Upon first glance, it would be hard to imagine that this 1970 Plymouth Cuda was ever any other color than what it is now. But back in the day, in addition to their straightforward color offerings, Plymouth had come up with some pretty outrageous paint choices. A few colors were even designated as HIP choices, short for High-Impact Paint. Without a doubt, the most over-the-top HIP color for Plymouth was known as FM3, or “Moulin Rouge”. If you’re in the market for a Cuda, especially one that came from the factory with a rare pink paint color, this 1970 Plymouth Cuda might be a good car for you. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio it can be found here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price of $32,000.
For those not familiar with the Chrysler FM3 paint, there’s a really cool website dedicated to the color here. The color was also known as Panther Pink on Dodge vehicles. Chrysler did not manufacture many cars in this color, and lots of second owners of FM3 cars were obviously not as enamored with the color as the original owners, as many were repainted a different color. A look inside the trunk of the Cuda being offered here shows that it has been 3 different colors during its life, including Moulin Rouge, blue, and its present color. The seller lists the current color as white, but it looks kind of light yellow in the photos.
This Cuda does have its matching numbers 383 engine, although the original transmission was changed out quite some time ago. The current owner has had the car for about 6 years and says that he has redone the axle, all brakes, and bearing. The car also has a new fuel tank, and the vehicle is said to be running and driving. The body does have a few dents and nicks plus the typical Mopar rust issues, however, it doesn’t seem to be nearly as big an issue as with many of the rusty E-Bodies that are coming up for sale lately.
Inside the Cuda looks pretty decent and would benefit greatly from just a simple but thorough cleaning. The most serious flaw I could spot from the photos provided is what looks like might be a crack in the dash, but if this vehicle was kept as just a driver by the next owner the interior seems like it would be OK as-is, at least for a while. The seller states the mileage as 79,000 and the odometer is showing 79,727.
Overall this looks like a pretty solid Cuda with lots of possibilities. It definitely seems like a candidate to restore to its original FM3 color or customize to whatever the new owner wants, or just leave it like it is for a while and enjoy driving it. There’s also a Make Offer button on the listing, so it may be able to be bought for less than the asking price. What are your thoughts on this 1970 Plymouth Cuda? What do you think is a reasonable price to pay, and what would you do with it if it was yours?
Whether you’re a “Mopar or no car” fan or not, there’s no question Plymouth and Dodge knocked it out of the park with their high impact colors and styling cues of the’70-’72 Cudas and Challengers.
I recently saw a list of 9 so-called HIP names Chrysler execs rejected on a site called maxwedge.com and among the names Fisher Body Rust, Frank Lloyd White, Well Red, Statutory Grape (no brainer there) and Catch Me Copper.
My older brother (born 1950) told me about statutory grape a few years ago. I can’t even begin to believe that Chrysler would have considered such a name (even in the pre-PC era).
Yeah, it’s not junk and it seems to be a solid car with potential to be very nice. But like most Mopars and first gen Mustangs and Camaros, it’s somewhat overpriced for something that still needs a major investment of time, effort and cash to be very nice.
Unfortunately for us, 30K is not out of the realm of asking price for a ’70 Cuda originally painted in one of the rarest high-impact colors.
This season on Graveyard Cars they painted one of these in this color. Will the painter commented on how difficult it was to apply compared to other colors. I’m not a painter, but it wasn’t a single stage paint and went on very clear, requiring several applications.
I read this interesting tidbit too regarding Plymouth’s HIP code GY3.
“It’s true that one of Chrysler’s High Impact Paints was named after a controversal 1967 Swedish film. “I Am Curious (Yellow)” which was confiscated upon import to the U.S. and was the subject of a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case concerning freedom of speech in the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
“I Am Curious (Yellow)” was the racier of two versions of the film, the other being “I Am Curious (Blue)”. The colors reference the Swedish flag and the parties or factions they came to represent. “(Yellow)” was considered hard-core triple-X entertainment in ’67; it would maybe catch an “R” rating now. “(Blue)” is definitely PG. Terrible movie; one just has nudity.
Much as I love it, Y3 is a very NON-desirable color on convertibles. Why? Bugs absolutely ADORE that color and must splatter themselves all over it. I rode in a friend’s Y3 ’71 ‘Cuda 383 droptop through PA’s farm country in ’98. He’d told me of the phenomenon; I thought he was exaggerating. He was not–I was happy the top was raised! Another friend has a Y3 340 hardtop–same issue. It’s ridiculous. I had no such problem with my Y1 Charger.
Just remember the paint Shop at Hamtramck Assembly Plant painted cars at the rate of 60 Jobs per Hour. They did not use robotic painting at the time. the paint shop ran two 9 hour shifts a day six days a week.
yes, sometimes a little drip spotted in the paint can be a sign if authenticity
Statutory Grape was nothing more than a nickname for Plum Crazy paint. Chrysler had nothing to do with the nickname.
Some folks call Stautory Grape just a nickname, but many others refer to it as an actual, rejected paint name.
https://www.mopar1.us/highimpact.html
It’s an urban legend.
“Statutory Grape” was a widespread derogatory street name for C7, as was “Gang Green” for both J5 and J6.
The rest of the list is nonsense. Most refer to hues that were not High Impact, hence they wouldn’t get a clever name. “Hi-Ho Silver” and “Frank Lloyd White” were also names in use since the mid-1960s for non-automotive paints (as was “Hi-Yo Silver”).
“Unforseeable Fuchsia” and “Cost of Living Rose” are far more believable as rejected ’70 Maverick colors.
I’m seen this car a few times must not be worth 32k 15-18k needs a whole lot of work no Air P/S or P/B
This one is definitely not currently any shade of white that I have ever seen.
I remember that they had one called “Catch Me, Copper”. I thought that was the coolest name for a color ever.