why didn't we buy em when they were new....

[TreeFrog]

I was made in 70 so there ya go....

[Blackcuda]

After talking to my cousin who is old enough to remember about this same topic, he said that Mopars had a bad rap of being junk, rattle traps brand new with very bad build quality. He remembers a guy who owned a gas station near where I grew up that bought a new 70 Hemi Cuda. He said the guy would drag the car and was beat by small block Camaros, and Nova's all the time. Big block Chevells, 442's, some Ford Mustangs and Pontiac GTO's were the cars people were buying.
The guy with the Hemi Cuda blew the motor in the early seventies, and the car was parked behind the gas station for some 15 year rusting away. He says he thinks the cars motor was pulled and the car was junked.
He said if he only knew what they would be worth today, he could have bought the car for $500 in 1975.

[Jacksboys]

Whats kinda funny is the 318 block in the cuda was cast 9/17/71....my bday is 9/17/87 

Sounds like a good story (combined with your adventures) that could be made into a movie. 

[ChallengerGary]

Whats kinda funny is the 318 block in the cuda was cast 9/17/71....my bday is 9/17/87 

 

Too Fuuny - I've got a 340 block in my shop that is cast on 6-16-71, my birthday is 6-16-67.  I am always looking for a Challenger with a 616 build date and figure if I find one that's a /6, 318 or a non-numbers match 340 car, I'll build that motor for it and KEEP that car.  I found one 71 Challenger R/T 383 car that had my b-day on the fender tag but the guy was not interested in selling it 

[whitesatinmopar]

 

Too Fuuny - I've got a 340 block in my shop that is cast on 6-16-71, my birthday is 6-16-67. 

That makes you exactly 7 days older than one of those boys in my previous post  My oldest son was born 6-23-67...............2 days befoe my birthday of 6-25. Y'd think a woman could at least wait two darn days, right?     

[Carlwalski]

I would have purchased them but I was 32 years too late. 

[Moparmatt]

Well, I wasn't born early enough (1988) to buy one off the showroom floor, nor off a used car lot, nor old enough for the first boom and bust cycle (80s-90s). By the time that I was old enough, I didn't have the money. Now that I have the money, the market has taken off, and I can't afford one.

[70RTdroptop]

I was 11 years old in '70, and too young back then to buy one, or appreciate these cars for what they are. I remember back in '82 when  I had my first '70 Challenger RT 383 slapstik, a guy at the gas station told me that the " RT " stood for " real trouble ". Still trying to figure out if he was right or not

[Andrew]

Well...
In 1970, my parents were 10, living at opposite ends of the country and the nearest cuda or challenger was probably on the other side of the world.

Ha! I have a better excuse than all of you!

[tttaziz]

I was 16 in 1970 and in a kinda dream situation.  My Dad was an executive at Chrysler, so I got to order my first car on the executive lease program.  '70 Challenger SE, 383/auto, Top Banana with black vinyl roof, black/white houndstooth seats, pretty much every option but sunroof.  I remember that you were restricted on an e-body to no larger than the 383 engine and no convertible/sunroof unless you paid a premium rate (which Dad wasn't going to do for me).  During the summer, we cruised Woodward at least once a week.  Gas was 19.9 cents at the Total station during the occasional gas war. In '71 I had a Charger 500, but in '72 went back to e-body with a red/white 340 'Cuda ('73 and '74 did Charger SE's).  Build quality was worse on the e-bodies than the b-bodies. Do I wish I had them back?  Yes, and I'm looking for them.

Even at the time, you didn't see many Hemi cars.  They were an expensive option, tough to keep tuned, and not a real pleasant daily driver at least in the snow and cold areas.  A 440+6 was almost as fast and less tempermental.  The guys that ordered the Hemis were the more serious racers and didn't want the weight and flex of a convertible.  It's interesting that at the time my dream car was a Chrysler 300 letter car (in '76 I finally got a '57 300-C).  I remember going to the 300 meets at the time and we'd wonder if the then current cars would ever be collected or even last.  So yeah, I'm sure we'll be collecting the SRT cars in 20-30 years.

Ty

[BIGSHCLUNK]

At the time the E's & B's were just " another tinny Dodge (or Plym as the case may be)". Although they were fast ,the build quality (squueeks/rattles)just wasnt there compared to GM's lineup.IMO. Comparitively they didn't have that solid of a "feel". The flip of the coin is the rarerity $$$ that they are today (comparitively). As for Coverts living here (Wis) .. back in those days (as some of you know) winters were real ass kickers here!! Nobody wanted a ragtop for only a few months a year. Times have changed haven't they? Keep the top down... the LINES look GREAT!