The seller of this 1972 Plymouth Cuda suggests that the next owner consider using it as a platform for a pro touring or restomod build, but I’m here to discourage that notion. No, I think the next owner should set their sights on racing in SVRA-sanctioned events and create a sympathetic Trans Am tribute. Since there’s no mention of the AAR stripes being indicative of a genuine AAR car and the engine is long-gone, you can feel OK about doing whatever you want, really, unless anything other than a sympathetic restoration will keep you up at night. Which way would you go with this one? Check it out here on eBay where bidding is at $7K with no reserve.

I actually do love the AAR stripes down the side, even if they make this Cuda a bit of a poser. Regardless, yellow and black is always a good color combination, and I’d want to live with it because the cost of repairing the rust followed by a repaint would blow your budget out of the water quickly. Of course, if you take my idea of building a track car, you’re going to have to take on all of the necessary rust repairs in the name of structural rigidity, but at least you could leave it in primer. The seller claims the floors are pretty solid, but there’s obviously rust in the C-pillar and in the rear driver’s side frame rail. The trunk floor was replaced / repaired with flat metal.

The floors do look OK in this picture, as does the interior. Buckets and console are still present and accounted for, along with the dash and Rally gauges. The dash is cracked and the seating surfaces are torn, but that’s to be expected for a Texas car. Now, again – track car build, all of that is coming out anyway, but the Cuda does retain its matching automatic transmission. For a restomod or pro touring build, the transmission doesn’t matter as much, but for vintage racing and in true Trans Am fashion, I’d want a conventional manual transmission swapped in.

There’s a big, gaping hole in the engine bay where a factory 340 once resided. Would you put the same engine back in? There are some interesting tweaks already done, including a Strange Engineering coilover system and Aerospace Components four-wheel disc brake setup. A better understanding of this car’s history is needed, since it would seem those modifications were made in the not-too-distant past, despite the seller claiming it’s been stored in a Texas barn for many years. There’s certainly enough dust to believe that, but whatever the case may be, this Cuda deserves to come back as something great. How would you restore it?