4 spd numbers matching, 70' Cuda convertible 340, plumb crazy, numbers matching rotisserie restoration and various other ones, got hooked on meth and lost it all, very sad to see.

 

[jhenderson]

We've got a guy around here that specializes in AAR parts. He started years ago and did well, but they're running out of original cars to restore and things have backed way off.

 

[fox]

I know where there is a 70 Hemi Cuda. not for sale though!!!

 

[DavidC]

I know where there is a 70 Hemi Cuda. not for sale though!!!

TEASER!!!!!!!!!!

Dave

 

[Wayne M.]

Correct that these cars were a hard sell at $5000 then. The other 'cudas were very popular. I'm very partial toward these cars. 3.5 mil? I thought things were going down.

Further reading on the other Mopars and heavy hits in this auction.

 

[Wingate]

Im the genius that had a 68 Charger R/T with the 440/727.... When I was about 19, I sold it to an older gentleman for 750.00. Laughed as he drove it away thinking, WHAT A SUCKER, THAT THING HAS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS!
Fast forward to today, every time I go back to my old home town, I see that car, fully restored... being driven in Christmas Parades and on sunny summer Saturdays... that old man has a big grin on his face as if hes saying, what a fool, I bought a running numbers matching 68 Charger R/T from that snot nosed idiot for 750.00!

 

[The patriot]

I had the chance to purchase a 1969 GTX CONVERTIBLE with a 440 and 4 speed.
Many years ago.

 

[RVTRKN]

Found this, but they wouldn't sell. :-laf It was found in South America on some island.

I see the pic is not the greatest, it is a 1966 Charger with a Hemi, it's all original except for the tires and the battery.

 

[Shadrach]

There are lots of original Hemi cars up here in Canada, especially here in Alberta. It's also possible some of them went overseas to US and Canadian Military personnel. I remember a guy in the Canadian Forces who had a brand new AAR shipped to Germany. He said it was lots of fun on the Autobahn. I too had a 68 Charger R/T 440/727 numbers matching car that I sold about 15 years ago. It was dark green with stripe delete and no vinyl roof. CAn't keep every thing. David

 

[rscurtis]

Here's some collector car trivia for fellow TDR members. In 1968, my father sold his '64 Porsche C coupe to the late Ralph Kiner. It was replaced with a '68 Hurst/Olds, one of only 18 out of a production run of 515 that was equipped with factory AC. At the same time, I had a '66 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre convertible with the optional 427 Nascar engine and 4-speed transmission. All of these would be big $ cars today. You could attend major cars shows for the next 20 years and never see the Ford or the H/O again, that's how rare they were.

 

[jgillott]

When I was a kid, my father had a '58 Chevy Impala 348 tri-power, 3-speed manual, 4.11 posi, Reo Red hardtop that he purchased new or with just a few miles on it I believe. He quit driving it and tucked it in the garage around '71-'72 probably. If I remember correctly, it was getting rough around the headlight buckets but the rest of the car was very nice. He ended up selling it for just a few $$. He kicks himself everytime he sees what they go for now.

My friend from HS Lee lived just a few houses down from us. His father had a '63 split window Vette, '63 Corvair Spider convertable, and a '70 Monte Carlo 400/auto all at the same time. They were all beautiful, show quality cars. He sold them all at once when Lee was starting college. I believe he got $10K at the time for all three. I guess that wasn't bad at the time but you are talking at least 10X that now. If only we would all be able to predict these things.

 

[RVTRKN]

When I got married in 89, I owned a 66 mustang and my wife owned a 64 Plymouth Valiant with a V8. The Mustang needed new heads and the Valiant needed the engine rebuilt, but ran. So we kept the mustang and sold hers, I had the heads rebuilt and had it running great for two months, then the trany failed and we got rid of it for a couple of hundred when I bought my 92 Dodge Dakota. We saw the Valiant 5 years later completely restored to the original paint as well, my wife cried as we were leaving, that car had been in her family since new, her Mom ordered it because only the slant 6's were on the lots. Her brother drove it for quite a few years and had a cheap paint job to white. The paint was pealing off when we sold it. I still hear about it, when my wife's in a bad mood.

 

[surfbeetle]

My Challenger is numbers matching... lol (since it's only 7 months old) but seriously, my father has a 66 Olds 442 Cutlass Convertible, numbers matching just rotting away in his garage. He's one of those that has big restoration dreams but I know it will never happen. The Hemi 'Cuda Convertible owes some of it's current popularity in part to the Nash Bridges TV show. Don Johnson wanted a 71 but didn't know how rare they were. He had to have them cloned from 1970's models and even then, none of the four in that show were even Hemis.