1970 Hemi Cuda Convertible barn find

[198D13]

I'm no one, and know no one in the hobby.  Didn't know about the car. 

Glad it's made it's way out and will be restored by one of you guys that are in the know. 

Hope to see it all shiney and new again.

it needs washed/waxed & some maintenance/mechanical issues fixed, but hopefully it remains unrestored

Agreed, as far as the "unrestored" comment goes!  It looks to be manual steering also, from one of the above pictures.

[RzeroB]

I never thought I would see this day ... ever!! I don't know why he parked it, but it's been in storage for decades. I thought for sure this car would never "surface" again until the original owner passed and it was sold by his estate. It will be interesting to see what becomes of it now that it has changed hands ...

[cuda hunter]

I too would rather see it polished and driven.

[cuda hunter]

The picture of the actual tag finally surfaced

[anlauto]

Not me...the two black ones I've seen so far, the one with blue interior and the one with tan, both look like crap in my opinion, all covered in "patina" ....give me a fresh restored (correctly restored) car any day....

[torredcuda]

Unfortunately  whether it`s left as is or restored it will probably never actually be driven again except for in and out of a trailer.

[anlauto]

After some reading....I didn't realize 5 out of 18 were factory TX9 cars...that seems like a high percentage... and there's already two nice restored examples, so I guess it don't matter much if this one is left as is....

[torredcuda]

If I were rich     and could buy it I`d restore it as a Day Two car with the Keystones, a built Ray Barton Hemi with a Rat Roaster intake and beat the snot out of it on the street - but that`s just a dream.

[Mr Lee]

It will probably be a trailer queen.  But hypothetically, i wonder what it would cost to insure as a daily driver.  Hehe $$$

From the pics it looks to be in solid shape.  And being a texas car, it probably is.
Maybe they'll leave the dust on it like this one and just bring it to shows. A time capsule. 

Either way, it's amazing that the original owner held onto it for so long.  At 85 yrs old, he is one guy that doesn't fall into the category of "wish I never sold it".   Would love to hear some stories from that guy!  Hopefully he drove the wheels off it and had some fun in his day.




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[cuda hunter]

That Blue Bird stinks soooo bad. 

I think the owner of the tx9 hemi cuda had it in the locker for a lot of years.  I wonder what the mileage is on the car.   
I wonder what the recent purchase price was.

[Cudino]

First off, AWESOME car!  Like others mentioned earlier this car isn't technically a barn-find, it was a known car for decades.  However, the car was kept somewhat secretive in part because the owner was somewhat private, and in part because most folks who learned about it were privately trying to buy it.  The last time I tried was in 2010 or so, and it was clear at that point the owner was just not interested in selling.  I'm not the new owner, but I wish I was.

The original owner's name is Warren, and he ordered the car new and has owned it all this time, making this car the last original-owner Hemi Ebody Vert to finally change hands.  Warren worked at a Chrysler dealership and said he did the PDI himself on this car when it arrived, and he also kept a treasure trove of his original paperwork.  As I understand in '76 or so Warren bought himself a new Chrysler LeBaron, and parked the Cuda in a storage garage, where it then sat for decades.  Prior to this Warren added headers and chrome bits, like most original owners did to these cars, but overall I believe it still remains in very original condition.  Throughout those decades many people approached Warren to buy the car, including as early as pioneering musclecar collector Milt Robson going to see Warren in the mid '80s with a fanny-pack full of 100s, but Warren wouldn't part with it.  Warren continued to turn down all suitors and their increasingly higher offers through the 2000s.  Although Warren was reasonably approachable by phone, very few people had the honor of getting to see his car in person.  I never did, so I'm very eager to finally have the opportunity.

As I understand a few years ago Warren finally had to move the car from one storage facility to another, and I believe those are the pictures circulating of it being on a flatbed trailer.  Then, very recently, the right people approached Warren and his family at the right time, and a deal was finally struck.  As I understand those are the more recent pictures are of the car being loaded onto an enclosed trailer.  Mopar inspector extraordinaire Dave Wise was the one facilitated the purchase and pickup, he had been in touch with Warren and his family for years.  When Warren decided to sell, Dave says he and his family chose to work with him because he is very well respected in our hobby, well-earned kudos to Dave.

I don't know the purchase price, but I've heard rumors it was in the $3M range.  That's quite a bit less than what Warren mentioned to me 10 years ago, but of course back then he had no interest in selling it at all.  Anyway, whatever the purchase price, this car is a total rock star and worth every penny.

As for the new owner, I'm not sure it is my place to mention his name yet, but I'm sure he's very proud.  Over the past few years he has purchased some other righteous cars, but to my knowledge this is his first step into the Hemi Ebody Convertible realm.  Kudos to him, killer car.

I don't know the future of this car, whether it will be preserved or restored, but my expectation is that it will at least first be cleaned-up, which sounds like a great idea to me.  There is some ongoing discussion about this car making its public debut at one of the big upcoming shows, but nothing has been formally announced yet.  We'll see, but a big congrats to all for landing the big fish, and for bringing Warren's legacy to light.

- Wade

[anlauto]

Thank you very much for the inside scoop Wade, you always have the best stories....

As for the new owner,....  Over the past few years he has purchased some other righteous cars, but to my knowledge this is his first step into the Hemi Ebody Convertible realm.  .....

I'm glad to hear this, I was hoping it wasn't somebody like "the brother's collection" that bought it, to hoard away with all their others 

[Desmond]

Thanks for the update Wade. I too never thought it would be sold - EVER. It is the fifth and final TX9 '70 Vert I think. Always amazed me so many were black.

[anlauto]

A message shared from Bob Ashton...

Yet Another HEMI 'cuda Convertible to be "Unveiled" at MCACN!
I am pleased to announce the 1970 unrestored, original 1970 Hemi 'cuda convertible that recently came out of long term hibernation wil be joining us for our first Official Unveiling of an unrestored car at the upcoming Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show in November.

While those of us into these cars have known about this one for years, the story is truly amazing.

Back in mid 1969, a young man decided to order up his ultimate dream car. And dream car it is! BS27R 426 Hemi 'cuda convertible, 4-speed, power windows, rallye dash and a whole lot more. Triple Black and somewhat subtle, it is a "stop you in your tracks" beauty. Driven on a regular basis, (this is in Texas), the owner would use it until 1976, racking up about 35k miles when he decided to order a new car, a brand new Chrysler LeBaron. Also loaded up with options, it proved to be far more comfortable than the Hemi rag, so the 'cuda ended up safely tucked away...until about a month ago.

Yes...back when we did the MCACN E-Body Hemi convertible Invitational we tracked him down and extended the invitation. And of course, several of the active buyers of these cars also tracked him down offering to purchase it over the years. All offers and attempts were turned down.

Times and situations change, and I am pleased to announce that Darryl Wischnewsky, a long time supporter and participant of the MCACN show recently became the next caretaker/owner. You may remember some of Darryls cars and the Unveilings he has done with Apex Autosports. His collection includes numerous Miopars, including a '71 black Hemi 'cuda hardtop that Andrew and the Apex Autosports crew will unveil this year, the '68 Hemi Roadrunner and the Last Hemi Charger, also Unveiled with us.

We will be presenting this car for its first public appearance at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show. This will be the first time we do an Official Unveiling of an UNrestored car. This will take place Saturday, November 19 at 9:30 am, shortly after show opening.

After all of the Official Unveilings, Darryl will do a walk-around of the car and a Q&A session, right at the car.

We are truly honored to be able to be the host for this.

Yep...they are still out there and we truly appreciate all of you who agree to share these historical automobiles and more importantly, the stories.

Please help us spread the word and please plan on joining us!

www.mcacn.com

Thank You;

Bob Ashton

[johnshotrods]

WOW !!!!!
That is truly an amazing story and purchase .