In 1970, Chrysler produced two “pony cars” that were designed to compete on the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) circuit – the Dodge Challenger T/A and the Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda. Both were limited-production autos that were built for only one year. This ’70 AAR ‘Cuda has been largely restored and waiting for someone to put it all back together again. It even appeared on the television show, Graveyard Carz (could this be the one?). A ton of work has already been done, so it’s time for this Barracuda to get reassembled. Located in Springfield, Oregon, this rare project is available here on eBay where the bidding will have to top $53,299 to crack the seller’s reserve.
The AAR ‘Cuda was built as a nod to Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers Trans-Am team, hence the lettering in the car’s name. In addition to some distinctive exterior trim, the heart of the AAR ‘Cuda was Chrysler’s 340 cubic inch small-block V8 that was treated to triple 2-barrel carburetion. That lifted the horsepower output from 275 to 290 (conservatively). Just 2,724 AAR ‘Cudas were assembled in March and April of 1970, with 1,614 having automatic transmissions like the seller’s car, which is said to be all numbers matching. The similar Challenger T/A saw 2,399 copies built, so the overall population was rather low.
Most of the heavy lifting appears to be out of the way on this Plymouth. The body has been redone and any sheet metal that required attention has either been repaired or replaced. Even the AAR Cuda decals have been reapplied to the quarter panels. We assume everything is there to bolt it all together again, including the glass and any brightwork.
We’re told that the engine, transmission, rear axle, suspension, triple carburetors, and more have been redone and put back into the automobile. The vehicle has only had two prior owners and some of the history has been passed along by them. But not everything is as-new with the following being original to the car but not restored: the interior, grille, taillights, and various odds and ends. While the seller has the car’s window sticker, the fender tag and build sheet are MIA (the seller is having the latter remade). These were rare cars even when new, so finding one at this level (but still needing effort) is hard to do – and at what price.
Why abandon it this far along? The hard work has been completed, now it’s just basic assembly work. To the Mopar guys, how does not having a fender tag affect the potential value of this car?
Um ….the fender tag is one of the most important things to authenticate if the car is a real aar Cuda or not or of any other vehicle for that matter
The writer states they the latter, buildsheet, is getting rremade.Not sure how that works, but I guess they know what they’re doing. Galen Govier has a service that he will duplicate a fender tag with either the original build sheet or a copy of the original. If the dash VIN, cowl VIN, core support VIN, etc., match, then you could assume it is the real deal, but with all the faking going on, you’d need someone like Mark Worman to authenticate it according to other special items/parts that were exclusive to these cars to authenticate. You would still be hard pressed to validate what options actually came on that car without the buildsheet. I’d say that is what is hurting the true value of this particular car, as it would be considerably higher reserve if it had this paperwork.
Hope that helps as I got a little long winded.
Interesting. I was really excited to see this particular AAR finished on Graveyard Carz. The colour is incredible. I think F-4 based on a 1970 colour chart. Mildly surprised Mark didn’t mention it in the eBay ad, from what I could see.
Hopefully the buyer opts to finish the job!
Worman states that car is being verified by Dave Wise and new fender tags are being made. So that’s not such a big deal. Hard to fake an AAR to a mopar expert.
But there is still much to go. Worman says you finish it or he can do it for you. So, perhaps the owner is broke, in ill health or deceased and that’s why it is listed for sale. Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a number close to $100K with this much done already.
Column shift Torq-flite ?
Console brackets are there, I don’t know if a slapstick was available for 1970.
Stan, if you look at the window sticker, it shows being delivered with console and in the pic with the brackets, you can see the hole in the side of the trans tunnel for the shifter.
That missing fender tag is a real drag. A fake is always a fake.
The total costs probably sunk this project? If Graveyard did the chassis and bodywork it’s top shelf work but not cheap. I remember watching it being done. Someone will be getting a solid chassis. I don’t remember the details from the show. Maybe it’s on demand or YouTube? Good luck to the next owner.
I can remember when a basket case or unfinished project sold for less than retail no matter who did the original work. With this one, you’re under water before you even do the paperwork or pick up the car. My apologies to Mr. Worman but now you’re showing us that all you are interested in is the money end!
Hes a businessman running a business ofcourse he has to be interested in the money side of it or he would be out of business. In retrospect I’m surprised mark or dougie didnt buy it cause they could tire around and sell it for $250,000 after they complete the restoration
I thought I’d seen every body color and I don’t remember this one,
$60,700.00
Reserve not met
Surprised to see the front and rear valance panels still in primer….
This listing was ended by the seller on Tue, Oct 17 at 4:43 PM because the item is no longer available.