Why the Challenger or Cuda?

[JoltinJoe]

Great Thread!!!  It's not very often that we get to tell these stories.

One of my older brothers had me out with one of his fellow Gear Head buddies.  I had the back seat of a 440 4spd '69 Road Runner all to myself.  When this guy burned through the gears I got stuck in the seat like a page in a book.  I'm still trying to get my azz properly rounded out from that one.

My time to buy a car came a few years later; I wanted a Road Runner.  We spent some time looking for one but came up with nothing.  So one day he spotted this '73 Barracuda and said "it's kinda like a Road Runner".  When I saw this Hunter Green beast I fell for it instantly as I never saw anything like it before.

That was in 1991.  It has recently been replaced by our 1970 Barracuda Convertible. 

[hemidude426ci]

My obsession with E-bodies, namely 70-71 'Cudas all started when I was growing up and Nash Bridges was on the air.  I remember the first time I saw that 71 Hemicuda I thought, "Perfection".  There really was nothing like it. From about age 14 on, I constantly looked for a nice Cuda to purchase as a project with my dad to be ready by the time I could drive.  This didn't happen till I was 16 and a buddy of ours was selling his 1970 440-6 4spd Hemi orange challenger.  The car was a roach, but after 3 years it was a gorgeous showstopper.  Then there came a time when I decided that as amazing as the challenger was, it wasn't truly what I wanted, so regretfully, I sold it on ebay at the height of the market.  The vehicle that replaced it was my 1967 Acapulco Blue Shelby GT350.  I had always wanted a '67 Shelby, even before I knew what a 'Cuda was.  Sadly tho, I was not satisfied with the Snake.  Even after driving several GT500s, I knew that as beautiful as they are, theyre simply not for me.  I just didnt feel comfortable in the highly optioned mustang and felt more at home in the E-body shell, not to mention I missed that signature mopar snarl.  In essence I knew I'd need to find my 'Cuda.  Last summer I found my V-code 'Cuda and haven't looked back.  Not only did I get a Fantastic deal, but I got the car I had wanted all this time, and I got to recapture my youth, as it brought back countless memories made in the Challenger.  The next car I buy will be a '71 Cuda to keep my '70 company in the garage.  As for my daily driver, the 02 Z06 doesn't do a bad job of keeping me entertained on a more turn-key basis.

[barracuda7199]

my dad had a 71 polara custom when i was about 12 so i have always loved mopars. i drove the polara to high school. then i got a subscription to mopar muscle and one day they had an feature of a white 71 cuda hemi 4 speed. i was hooked at first glance! the day was fast approaching for me to graduate high school and i was going to get an old mopar we found a 68 sat. but it had alot of problems in the wiring dept. i had found a 71 cuda a few years before but the guy would sell. dad stopped by for the hell of it and he had tore up his boat motor and needed money so he sold us the car for $600. she has been mine for 10 years as of april!

[whitesatinmopar]

I would guess that when most people here were young or younger something stood out about the Challenger or the Cuda that made you say to yourself "Self, I'm gonna have one of these one day". I'm not talking about the it's mopar or no car, because they are the best thing but even so you chose a e body.   I think it would me cool to hear how or why you decided that the E body was what you always wanted.

 For me it was back as early as I could remember or mabey when I could comprehend what a car was. I could hear my dad coming up the street on the way home from work. Or in the morning (who left at I think around 5am) I could smell that he took the RT to work. Even before I knew what a Dodge or a big block was I knew it was blue and looked like nothing I have ever seen before. It was rumbly, nothing sounded like it (mopars have that snap to it). It was just exciting to see and hear it .  So ever since I did understand what a car was, I wanted that car. And I now I have that same car.   

All good storys/post..................but this one IMO is the best !  What do they say about first impressions? You didn't know the name (then) just knew it was an awsome blue and sounded great, like no other car on the road. 

Honestly and personally for me the B bodies are me, but I will admit as far as street car (stock) peformance goes E bodies are killer and look mighty fine too. We have an E bod. because..................my wife wanted one ever since they came out and after all those years I was the man to forfill her wish.  And I still fullfil her desires too !      

[EDGEFIND]

I was raised in a Mopar home even though both of my parents worked for GM/Packard. It's what my dad always drove and loved and he passed that love onto me. As a kid I used to sit plastered to the tv watching Dukes of Hazzard thinking how cool those cars were. Unlike most, however, I fell in love with Daisy's '71 Satellite that she drove in the first season or so. The General rocked and all, but for me, there was just something about her car, kind of like the unsung hero...until they destroyed it.

Moving forward a few years, it's 1985 and my little sister (a surprise) is born and for some reason or other, my dad "needed" to have a performance vehicle again moving away from the family vehicles. After a year or so of digging through the Roundup ads he came upon a '73 Challenger in Cleveland that was just brought up from North Carolina. Needless to say, he bought it and loved it. We cruised in it quite often from A&W to the Drive-In theater and was the regular weekend driver for close drives like my little league games. I always thought I was so cool getting in and out of that thing. The sound alone simply kicked ass. In the late 80's, however, he started having issues with the tranny and engine but never had the time to look into it. We ended up pulling it and parking it in the pole barn in the early 90's where it's been sitting since. In the next few days it will be moved to my pole barn where I will start tearing into it and seeing what damages have occured in the last 20 years.

When I was 13, he made sure that my first car would be the main focus. After searching a while, it came down to my love for the B-Bodies. E-Bodies, as much as I loved them, were my dad's thing so I needed to be different. Besides, I still wanted Daisy's Satellite. It came down to a local '72 Charger and a '71 Satellite in PA and of course, the Satellite won. I worked delivering papers, cleaning people's garages and other odd jobs of that nature to save money to put towards the car. Unfortunately, I was so busy working, as was my dad, we never really got to work on it as we had planned. I loved the look of the '71 RoadRunners so I decided that I wanted a lookalike so I scraped together enough money to get a new hood from the Mopar Nats, a cheap paint job and stripe kit. It was done and I drove it during the spring/summer months through my junior and senior years of high school. I loved it and was one of the only kids in school with his own classic car. Unfortunately, I had no garage to keep it in so it was exposed to the irratic elements of Ohio's seasons during those years and was even more neglected when I moved away to college and eventually started working. Between the years of weathering and cheap paint job, the car lost but I wouldn't give it up.

In 2000, my dad unexpectedly passed away and everything was thrown into probate court. After all of that was finished, my mom signed my and my dad's car over to me but I still had no place to put them. My wife and I bought our house and a big selling point was the pole barn, but it still had a dirt/mud floor so I didn't want to bring the cars just yet. However, my mom decided to sell our old house and I had to get the cars out of there. I tinkered on my Satellite for a few days to get her started and was able to sneak it over to my house and I parked it in the pole barn where it would sit and soak up moisture for another 8 years until I had the time and money to get the floor finished. The floor is now done and it's time to bring the Challenger home. For the past 8 years, my cousin has graciously kept my dad's car in what is now her pole barn that she bought from my mom.

With two projects and no money, I'm going to do what I can with what I have and decided that the Challenger needs brought back first. I've always loved the car and would like to just see it on the road again simply as a tribute to my dad. I figure the Satellite can wait for when my son gets older and is ready to drive. That's my story. I hope I didn't bore you and here are some old pics of said cars from the early 90's when they still looked decent.

[Super Blue 72]

Very cool stories!  Cool to read!   

For me though, it was different.  I think it was fate.... 

I grew up appreciating all types of cars, we actually had a couple of Trans Ams and I had a '69 Lemans convertible for a short time before I sold it to go back to school.  It was mostly Pontiacs that had influenced my love for muscle cars I think although I appreciated them all. 

I never knew/thought much about muscle cars, especially after I got married almost 15 years ago.  My wife is almost anti car about this topic.  Shows no interest, really.

One day after dropping off my youngest at preschool, I had an urge to buy the local Want Ad magazine, I hadn't bought one for many years.  Browsed through and 1 ad stuck out.  It read "1972 Dodge Challenger-looks good, runs good" up in New Hampshire.  As fate would have it, I was going to see my brother in NH that weekend.

Now the tought part-the wife.  Money was tight with a recently bought house and 3 little kids.  I called her up and told her I saw this car for sale in the Want Ad.  I expected something else but what I got was, "If you love it, just buy it."  My jaw just dropped to the ground.    I knew it was fate/God's plan as this was TOTALLY out of character for my wife to say this.


It was November and cold.  Since my wife let me buy the car I wanted to make it look nice before I brought it home.  I trailered it from NH to MA and once off the highway I was going to wash it while it was still on the trailer.  I brought 2 big buckets of clean and soapy water.  I got the soap on the car, all foamy and sudsy, and went to wash it off but the soap had FROZE onto the car!!!!    So when I brought the car home, the car looked like crap and to top it off it wouldn't start to get it off the trailer.    Yes, my wife was really impressed.

The cool thing is that about almost 30 years earlier, I had made a model of a '72 Challenger with my brother and when I was poking into a box of model cars from when I was a kid, I unearthed that very model that I had built 30 years ago.  If you know models, finding a plastic model of a '72-'74 Challenger can be very hard to find and it was the only model I had ever  built with my brother.  I thought it was a cool connection.  It was meant to be. 

[brads70]

For me, my parents got divorced when I was 5. My Mom's new husband drove a 71 Challenger.( My Dad hated it!LOL ) I have many memories sitting in the back of that car, long trips, drive in movies, camping even. But when ever I hear Don Mcleans American pie I flashback to that car playing it in an 8 track!
Forward 15 years when it was time for my first car I had to have a Challenger. I got a 73 copper coloured 318 auto. Nothing fancy but man did I have fun with that old car!!!Drove it every where, wide open of course!!! Unfortunately the dude who sold it to me was a crook. He used cardboard and roofing tar/undercoating to fill in the rot in the frame!!!! It only lasted 11 months but boy I tell ya those 11 months were the best times I have had with/in a car!
I have always wanted a 70 Challenger( 11 months definitely wasn't long enough!!! ), so last fall I bought mine off e-bay ( from CA) still fixing her up at the moment, but I have 3 boys now and they all love it! My Mom passed away 2 years ago and left me an inheritance. So I used some of it to buy the car I have always dreamed of. I like to think my Mom is smiling somewhere.....

[JeffAARy]

Great stories, everyone.  For me, I remember the exact moment I fell in love with Cudas.  As a youngster I loved all kinds of muscle cars.  In my teens I dreamed mostly about Shelby Mustangs and GT-40 kit cars.  In my early days, my Dad had a '67 Tempest, which is a lower trim level of a GTO.   As a junior in High School (1985) my driver's ed teacher said he wanted to show me a car he saw, so during one of my lessons we went to see it.  It was a '67 Tempest with a Chevy 350 engine, Holley 4bbl, and Thrush glasspacks.  I fell in love with it and bought it soon after.  I wasn't going to be able to drive it for six more months, but I had to have it.  I put some Cragar S/S rims, fat tires, and air shocks on it and jacked it up to give it the classic muscle car look.  I thought it was the coolest car in the world and was on cloud nine for 18 months.  Then one night when I was at work pumping gas, a vitamin-c orange 440-6 '70 Cuda with a luggage rack drove past the filling station.     I immediately realized that I did not have the coolest car in the world.  Shortly after I went off to college and cars became an after thought for a while.  Just before graduation (1992) a local muscle car dealer put a sublime '70 340 Cuda with front and rear spoilers and window louvers in the front lot, and the feeling I had when I saw that orange Cuda came rushing back.     At that exact moment in time I became obsessed with Cudas and have been to this day.  Every move I have made education and career-wise has been done to afford more/better Cudas.

As to why I love Cudas so much, I refer to a line in the movie "Silence Of The Lambs."  Dr. Lecter explains that we begin to covet what we see, and we then seek out those things.  In 1977 I had a Hot Wheels Top Eliminator, which was a gold chrome re-release of the 1970 Prudhomme Cuda funnycar.  It must have left a mark on me, because after I  bought my first AAR in 1995 I started collecting Hot Wheels and found one of those, and when I looked at the tail panel I had a flood of memories hit me.  I also don't think it was a coincedence that we had a 1967 Tempest when I was very young, and I bought one as my first car.  Fortunately I have developed my own tastes now, so I won't be buying a Karmann Ghia or a Gremlin like my Mom had in the  1970's!

[EDGEFIND]

The cool thing is that about almost 30 years earlier, I had made a model of a '72 Challenger with my brother and when I was poking into a box of model cars from when I was a kid, I unearthed that very model that I had built 30 years ago.  If you know models, finding a plastic model of a '72-'74 Challenger can be very hard to find and it was the only model I had ever  built with my brother.  I thought it was a cool connection.  It was meant to be. 

That's destiny for ya. My dad and I use to spend tons of time trying to hunt them down at swap meets, toy shows and flea markets. We eventually found a '72 that Lindberg made and was used again for a Testor's set. Later we found some weird asian company version as well. I did see a nice race version '73 at a flea market last year but $200 was too rich for my blood. They are hard to come by.

[sleepychallenger]

I am in that same boat of my dad having the car when i was born. I remember hearing it every day, and it was quiet compaired to now with all the mufflers and resonators in place. but it was one of those cars that has the sleekest lines and fast. no other car has the same lines, not even close. at first it was because it was dads car, and what 4 year old kid doesnt think that their dad has the best and is the best everything. As I grew older the love for that car only grew. I have aquired that car now and love driving it every day and still get goose bumps when i look at her sexy lines. it is what got me into the air force and the air force is what made it so my wifes dad gave me permission to marry her. so really , i have my car to thank for good times and my loving family. Amazing how something like a car can direct your whole life in a domino effect.

[JH27N0B]

years ago i was driving by a used car dealership outside chicago called cy-k
he always had some cool muscle.
so what do i see?
a triple black challenger vert. shaker, go wing...
i about fell outta my car trying to see as i drove by.
wheeled around and inquired, he wanted to much at the time for my feeble pocketbook.

Cy Kay?  I remember them, I grew up in Glenview where their dealership was for many years until he moved it up somewhere north in the early 90's I think it was.
He had a bad reputation though!
And I remember a triple black Challenger convertible there too, was that in the mid to late 80's some time when it was there??  I don't recall it being a shaker car, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure it was the same car I ended up going to look at when someone was trying to sell it around 1995, it was definitely a project by then, and had a few issues, it was an N code R/T convertible, but the fender tag was missing and no broadcast sheet.  The guy who owned it was going to have a new tag made up to reflect what options he wanted to put on it , but he had too many projects and that is why he was selling it.  I wonder where it ended up, that guy was trying to sell it for many years.
Same guy had a prototype Shelby Mustang convertible in his run-down garage, buried in parts, but that is another story....
I remember when I looked at the black Challenger vert I thought that it almost certainly was the same car I'd seen on Cy Kays lot 8 or 9 years earlier.
For me, I became interested in Challengers and cudas when I was a freshman in high school.  Custom Vans were big at that time, and I wanted to get a van when I was 16 and modify it.  But I came to believe I wouldn't have enough to buy a van and have any money left over to customize it, so I started thinking about getting a nice late 60's early 70's musclecar instead.
Then I saw Vanishing Point on TV and from then on my life was changed!  I wanted a Challenger when I was 16!
Reading Hot Rod and Car Craft I learned about the Challenger's sibling, the cuda, and came to like those too, there was a really nice '70 FK5 cuda I used to see driving around town with its parking lights on all the time, that I thought looked great.  I actually came to slightly prefer the cuda.  But when I finally turned 16 and was looking at cudas and Challengers for sale, it was a Challenger I ended up with.
I owned a '71 cuda for a while when I was in college and it was cool.  I've sort of focused on Challengers in the last 20 years though, since a Challenger was my first car I've sort of decided to stick with them. Not that I would kick a nice cuda out of my garage for dripping oil or anything someday!

[Super Blue 72]

That's destiny for ya. My dad and I use to spend tons of time trying to hunt them down at swap meets, toy shows and flea markets. We eventually found a '72 that Lindberg made and was used again for a Testor's set. Later we found some weird asian company version as well. I did see a nice race version '73 at a flea market last year but $200 was too rich for my blood. They are hard to come by.

Not to go off topic...too far.... 

That Testors kit is cool, has that Superbird style nose! 

The car I did was made by Otaki from the Rock Machines of Hawii series, I have seen only one other one in my travels.  Otaki later bacame ARII, the kit basically is the same except it does not come with the electric motor/gear set up and the rubber is not as good.  The Otaki kit had slotted rims that looked like brushed aluminum.  You can find the ARII kit on Ebay once in a while.  I got one as low as $13.  They used to go for about $30-$60 when I looked for them a couple of years ago when you could find them.

[bentpshrods]

   My dad was a chevy guy so when I was just starting to get into cars I was looking for a chevy. Dad said I could'nt have a car till I turned 16.  I wanted a 56 Belaire but could'nt find one I could afford.  So then I wanted a 61 impala but could'nt find one of these. Ended up with a white on white 1965 impala SS that I promptly put on ET slotted mags with HIJACKER air shocks and glass pack mufflers (1973).      Then just out of high school a freind bought a yellow chally T/A.  Man that car was so cool to ride in staring out across that  snorkel hood scoop .   I was hooked on mopar after this.  A few months later I was delivering some appliances out in the country and went by a field that had car siiting in the weeds with a small for sale sign leaning againt the hood.  Bout dumped the refrigerator out of the truck trying to hit the brakes and stop.  Saw it was a cuda so after doing the delivery I stoped back by and talked to the kid selling the car. This was on a Friday night late.  I gave the guy my last $10.00 to hold the car till Monday and not sell it before then and that I would get back to him. Then I had to talk (beg, plead, cry    ) to my dad to co-sign a loan for me.  He fineally gave in and that Monday morning we went to the bank and I got my car.  This was  in July 1977---paid $1,200.00  for it.  Lucky for me I must of inherieted my dads pack rat ways  because the car ended up sitting in my garage for twenty some years and I still have it.  I hope to have it back out with a new coat of paint and looking good in about a month or so.    Doug

[wagesofsin]

Cy Kay?  I remember them, I grew up in Glenview where their dealership was for many years until he moved it up somewhere north in the early 90's I think it was.
He had a bad reputation though!
And I remember a triple black Challenger convertible there too, was that in the mid to late 80's some time when it was there??  I don't recall it being a shaker car, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure it was the same car I ended up going to look at when someone was trying to sell it around 1995, it was definitely a project by then, and had a few issues, it was an N code R/T convertible, but the fender tag was missing and no broadcast sheet.  The guy who owned it was going to have a new tag made up to reflect what options he wanted to put on it , but he had too many projects and that is why he was selling it.  I wonder where it ended up, that guy was trying to sell it for many years.


was around 1983 i happened by there. and yea his rep was in the toilet, but that car was in my heart!!

remember seeing a chevelle named murphys law around then?

[DMZ73]

Great stories!!!!

I have a similar story as most of you.
My earliest memories of muscle cars sparked my interest.
My father purchased a very early 70 318 car in Sublime. By the time my memory bank started collecting data, The car was already 3 years old. I always remember long drives in the backs seat listening to  some 70s rock at the time. I remember it was always up on blocks, always doing a tune up.
My father had a leadfoot- I think it was a requirement as a Challenger owner. If  you didn't have  a leadfoot, you were supposed to by a valiant - no offense..
Anyway, I always remember when my parents would pick me up from nursery school in that  car.
There was also an interesting incident that forever ingrained owning a challenger in my life.
When I was 4, I had gotten used to seeing my father & grandfather work on their cars. I was familiar with the neighbor building his big-block Chevelle, so why not have at it? So what if I was 4.
I was into watching ChiPs at the time, and saw how the bad guys started the cars....Somehow, I hotwired it, or at least got it  down the driveway. I just remember how cool it was to be behind that wheel, lookin' down that HUGE hood, and pushing the button on the slapshift (knob)
 Here is a pic of me and the car:    http://www.pbase.com/dmz73/image/92313793

HOOKED, from that moment on. My grandfather was a  bodyman, my uncle was a bodyman, and my father was plain old talented at anything he did.

I moved out to Metro detroit when I was 12. Little did I know, but I came to be best friends with the Mopar Godfather himself, John Herlitz, designer of the original Barracuda, and the Cuda.
Hearing his stories, firsthand made me want to be a designer at Chrysler, and own an E body.

Dan