Beneath the faded red paint and the rust-tinged body of this 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda in Wickliffe, Ohio lies the spirit of a flashy pony car promising to warm up a cold winter’s day for any car enthusiast currently registering a pulse. The original 340 cid (5.6L) V8 is gone, replaced by what should be a hotter ’70 340 mated to the original four-speed manual transmission. The fender tag bristles with options, and the red paint with black stripes and black and white interior will make a stunning combination when done. Bidding here on eBay has eclipsed $6500.
Both quarter panels appear to need complete replacement. Since they’re not bolt-ons, this job demands patience and skill. After drilling out hundreds of spot-welds, the new panels will need to be precisely oriented to the trunk and door openings, trunk pieces, and inner fender liner… on both sides. Harvesting the entire rear structure from a front-wrecked donor car might actually save some time in this effort. The fender tag confirms the 340 / four-speed combination and a host of other options including FE5 Rally Red paint, B41 Front Disc Brakes, C16 Console w/ Buckets, J52 Inside Hood Release, L31 Hood / Fender Mount Turn Signal, N42 Chrome Dual Exhaust Tips, and N85 Tachometer (thanks to stockmopar.com for some details).
The two-tone black and white interior makes a classy alternative to the black abyss so often found in ’70s performance cars. The console and “pistol-grip” shifter up the ante as well. Anyone allergic to rust should take an immediate pass on this Buckeye State classic.
Investors will want an original numbers-matching engine, but this 1970 version should have more power. Don’t dismiss a 340 of this vintage, especially when matched with a four-speed manual gearbox. That combination served Dodge and Plymouth well in Tran Am road racing. Even de-stroked to 303 cid (to get under the 305 cid maximum) the racing version of this motor made over 400 HP. Street-going 340s weren’t so high-strung, but they’re known for excellent performance and improved handling compared to larger displacement choices. Will Mopar madness put mad money in the seller’s pocket, or will the rust scare away the truly crazy money?
This was probably a very sharp car when it was new, I hope someone has the patience to make it so again.
Of course it was sharp when new but not now and probably not worth the money or patience to restore.
This car is too far gone. After media blasting you’ll have to replace the entire rear portion of the car, if not more. Ohio cars are rarely good foundations for restorations. Best to pass on this E body.
And the salt has melted a large part of the car!
As an Ohio resident myself , everyday when im driving on the salt covered roads i see a huge amount of new Dodge Challengers in traffic , covered in salt.
Everytime i see this , i imagine that car in 20 years ….. this is the stuff that keeps me awake at night …. and then i think of those stupid “salt life” window decals people put on their cars …. oh well …
anyway , cool Cuda … i hope it finds a good forever home !
I just bought a new Ford pickup with an aluminum body to avoid that rust problem, but even so I can’t bring myself to drive it when we get an inch of snow and that much more SALT dumped on the streets. The truck stays home and the beater Intrepid sees use.
My brother had a 73 Challenger with the black and white interior. (The car exterior was white with white vinyl, it was an SE with all the options.) Definitely the two tone interior was a lot classier looking that just ugh-black. His car was just a 318 but had all the options you could get – AC, power windows, power bucket driver’s seat (I think), stereo, etc. etc. A beautiful and classy car.
This Cuda is definitely no stranger to the snow.
I agree with Chris.
Its a Rust bomb
Stay away
Bad frame, bad body, wrong motor, what are we looking at here?
Being from Illinois, I have one rule I live by “never buy a rusty car”. Now I am not talking just a couple fenders, but as you see, this one probably has no subframe left or spring supports to mention. She’s gone…..
That’s a good point. Rust is bad on any car but it is particularly an issue with this era’s Mopars because they’re unibodies, meaning that there’s no frame. The key suspension components bolt right to the body. Therefore rust presents much more of a problem than it might for a body on frame car.
But apparently this is something that many people think is nothing that a couple episodes of Graveyard Carz can’t easily fix. They’ll have to learn on their own. In case anyone’s interested, it is not easy to fix and it is often unfixable, at least correctly.
I had a 73 Challenger 340 4 speed pistol grip that knew almost endless rpms, man it was fast but rust bomb
that 340 was a good one, pre smog and 10 1/2 compression.Thats a bout it on this roach, looks like the underbelly is as bad as the rest of it. Rust never sleeps.Rotten from the roof down. Run Forrest run!!!
Cheers
GPC
The 340 made an outstanding street missile in the lighter cars like this. Some cars/engines just worked so well, whatever that mill did in professional racing had little to do with the street cred.
This one looks shot out yet it still conjures up memories, ideas, all the cool stuff…despite being a rusted hunk of junk!
Ohio rust bucket LOL i live in Ohio and I would never buy it and its over 7k already LOL
It looks even worse on eBay, even the license plate holder is rusty. This looks like the kind of car that could fall in half when being loaded onto a trailer. If it didn’t, what would be left after it was dipped into whatever that stuff is called that removes rust? I don’t understand why anyone would want this, at any price. And I love Cudas!
Again we have a rusty mopar with a bunch of stoned guys looking to trough a ton of money towards it. To high to see there is nothing let to build.
$7,400 now. Over a day left. Amazing!
After media blasting it will certainly look like termites holding hands!!! It’s a shame too!! WAS a nice car once!!!
Sold for $8,700.