1971 Hemi Cuda at Mecum auction...

[HP_Cuda]

There is no resurrection here, there is a rebody but hey if you want a magic trick go see a show.

[06Daytona]

I think I read somewhere that all that's original on the squashed Cuda is a small piece of front cowl and a bit of tail panel. Everything else was replaced.

[aarcuda33]

It was a serious question - no sarcasm intended. It seems rare to find someone who actually has first hand knowledge of some of these cars - especially HemiCudas. I always find it interesting to hear from someone who actually had some form of personal interaction with one of these cars as it provides a unique perspective that you can't get in a sales ad. Got my popcorn, so please continue and give us some more on your personal perspective of this car as the story of how it got so mangled and then resurrected is very interesting 

 RzeroB please accept my apologies I am never sure how to take comments on this forum and usually don't chime in much unless it is to help with a question that wasn't been answered in a few days ( when I can help) Or bring out a part that someone has a question about or is looking for measurements

 There are three stories I can tell about this car 1- the facts what I saw, touched, and photographed  2- what I believe to be based of what I saw  3- what I was told
 
I still have about 35 pictures of the car that I took it is amazing to see its condition and yet so very sad .
ask me what you what to know and if I can answer I will Or it will take a while to lay out the three stories but if you would like I will find the time to do that

[aarcuda33]

What questions did you ask and got a truthful response to?

Was the car in this condition when you got it     No
did you have to do a lot to it                            Restored it
Is it all original sheet metal                               no not all
How much metal was replaced                        whatever had to be
is it numbers matching                                      no
Do you have any history on the car                  some
was it a major project                                    I've seen worse and I've seen better
 and so on and on and on

[anlauto]

This is a lot like the Barrelcuda. I restored it using as much of the original sheet metal as possible. It also had the original dash VIN, fender tags and broadcast sheet, cowl stamping and transmission.

9 out of 10 people would consider it a rebody because of the percentage of metal replaced....

Regardless....The end result is what it is, and does hold significant value. Obviously not as much as an original paneled numbers matching car....but it still has value, and deserved to be saved in my opinion.

[RzeroB]

RzeroB please accept my apologies I am never sure how to take comments on this forum and usually don't chime in much unless it is to help with a question that wasn't been answered in a few days ( when I can help) Or bring out a part that someone has a question about or is looking for measurements

 There are three stories I can tell about this car 1- the facts what I saw, touched, and photographed  2- what I believe to be based of what I saw  3- what I was told
 
I still have about 35 pictures of the car that I took it is amazing to see its condition and yet so very sad .
ask me what you what to know and if I can answer I will Or it will take a while to lay out the three stories but if you would like I will find the time to do that

No worries. But I am intrigued by this car and would like to hear more about your experience with it. The "before" picture is as you said, actually quite sad. The car-cass looks like it was literally flattened in a wrecking yard crusher. Which begs the question; "how did it come to wind up being like that?" I mean we all can see how terrible it looks - it's almost unrecognizable. You alluded to it being buried on a farm or something. What did they do to it - flatten it with a tractor, bury it, and then dig it up? Who does that? There is a story there and it would be interesting to hear it although it certainly would be a tear-jerker given what ultimately happened to the Cuda. 

[aarcuda33]

Actually the picture posted on Hemming is the most flattering picture I've seen of the car ! It looks in a lot better shape from that angle than it really was .
 If you look on the drivers side quarter in the picture you see a series of punched holes roughly same size in kind of a row . If you were looking at the car in person it had a lot more of those . Seeing it in person it had without a doubt been ran over by some type of equipment that ran on a track ( bulldozer , backhoe , tank lol ect ) The top of the car was crushed in by this piece of equipment .
 I learned a lot about 71 hemi cudas from this car and the brief crash course I took to verify it to be real . I originally question its history even with the dash vin and fender tag But this is how you learn . I left a very valuable and special part on the car do to my lack of knowledge I found out later but its all good
 In my opinion somewhere back in the past , the only thing that makes sense to me , is this car seems to have been 'borrowed' from the rightful owner. I say this because when the drive line was removed they cut the front fenders in half and cut straight across the front of the car to remove the motor Then ran over it with a piece of equipment to flatten it and then buried it on a farm .  If you guys have any other scenarios or ideas as to why you would do that please share ! Then after many years the farmer told the guy who had it when I looked at it that it was there he could have it . Said his sons friends had rolled it in an accident back in the day kept the driveline but said the car was unfixable  The car showed no evidence of that type of accident .
 A guys been after me for about two years to come look at a 70 hemi cuda (project )we wants to sale me . If you like the hemi stories maybe I'll find some time get off my butt go look at it take pictures and let you know about it
 And in my opinion when cars like this are 'rebuilt' they become tributes to the real car No different than an aftermarket Shelby Cobra And yes they have a value but nothing close to an original factory sheet metal Chrysler built car . Their is a great difference of opinions on this and on what is an Nos part the line is usually best and most simply defined between a seller of said item and a buyer of said item   

[anlauto]

I think the great thing about this car is that there is a before picture included in the ad.

You can call the car whatever you want, but as long as the history is known, a new potential buyer has no one to blame if he knows the past and knows what he's buying, and still spends the money.

The guy that bought my car, The Barrelcuda, knew the history and still paid a fair price for the car.

[RzeroB]

If you look on the drivers side quarter in the picture you see a series of punched holes roughly same size in kind of a row . If you were looking at the car in person it had a lot more of those . Seeing it in person it had without a doubt been ran over by some type of equipment that ran on a track ( bulldozer , backhoe , tank lol ect ) The top of the car was crushed in by this piece of equipment .

Yeah, I saw those. I was thinking the same thing as they look symmetrical like the teeth on the front edge of a bucket loader scoop or backhoe.

I left a very valuable and special part on the car do to my lack of knowledge I found out later but its all good

So ... what did you leave??

In my opinion somewhere back in the past , the only thing that makes sense to me , is this car seems to have been 'borrowed' from the rightful owner. I say this because when the drive line was removed they cut the front fenders in half and cut straight across the front of the car to remove the motor Then ran over it with a piece of equipment to flatten it and then buried it on a farm .  If you guys have any other scenarios or ideas as to why you would do that please share ! Then after many years the farmer told the guy who had it when I looked at it that it was there he could have it . Said his sons friends had rolled it in an accident back in the day kept the driveline but said the car was unfixable  The car showed no evidence of that type of accident .

Yeah, I was thinking it was "borrowed" too. Assuming it was in an accident and deemed "unfixable" as described, I think most people would have a) pulled the engine and junked it; or b) pulled the engine and put it out in the "back 40" to just sit and rot. Who flattens a HemiCuda with tracked piece of heavy equipment and then buries it?? Unless of course you are trying to hide what you "borrowed".

Like I said before ... there is a very intriguing story there somewhere.

[aarcuda33]

I think the great thing about this car is that there is a before picture included in the ad.

You can call the car whatever you want, but as long as the history is known, a new potential buyer has no one to blame if he knows the past and knows what he's buying, and still spends the money.

The guy that bought my car, The Barrelcuda, knew the history and still paid a fair price for the car.

I agree disclosing what the true history of any car makes it a fair and level playing field Trying to deceive or hide the work that was been done is were I believe the problems are