After reading the "Hemi Cuda Horror Story", I have decided my Hemi Cuda's trials and tribulations are not nearly as bad as I had thought...
Background Story:I bought this original Hemi Cuda in about 1985, several years after turning it down because "I wanted a nicer one"
... a few years later I began to realize that I might not be able to afford a "nicer" Hemi Cuda...
I had told an acquaintance about the car, making him promise me "first refusal" if he bought the car and later sold it... BUT, like most people he forgot all about that part of the deal. A friend was offered the car, and called me about it being for sale. After we talked, he was able to trade for the car (to get it for me), and what followed was a three way swap... I mailed a guy in Canada (Terry McCann) a $500 money order for a NOS Hemi 2x4 air cleaner for use with a N94 "T/A" equipped Challenger R/T my friend owned. He shipped the air cleaner to my friend Mark, who then mailed me the title paperwork for the Hemi Cuda and arranged for me to pick it up. The Hemi Cuda was missing the Hemi engine, Shaker setup, and a few minor parts... but at least I had the sense to buy the car at last... for $500 plus about $80 in towing charges!
Restoration Problems:I put the Hemi Cuda and my Challenger convertible in a new restoration paint & body shop, and started having problems with the work being done. A long story, but basically my expectations were quite different from the work being done. Some things were very blatant, like the clear agreement metal would be welded in for rust repairs... no metal was welded in, just the standard ole' Bondo job...
The deal with the body shop was a part trade for a AAR Cuda body that I owned, plus part cash (me paying the cash), so I had little recourse... never again will I trust anyone that I don't know VERY well with a hand-shake deal!
It gets worse - Attack of the Tornado:Having resigned myself to the fact I could not do anything about the work quality problems, with the car being almost ready to pick up, I thought things could not get much worse... but I was wrong! I arrived home from work one day and saw on CNN that a Tornado had struck the town the body shop was located in. As I watched in stunned silence, the CNN helicopter circled above the industrial park that the body shop was a part of. There the shop was with most of it's roof missing, with a lime green spot where I knew the Hemi Cuda was kept. From the altitude that they were flying at, I could not make out whether the car was right side up or not...
After over 4 hours of trying to get through, I talked to a friend that went to the body shop after the Tornado hit. He told me the Hemi Cuda survived, with only small dents/dings and a trashed paint job. Having not fully learned my lesson yet at that time, I paid another $1200 to have the damage fixed and the car repainted. The body shop did not have insurance, but in the owner's defense, he did tell me that when I brought the car in... so I could have backed out of the transaction, but decided to take a chance.
OK... I know...
So here ya are:
