Hemmings Motor News Blog

No

No (ask PlbMak, though).

Did anyone notice the placard on the card? lIt asserts that this vehicle is a "rare imported Canadian car". I hope that someone told the seller that his 'Cuda is a rust bucket - and not a bottle of Rich and Rare Canadian Whiskey.

Both you Brits should watch the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Arizona and you would know why this person bought the Cuda for $10K. When restored to original matching numbers, I have seen these cars fetch upwards of $100K at the auction.

Restored to original specs with a 383, even a GOOD restoration, it might get as high as $50K on a good day. If it was owned by anyone mildly special, or had something to distinguish it from the rest of the pack, maybe $80K.

Input cost including purchase cost ($10K), body/paint ($6K), new or re-chromed bright-work ($5K), new interior ($3K), rebuilt drive train ($6K), tires/brakes ($2K), glass ($1K), gauges and other incidentals ($2K). That's $35K so far assuming half or more of the work is done by the owner. Now if you pick up a Hemi (available from Chrysler for around $10K), and locate the rest of the necessary parts to fit it in (bell-housing, flywheel, trans, leaf springs, etc. could be $10K), and be able to get $100K or more for a clone, would it be worth it? Remember, you would be able to drive it for a while. Sign me up!

I wasn't logged in, sorry. My bad.

Arizona? Where is that? Merthyr Tydfil is a long way from here!

Home, sweet home. <Splutter>

You can't put a price on happiness. Value is in the eyes of the owner sometimes.

I wouldn't pay $1 for it. It is a piece of junk. It was a piece of junk when new. Why spend that kind of money "restoring" a piece of junk when for far less you can have a nice new reliable car which doesn't drink gas??? Wake up and think folks, you are supposed to be engineers. A car is not a sex object, it is a tool designed to haul your ass from point A to point B.

Okay, let's assume for a moment I agree with you that the car is simply a tool, just like, say, a set of calipers or a torque wrench or a spectrograph. If we're all engineers - and if we're all good engineers - we'll not only want to own and use the tools that perform the best, but we'll also want to take good care of those tools and we'll develop a fondness for the tools that leads to appreciation. So if all you're doing with a car is driving it from point A to point B, regardless of how you maintain it, that's the equivalent of buying a generic pair of pliers from the grocery store or literally tossing your torque wrench into the toolbox when you're finished with it.

dan

or perhaps it was owned by somebody like our friend Guest, who drove it hard and put it away wet.

dan

It is a diamond that has returned to the rough. Would you buy a dump truck full of known gold bearing ore? It comes down to the effort you are willing to put into it, not that being lazy is a bad thing.

dstrohl,

You know I actually physically cringed when i read that. It is hard for me to imagine or understand, but I know engineers who don't know how to use torque wrenches, and they don't care to learn! MECHANICAL engineers!

There was also this engineering student I went to school with that cut his self (and needed first aid) while using a dial caliper. The guy ACCUALLY injured himself WITH a caliper.

What's this world coming to?

-A-

You, friend, apparently have either not yet driven an American muscle car, or are not the sort that would appreciate it if you did. I am not necessarily referring to a stock motor, although some factory jobs were nothing to sneeze at in the day. I have had several over the years, coup hot-rods, Mustang Mach 1, GTO, Camero SS, well you get the drift...a well built (and tricked out) Cuda turns many a head even here in Juarez. To drove one however, can provide just as much thrill as any other monster of the MC variety. I know several guys that still drift off in a dreamy wonderland while reminiscing about their old Cudas. I personally have many, many fond memories of leaving several new corvettes (and IROCs) in my smoke and dust while driving my GTO, although the Cameros were more fun on the curves. PS - "REAL cars ARE SEX OBJECTS" and will get you serviced more often than not. Please, realize there is an inherent difference between "nerds" and "engineers".

10K?? NO WAY!! I notice it is lacking right front fender so at this stage it isn't really restorable. For 10K I would at least expect something drivable and licensable. IF I were wanting to restore one and IF it is not all rust, I MIGHT consider 1K for it.

Bill