9-29-72

[Hood]

Picture this. The date is September 29th 1972. I'm 18 years old and I'm working a full time job. On this day 50 years ago I walked into the Chrysler/ Plymouth Dealership in Lincoln Park Michigan. I sat down with Ron Delo, the salesman, and ordered a 1973 Cuda.

We went over the available options such as the color, radio, vinyl top and other items. I cautiously opted for a few. After that I handed over a $60 cash deposit and in return I would wait four to six weeks for my Cuda to be built and delivered from the Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

This adventure would cost me $3688 to be paid by getting my very first loan from the credit union affiliated with my employer. This was also my first taste of buyers remorse even though it soon evaporated. Smiling, I drove my new Cuda home on October 30th 1972.

Three years later I bought my first house.
The address was 929
In 1980 my daughter was born at 9:29pm
And that all leads back to my Cuda being ordered on 9-29
Do you think 929 is a great three digit lotto number?

Well that's my story from 50 years ago today. Yes, I still own my Cuda with 37k miles on the numbers matching drive train. I have the hand written order sheet from the dealership with my signature and date, original keys, window sticker, build sheet, owners manual, the 1973 brochure, and the same license plate from 1973 which is registered on my car for life. The list goes on, but you get the picture. My Cuda is like a time machine taking you back to 1972.

[Dakota]

That's a great story!   Really cool.   Thanks for sharing.

[larry4406]

Pictures!  Let's see pictures!

[anlauto]

That's awesome 

[blown motor]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

[bentpshrods]

      That's great. Not to many still  have their bought new car.       

[70vert]

Amazing! And congrats, very few can make that claim   

[Blowout]

That's a pretty cool story!

[Brads70]

Great story, made me smile!  Glad you could keep it all these years! 

[chargerdon]

Wow and congrats.   My first new car was a 70 Challenger that i bought off the lot, on December 22, 1969 one day after i got my lottery number for the draft and knew that i wasn't going to be drafted.   It was a Dark Green with the beige interior, slant six with 3 on the floor, PS, am radio WW tires and wheel covers.   It stickered for i think $3170...and after some shrewd negotiations i got a $300 dealer discount so it cost me $2870.   Unfortunately, it was star struck...

Only two months old i was getting gas at a station next to a car wash, and a car wash attendant next door lost control and wiped out my rear end.  10 months later it had been repaired, and i was driving home from work on rt130 in Burlington, NJ.   Rt 130 there is a North Bound only 3 lane highway, when a young kid in his daddys brand new Chrysler New Yorker station wagon, decided to make a left hand turn from the right turn only lane, right in front of me and i T-boned him...   Damaging the Challenger fairly bad.  Stupid kid was only 17 and has passed his drivers test that day !!!   After it was repaired it didn't drive right, so two years later i traded it in on a 72 Charger SE with 318, auto, air... Fantastic car  B5 with Black vinyl roof, sharp.   

The dealership sold my Challenger in two days to a young guy that rolled it over totaling it the next day.     Sigh...     It deserved better. 

[70/6chall]

Damned, that almost parallels the history on my car. My Slant6 70 Challenger had been traded in '72 to the local Dodge dealership here in Riverside Ca. They put it up for sale in an Auto Trader type magazine which my Father happen to see. I had just returned from overseas with Uncle Sams canoe club and needed transportation, so at the urgings of my Father we went to look at it. Well, for a total of $1,100.00 my Dad decided this "Was my car", with 40K on the clock and Dads check book it was mine. Found a job,dated a nice girl in it, married the girl raised a family of 2 Sons. Fast forward to today, as of March this year I've owned it for 50 years, still married to that same girl, retired from the job after 42 years, that Dodge now has a little over 700K miles on it. That's on 3 engines, 2 trans and 2 rearends. It's still a great looking car, just has a lot of miles on it like me. Oh, by the way I did pay my Dad back with interest. Thanks,   Al

[Hood]

Pictures!  Let's see pictures!

Made these videos a few years back but the Cuda still looks the same.

https://youtu.be/-mUA_DHTOAI

https://youtu.be/NvrWiLgDm7Y