Hah! ...you think original Cobras are expensive?

[Excaliber]

Got me,,,,must be a Plymouth,,,,you see how funky those wheels are? For a Hemi Cuda it sure looks like Grandmas car.

Ernie

[Mark IV]

.............You know they don't make Plymouths anymore so use that to negotiate the price down, parts and service may be a problem in the future-just like with Oldsmobile.

The Mopar forum make the BB vs. SB, SAI vs. Whatever stuff here look real tame.

The high end Muscle Car collectors market is a pretty inbred group. Lots of these cars change hands without ever showing up on the "for sale" radar and many go back and forth between the same small group over and over. I would think that screwng with one of these buyers is like fouling your own bed, if you make the mess you are gonna live in it.

Rick

[cobrakit66]

ive owned a 70 cuda in 71 biggest peice of crap ever excessive front tire wear lousy milage pistol grip junk shifter clutch would stay on the floor over 5000rpm great top end if you could steer it way to twitchy these cars were junk new probably still are

[Ron61]

My .20 worth,

The cars vin number does break down to a 1971 Hemi Barracuda special order. To the MOPAR crowd a 426 Hemi is what the 427 SO is to the ford crowd. I really never cared for the Cudas as a friend of mine has a 1970 one and after about 50 miles in it I can neither hear or stand up straight. Worst seats I have ever ridden in I think. I also noticed everything Cobrakit66 said about the front end being twitchy and the pistol grip shifter rattled all the time. I think that was to much for the car but I am not a collector so don't really know if the change of engine was that big of a deal. Just so long as it was a period correct Hemi.

Ron

[Excaliber]

Looks like the "non-original" motor in THIS case was not a major factor in the re-sale price. Generally speaking it is. The Hemi Cuda is SO rare I guess it is in the same league as a Daytona coupe, it's more about the VIN number and less about the actual engine.

Anyone know if ALL the Coupes still have their original 289 block in them? If not, I doubt that would impact re-sale price one way or the other.

Ernie

[snakeeyes]

I owned a '71 Barracuda convertible about 15 years ago. My experience was different from many posting here--it was one of the sweetest little cars I've ever had. Granted it was just a 318 automatic, not a fire-breather by any stretch of the imagination, but it rode and drove great. I was also single at the time and it was, hands-down, the best "chick magnet" car I've ever owned, including Ferraris, my Cobra, etc.

Anyhow, I bought that car completely restored for $4000. I put 10,000 miles on it in about 9 months before a little old lady ran a red light and totalled it, nearly killing me in the process. Man, to think I could have dropped a crate hemi in it and put it on Ebay...even if it brought a tenth of what this car did...

[agro1]

...So what do you think one of these is worth ?? I have a friend who actually has one, 100% original, cream color, black top, black stripe down the side...It's in North Africa right now (don't ask). The guy who owns it is worth some very serious cash, and has no idea what it is. He bought it years ago from someone in Colorado where it had just won a Mopar show. I drove it about 3 years ago when I was over there. It needed a tuneup badly but was in perfect condition otherwise.

So, what would it be worth with the original motor, matching #'s etc... ???

[Excaliber]

uh,,,,,about a million dollars?

Ernie

[agro1]

I call BS...Seriously guys... A MILLION BUCKS ???????

[snakeeyes]

Man, who the hell knows. I watch 'Cuda prices casually in a nod to the one I lost, but I had no idea they could bring this kind of money (if the bidding is legit...). Rarity is absolutely paramount, and Mopars always seem to have a desirable option combination that they only made a handful of. After that values plummet. For comparison, less than a month ago I saw a 1970 'Cuda coupe, an original big block car that someone had turned into a Hemi clone. It was done up right--rotisserie restored, correct wheels, Hemi hockey-stick stripes, hemi 4-speed, no strange add-ons, etc. I recall the asking price was something like $40K, a far cry from the car that is the subject of this topic. Granted, it was not a convertible, but hell, you could probably turn it into one for less than $10K and have one that was a clone but nicer than this one for over $1M less than the final bid--

[Carroll DeWeese]

I can not believe this. Who would even pretend to want to pay that kind of money for that car? It is not even the "original " car. You could build almost any custom car that you wanted for that money. You could have exact repoductions of original Cobras for show, for cruise, and for track, with money for gas and maintenance with that kind of money.

[flipper35]

Most likely some one blew up the original Hemi and it was replaced with another. Not the original engine, but the 'correct' engine. Not a big deal for most Mopar collectors. Hemi 'cudas (Not Barracuda) are rare, but this is at least a decimal place off. Hemi Superbirds and Daytonas are not bringing that kind of money.

The 'Pistol Grip' hsifter is from Hurst. I have the same with a different handle (think Ape Hangars with an original lever in a Cobra) and it works great. Not like an internal rail by any means, but...

[TimG427]

Milt Robson is a famous collector that has owned some of the best of the best. He is primarely into Chevrolet muscle cars.
If you would like to see a similar collection visit
www.corvettes-musclecars.com

[snakeeyes]

I happened to be looking at an issue of "Sports Car Market" over lunch today, where there was an auction report on a 1970 Hemi 'Cuda hardtop. Like this car, it was an original Hemi with a replacement motor. Same dog-dish hubcaps. It looked to be in very nice condition. Plum crazy purple. It was not sold at a bid of $87K, which the writer noted was wise of the seller as restored examples are going for $100K or more. I know the '70 'Cudas are more prevalent than the '71's and convertibles even moreso, and this was a coupe, but it's hard to imagine that equating to a $900K premium--

[Edley Rondinone]

HMMMMMMMMM, "Private auction, Bidder's identities protected". I will bet that I can get two or three people with E-mails and Ebay accounts, put something, ANYTHING, on Ebay, hold our own little "Private Auction", and walk away with a "Reserve not met" auction and have fun pulling the wool over peoples' eyes. And Ebay wont let people sell body parts, or ownership rights to children, but they will let this BS go on. I think it's a scam!!LOL!!

[Carroll DeWeese]

It has got to be some form of scam.

[Excaliber]

I have heard that Hemi Cuda's do in fact approach a $100K. A million? I don't think so,,,,but,,,,,the market is VERY hot right now and THAT car is very rare! It is INDEED the "correct" motor for the VIN number on that car! For some reason in particular with MoPars, CLONES do command unreasonably high re-sale value. Must be that "in-bred" thing, I sure don't get it!

Ernie

[CSX 4039]

or you could get this instead....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2401037255

[Neal Jackson]

Edley,

You stated my thoughts exactly. What better way to entice someone into astronomical bidding than to make them think someone else will actually pay the price, or more?

All he needs is one legit bid and it could even only be the starting bid amount. If it's legit, then, under the "reserve auction" rules, the seller may elect to accept that starting bid.

If that auction had non-private bidders, then I'd be more inclined to believe the numbers involved. As it is, there's no evidence of anything, except for a 70 hemi cuda "vert" and a humongous sales pitch.

[TerrysSPF]

This was no doubt a SCAM. I've been to a number of auctions and have seen Hemi-Cuda's go for 100K and thats about it. Saw a guy turn down 87K for a '70 Hemi Cuda a couple months ago in Michigan. The car only had 2100 orig miles and still had the Goodyear Polyglass tires on it. THATS a 100K car............but a MILLION DOLLARS??? That was a fake auction on eBay.