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1970 Plymouth Barracuda: Hemi Upgrade

1970 Plymouth Cuda

When I first saw this Cuda, I thought I had just discovered the ultimate backyard Mopar. While it is a great find, the seller’s ad is a bit misleading at first. It is advertised as a 1970 Hemi Cuda with the shaker hood. While it does have these features, it originally didn’t have the highly sought after Hemi. When it left the factory, this Mopar was sporting the 340. At some point, someone decided to upgrade it with a 426 Hemi. Granted a 340 Cuda with the shaker hood is still worth a decent amount of money, just not the kind of money a real Hemi Cuda is. Personally, I would be just as happy with this upgraded Cuda as I would be with a Hemi Cuda. Heck, I would be happy with a 340 powered car, with or without the shaker hood! And based on bidding, I’m guessing a lot of people would agree with me. If you don’t mind the fact that it’s not numbers matching or that it’s been parked behind the seller’s house for who knows how long, you can find it here on eBay in Islip, New York with bidding already over $35k!

Comments

  1. Avatar JW

    Since I’m not a purist or a matching numbers guy this car fits right in to my way of thinking, just not the bidding price for a non matching numbers car that needs bodywork.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Mark

    Way to much money! Barrett Jackson has ruined our hobby!

    Like 0
    • Avatar The Walrus

      Indeed. I went to B-J Las Vegas a couple years ago. It’s really shocking how much garbage they move. The majority of the cars were 3’s or 4’s, but brought strong 2 or even 1 money. The cars at our local car shows are on average better than the stuff they were moving. It was enlightening to be able to review the cars before they went through. Each and every one of them present significantly better on the tube at home than in person back stage.

      I remember the first day, a rolling pile of ’66 Mustang crossed the blocks at $13K. It was an older bondo based restoration with missing trim and various interior anomalies. It was a $3-5K project car in my estimation. It just happened to cross the block on camera. The next afternoon, a much better ’66 Mustang crossed the blocks off camera for a more reasonable $9k. Both were V-8 automatics with nothing particularly special about them, other than timing.

      As the event wound down on the last night, I’m pretty sure the bidders assistants were pushing fake bids to raise the prices and the cars were being ‘sold’ to ghost buyers. It seemed more and more like a sham with each passing moment. Aside from the reality of what’s actually happening, I guess it makes good television.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Jason

        “As the event wound down on the last night, I’m pretty sure the bidders assistants were pushing fake bids to raise the prices and the cars were being ‘sold’ to ghost buyers.”

        Wouldn’t surprise me! It’s all a bit too slick.

        Like 0
  3. Avatar JW454

    I’m sort of getting over the hoop-la of these cars. They were nice old muscle cars but back in the day they were not the best cars on the road. “Gotta have one” thinking pushed them too far beyond where they should really be price-wise.

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  4. Avatar PRA4SNW

    This car is a huge question mark.

    How well was the transplant done?
    Will you ever get it to run smooth and reliable for street use?
    Body filled with bondo?
    Rust?
    35K?

    I’d say, pull the Hemi and sell it. Put a 340 back in, fix the body, and have fun. But not at 35K.

    Like 0

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