Here's some very cool info on the 71 cuda used in the original film...I got this from a gentleman who actually drove the car back in the 80's....
Back in the early 80s I lived out in LA, they have a want ad newspaper out
there called the Recycler. At the time I was driving a 70 Challenger 383 4
speed car and was looking for something a little different. One day an ad in
the Recycler caught my attention, it was a for sale add for the 71 Cuda used
in the first Phantasm movie. I called up the number and drove over to check
out the car. The car was parked in the driveway of a very expensive house
located in an exclusive neighborhood in the northern part of "The Valley".
The house belonged to an executive that was involved in the movie, and the
car appeared to have been parked there for some time. I was met by a person
who was some kind of assistant for the movie company. Since I drove up there
in the 70 Challenger so the guy knew I was a mopar guy and a serious buyer,
not some tire kicker so he offered to let me take it for a drive. First
impressions in seeing the car up close were great disappointment. The car
had been sitting in the hot California sun for a long time and when
originally painted had a black lacquer paint job with many coats of clear on
top. Unfortunately the sun had caused heat checking of the paint so that it
was totally covered in hair line cracks, it would have to be completely
stripped and repainted, by the way the original color of the car was plumb
crazy. I believe it had a white interior and this was also in pretty sad
shape. The assistant popped the hood open, it had a small block engine,
probably a 340, condition under the hood was kind of ratty but I've seen
worse. Assistant has great difficulty getting the motor started but finally
gets it to run. I get in and take it for a cruise around the block, it is
not that great a driver but it has been too long ago to really remember in
detail what I didn't like about it. Once I am back the assistant invites me
into the house and we talk about the car for a while. Apparently the
producer or director of the movie was adament that a Cuda would be used for
this movie and they spent about 6 months looking for the right car, only one
car was built for the original movie. I told him I would have to think about
it but knew at that point that the car would cost me too much to correct
it's more glaring problems and this was intended to be my daily driver. I
never called back on the car and a few months later received a call from the
movie company saying the car was still for sale and they were taking bids on
it, they also mentioned that if I were to buy it that they might want to
lease it back if they made another Phantasm movie. By that time I had found
another 71 Cuda that was in far better condition for less money so I was not
interested in even making an offer on it. From what I understand that car
has never been located once it was eventually sold. Oh Yeah how much was the
asking price? If memory serves me somewhere around $3500, I bought my 71
which I still own today, for $1500. Do I regret passing up the movie Cuda,
not really, but I do regret passing up on the 70 Hemi Cuda for $2000 that
was being sold, at about the same time, because the driver was getting too
many speeding tickets. True story, fond memories, glad I held on to the 71
over those years especially since it was a rust free body. The 70 Challenger
got left behind in LA. I had brought it out with me from Connecticut and it
had your typical North East body rot which was not worth it to fix in those
days.
Way cool story!
