Random Hemi E-Body of the Week

[RzeroB]

I assume you know about this one ?

Thanks Neil, I do have that one. I appreciate you providing leads ... always keeping an eye out for one I don't have and it helps to have you (and others) looking too. Thanks again.

[RzeroB]

Our next featured car is a stellar example of the breed and was owned by a very noteworthy person in the restoration business ...



This pristine HemiCuda is BS23R0B211144. It is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 368 with an automatic. It is finished in flawless TX9 Black-Velvet with a V1X black vinyl top and a somewhat rarely seen PRT5 tan leather interior. It's absolutely stunning in it's appearance!



This black beauty is (was) owned by the late Dave Walden of ECS Automotive Concepts. Dave was very outspoken and an absolute stickler for the minutest of details which he carried over into manufacturing the highest quality restoration products. Restored to the highest standards, Dave's HemiCuda was a rolling testament for his company's products and his obsession with details. Love him or hate him, you can't deny the quality of his products. Dave and his HemiCuda were awarded OE Gold certification, won Best Of Show at the 2005 Mopar Nationals and were featured in magazines to include Mopar Collector's Guide January 2006 issue.



Just looking around the interior of this beauty and you can tell that this HemiCuda is loaded with options that include: A62 Rallye Gauge Package, C15 Deluxe Seat Belts, C16 Center Console, C62 Six-Way Seat, G11 Tinted Glass, P31 Power Windows, R35 AM/FM Radio, S77 Power Steering and a S83 Rim-Blow Steering Wheel among other things.



The PRT5 tan leather interior is not very common with these cars. I don't know why more people didn't order it when choosing their options? Personally I like it and think it looks great ... especially in a black car.



Fantastic close up detailed photo of the twin Carter AFB's and progressive linkage system of the big Hemi. The engine is as impeccably detailed as the rest of the car!



Two icons of the hobby, Steven Juliano on the left and Dave Walden on the right at the display of Dave's concept 4-door Barracuda at MCACN 2017. Sadly, they are now both gone within a year of one another with Steven passing last September and Dave this past July. Gone but certainly not forgotten as both of them have left an indelible mark on the hobby and their influence will carry on for them for a very long time.

[anlauto]

 

[benlavigne]

I see Dave's car has C15 belts, but no dash light or holders on seats... Was that just a Challenger thing?

Ben

[anlauto]

I see Dave's car has C15 belts, but no dash light or holders on seats... Was that just a Challenger thing?

Ben

Yea, I was unaware Cuda's even had that option.

[6bblgt]

I see Dave's car has C15 belts, but no dash light or holders on seats... Was that just a Challenger thing?

Ben

a Barracuda Gran Coupe hardtop & Challenger SE have the "seat belt" light in the overhead console
-  it would also be in the included overhead console on a Plymouth E-body hardtop with OPTIONAL leather bucket seat interior

I can only "assume" he found some empirical evidence that this particular 'cuda did not originally have the deluxe seat belt storage brackets or the wood-grain trim in the door panels 
..... anyone have fender tag or broadcast sheet info?

[benlavigne]

I see Dave's car has C15 belts, but no dash light or holders on seats... Was that just a Challenger thing?

Ben

a Barracuda Gran Coupe hardtop & Challenger SE have the "seat belt" light in the overhead console
-  it would also be in the included overhead console on a Plymouth E-body hardtop with OPTIONAL leather bucket seat interior

I can only "assume" he found some empirical evidence that this particular 'cuda did not originally have the deluxe seat belt storage brackets or the wood-grain trim in the door panels 
..... anyone have fender tag or broadcast sheet info?

So the deluxe, push-button belts on this one would have been part of the leather seats option, not the C15 option?

Ben

[bennydodge]

Man, that black Hemi Cuda, what a stunning color combo and option list. One the best E-bodies ever!

[6bblgt]

So the deluxe, push-button belts on this one would have been part of the leather seats option, not the C15 option?

Ben

No, the "seat belt" light was in the overhead console on a car equipped with an overhead console

[fc7cuda]

So the deluxe, push-button belts on this one would have been part of the leather seats option, not the C15 option?

Ben

No, the "seat belt" light was in the overhead console on a car equipped with an overhead console

My JS29/C15 car has no dash light - it would be redundant to the light overhead.

[benlavigne]

So the deluxe, push-button belts on this one would have been part of the leather seats option, not the C15 option?

Ben

No, the "seat belt" light was in the overhead console on a car equipped with an overhead console

Ah, OK, did not notice the overhead console before! Are the push-button belts and the console part of the Leather seat package? Question was if these belts, as part of leather package or C15,  always came with the holders, or if the holders were C15 only? It would be interesting to see a fender tag or BS for the Walden car...

Ben

[E74cuda]

I see Dave's car has C15 belts, but no dash light or holders on seats... Was that just a Challenger thing?

Ben

a Barracuda Gran Coupe hardtop & Challenger SE have the "seat belt" light in the overhead console
-  it would also be in the included overhead console on a Plymouth E-body hardtop with OPTIONAL leather bucket seat interior

I can only "assume" he found some empirical evidence that this particular 'cuda did not originally have the deluxe seat belt storage brackets or the wood-grain trim in the door panels 
..... anyone have fender tag or broadcast sheet info?

I have a friend that has a 70 cuda with black interior and the deluxe seat belts and his car did have the belt storage clips on the seats. When it comes to the woodgrain in the door panels, I've seen and had early 70 cars without it. I also know of a few 71's without it. All of the cars that I know of that have it are black interior. It might have something to do with white or saddle interiors.

[RzeroB]

Here is another loaded '70 HemiCuda for you. This one is so packed full of options that it has two fender tags ... okay, we've seen plenty of cars with two fender tags, so what? How about the broadcast sheet ... it has all five of the available "A group" package blocks filled in with package options! And the window sticker ... the list of options printed on it is so long that they needed a second "continuation sheet" for it! This beauty has it all!



Say hello to BS23R0B146908. It is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 284 with a 4-speed. It is finished in FY1 Lemon-Twist with black "Hockey Stick" stripes, a V1X black vinyl top and a PRX9 black leather interior. When this picture was taken the car was owned by Dave Crawford and it was featured on the now defunct MoparMax dot com



From the window sticker we can see that this HemiCuda is loaded with options. For starters it has no less than five "packages" that include: the A01 Light Group Package, A04 Basic Group Package, A21 Elastomeric Front Bumper Package, A34 Super Track Pack 4:10 geared Dana Axle Package and the A62 Rallye Gauge Package. These are followed up by the B51 Power Disc Brakes, C16 Center Console, C26 Overhead Console, C62 Six-Way Seat, G36 painted Sport Mirrors, P31 Power Windows, and the R22 AM/8-Track Radio among other things. Whew! That's a lot of options! Note the "continued" down at the bottom of the sheet.



I like this picture ... it shows great detail of the clean unfettered design of the '70 Cuda's front-end, grille and elastomeric bumper. 



At one point this loaded HemiCuda was for sale at Masterpiece Classic Cars (now called Masterpiece Vintage Cars) in Indianapolis IN ... I think before Dave Crawford acquired it ... but I'm not sure?



Another shot of this great looking car while it was at Masterpiece. Whether Dave Crawford still owns it ... or if it has moved on to another owner ... there's no denying that whoever has it, has one of the most heavily optioned '70 HemiCuda's ever made. 

[benlavigne]

Here is another loaded '70 HemiCuda for you. This one is so packed full of options that it has two fender tags ... okay, we've seen plenty of cars with two fender tags, so what? How about the broadcast sheet ... it has all five of the available "A group" package blocks filled in with package options! And the window sticker ... the list of options printed on it is so long that they needed a second "continuation sheet" for it! This beauty has it all!

Thanks again for showing this great 'Cuda!
While far from being a Hemi car, my A66 also has all of the ''A'' codes full on the broadcast sheet, A01, A04, A36, A44, A45, so A62 and A66 had to be added in another box at the bottom reserved for ''overflow''!

Ben

[RzeroB]

Happy Labor Day! What better day to honor those hard working Chrysler assembly line workers who worked day and night to build these iconic machines.    For those who worked the line at Chrysler ... we salute you! 

Long before assembly lines became semi autonomous with robots, thousands of workers toiled countless hours at their assigned tasks, sometimes under harsh conditions, to achieve the end result ... a beautiful E-body moving under it's own power off of the end of the line. Do you think those line workers fully appreciated just what it was they were putting together day after day? Some of them probably did ... but imagine more were probably only looking forward to the next day off! 

Let's say you are working the assembly line at Hamtramck in '69-'70. You see all of these E-bodies rolling down the line and you think they are the most beautiful things on four wheels. Periodically you see some Hemi-powered E-bodies and with King Kong under the hood you think that they are the ultimate muscle machine. You close your eyes and picture your butt firmly nestled in the bucket seat, a pistol-grip shifter (or Slap-Stik automatic shifter) in your right hand and 425hp under your right foot ... someday I'll have enough saved to get one of these for myself you say!! Then you open your eyes and see that the Hemi E-body in front of you has ... a bench seat and a column-shift automatic in it?? What the ... !! What muscle car gearhead orders a Hemi powered E-body with a bench seat and a column-shifter?!

Who orders a bench seat column shift Hemi E-body?? Apparently a lot more people than I could ever have imagined!! There has to be at least 40 of them that I have discovered ... and I'm sure that there are more that I am not aware of ... yet. So for you lovers of bench seat column-shifted automatic Hemi E-bodies ... here's a random selection of a few of them just for you.

BS23R0B145107 is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 368 with an automatic. It is finished in EW1 Alpine-White with V6X black "Hockey Stick" stripes and ... a H4X9 black vinyl bench seat interior.



I love "Hockey Stick" stripes and this is a great photo of one.



And here it is ... the bench seat interior with the column-shift automatic. It amazes me just how many of these cars rolled off the assembly line in this configuration. Backing up that column-shift automatic is the A32 Super Performance 4:10 geared Dana Axle Package to give this bench seat cruiser plenty of get-up-and-GO! Drop it in "drive" (click, click, click), stomp it and you're GONE!




BS23R0B159594 is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 368 with an automatic. It is finished in EB5 Blue-Fire with V6X black "Hockey Stick" stripes and ... a H4X9 black vinyl bench interior.



This blue beauty also has the color matching A21 Elastomeric Front Bumper Package.



And here it is ... the bench seat interior with the column-shift automatic. This HemiCuda was also ordered with the A62 Rallye Gauge Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, P31 Power Windows, R22 AM/8-Track and S77 Power Steering - a real power cruiser!




BS23R0B207656 is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 368 with an automatic. It is finished in the rather rare color of FY6 Citron-Gold with V6X black "Hockey Stick" stripes, a V1X black vinyl top ... and a H4X9 black vinyl interior.



This HemiCuda is actually very nicely equipped as it has the A01 Light Group Package, A21 Elastomeric Front Bumper Package, A32 Super Performance 4:10 geared Dana Axle Package, A62 Rallye Gauge Package, A67 Rear Window Louvers Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, C36 painted Sport Mirrors, J81 Go-Wing, R35 AM /FM Radio and S77 Power Steering among other things.



And here it is ... the bench seat interior with the column-shift automatic (yes we know the Tuff Wheel wasn't available in E-bodies). The funny thing is that the base Cuda came standard with bucket seats - so whoever ordered these cars had to specifically order the bench seat in place of the standard buckets.