opinions on what to do with it

[30below]

Hi people.This is my first post after lurking for a couple of months.I recently purchased a 73 Cuda,340,4 speed from the original owner[a guy i have worked with for over 30 years].It needs some typical rust repair,but is all original with build sheet and paperwork since day 1.Motor has never been opened,except for heads redone and has 110000 miles.It is a True blue car with blue interior,but some years ago he had it painted black[needs redoeing]and started to change the interior to black,all seats and headliner.The car needs front door panels and dash.Before i do anything i would like any opinions ..should i keep going the black interior route and maybe change the exterior or go back to original?How important is originality in a 73?Any imput is appreciated.  Excellent board people thanks.

[gn300]

The more origonal with paperwork the more valuable it is .And when it comes time to sell it you have no excuses as to why its not origonal colors etc. No deducting for the cost to but it blue again.

[Carlwalski]

Welcome aboard 30below!!

As for numbers matching I own one....I like it but would also feel just at home in a custom E-Body.
Some people prefer clones due to peace of mind when driving one. In fact when had a member on this board who was wanting to sell his 70 #'s Cuda to buy a clone so he could hot the engine up. Being a 73 with a 340 and 4-Speed the market for that car will always be true.

IMO, I'd build it back to original. True Blue Irid (B5) with a 340 and 4-Speed will definitely sell well if you decided to in future.
What are YOU wanting from the car? Street/Strip? Cruiser? Show Queen? Daily driver with toe?


Cheers,
NZ440R/T

[Street_Challenged73]

Welcome to the site, 30Below.  As for your particular car, I'd say you could benefit building it either stock or modifying it some.  The best answer I can tell you is whatever you decide to keep off the car, properly label it and put it in a dry storage place.  As for engine modifications, if you want to go more wilder than what the 340 can offer, pull it out and stick it on an engine stand off to the side of the garage: then drop in whatever engine you'd like and go as crazy as you want to.  I'm in your same situation, except mine is just an original 318/auto car. (You definitely have a more desirable engine/trans. combo from the factory.)  I'm putting the lowly 318 off in the corner to receive a rebuild later on and just sit until I decide drop it back in and go 100% factory correct.  For now, I have acquired an era correct 340 (still need a built 727 to back it up), changed the color to something I felt was more appealing, and I plan on going wild with the 340.  It's just stuff that can all be changed back to original, so why not?  Good luck with the restoration or resto-mod.

[AprilsPink72Cuda]

Hi 30below, Glad you found us!   Do what makes YOU happy.  It is your car and you have to like what you are driving.  B5 blue is a really nice color so if I were you I would keep the original color.  I am not a big fan of blue interior but prefer black instead.  Hopefully you can post some pics of your 73 for us.  I would love to see her.

[torredcuda]

They didn`t make a lot of 4 spd `cudas in `73 so it is probably worth more restored to blue/blue and I love white and colored interiors as you see tons of black ones.I would restore it original but most of us here will tell you it`s your car so unless you plan on selling it fairly soon biuld it the way you want and have fun!

[30below]

Thanks for the opinions.Iam not a real big blue lover,but have pictures of this car when it was new and it was a pretty nice shade[besides my better half likes the blue].As for the interior,black would be a bit nicer,but not that much[in my opinion],and i think blue might be a bit more rare.Any way of finding out how rare this coler combo is,if rare at all?i guess the biggest reason for going to black is the fact the seats and headliner are new.For the moter i think i will keep it looking stock,but up the cam a bit and maybe the pistons.Will do more research on that.