1974 PLYMOUTH CUDA - REAL BLACK ON BLACK CAR - FOR SALE! This auction is for a truly rare car, a REAL 1974 BS23 ‘Cuda, factory TX9 Black paint, with a Black interior, and a white stripe! Although it is a project car, it is very worthy of restoration, and will make someone a great winter project car. It originally came with the 318 2bbl 150hp engine, with a 904 automatic trans. The original powertrain is missing, and someone back when converted it to a 4-speed. As you can see from the pics, it has a manual trans floor hump, and a clutch pedal installed in it. I am unaware if these parts are identical to what the factory would have installed, if it had been an original 4-speed car. If you’re a MOPAR guy, we all know that the 1971s are the King ‘Cudas, then the 1970, due to the 426 Hemis, the 440 Six-Packs, etc. In 1972, 1973, and 1974, these were gone. However, 1974 was the last year of this great E-body style, and this year had the SMALLEST production figures of ANY of the years! For all 1974, there were only 11,734 Total Barracudas, with only 4,989 of these being BS23 ‘Cudas, leaving 6,745 that were the actual Barracuda. (For reference, consider that over 151,000 Camaros were built for 1974, over 362,000 Chevelles, and 386,000 of the UGLY 1974 Mustang IIs were made!) According to the best sources I can find on short notice, it appears that there were only 2,412 BS23G4B ‘Cudas, with the automatic transmission, and although I can’t narrow down exactly how many were Black on Black, there were numerous colors, so it is a VERY rare car, and how many are left? Also, the 72-3-4 ‘Cudas have been appreciating quite a bit over the last several years, as have other mid-late 70s models, so this car is a WORTHY resto project! If this car was a 1971 ‘Cuda, you couldn’t TOUCH it at 3 TIMES this price! The ‘Cuda has its original tag, as broken down as follows: E44 – 318 2bbl D34 – Auto Transmission – 904 Torqueflight BS23 G4B 244391 – VIN# TX9 – Black Paint A6X9 – Black Interior 000 – No Upper Door Frame Paint C10 – Build Date December 10th, 1973 331360 – Vehicle Order# TX9 – Black Painted Top U – Made for USA B41 – Front Disc Brakes w/std 10” Rear Drums C16 – Console w/Floor Shift C56 – Bucket Seats G11 – Tinted Glass G54 – LH Remote Chrome Racing Mirror J25 – 3-speed Wipers J54 – Sport Hood M21 – Chrome Roof Drip Moldings M25 – Chrome Sill Moldings M26 – Chrome Wheel Lip Moldings M31 – Chrome Belt Molding M88 – Chrome Decklid Molding N76 – Coolant Recovery System N85 – Tachometer w/Rallye Gauge Cluster R11 – AM Radio V6W – White Longitudinal Stripe L2 – Assembly Line 2 743 – (Unknown) I got this car from a local friend of mine who has owned it for about 15 years, and just recently decided to sell it. I would LOVE to fix it up myself, but I just don’t have the time, too many other projects to deal with. What I would do with this car is make the “Ultimate Rat Rod”, at least for awhile, anyway. I would build a killer 440, get a 5-speed stick (with an original pistol-grip shifter, so it looks like a stock 4-speed), get all the suspension, steering, electrical, brakes, etc redone, stuff as fat rear tires as I could on some 8-1/2 inch offset Rallyes, get the 3.55 rear end all set up, but LEAVE THE BODY ALONE for now! Can you imagine the FUN when you pull up next to one of these new pretty Mustangs or Camaros or Corvettes in this car that looks all ratty on the outside, and then you proceed to BLOW THEIR DOORS OFF??? Besides, you wouldn’t be worried about getting door dings at car shows, or the local Wal-Mart! I’d have some fun for a long time, and THEN restore the body LATER!!! (I’ve had perfect show cars, and I’ve had imperfect drivers, and quite frankly, drivers are more fun!) Some of the ‘Cuda’s sheet metal will need rust repair or replacement, but most of it can be saved. The entire floorboard is in good shape, including under the back seat, there are only a few small holes in the driver front floorboard that will need welding. Some touch-up welding needs to be done in the front wheelwells where there was some previous work done, but they aren’t too bad. The trunk floor is going to need either complete replacement, or a lot of repair, along with the trunk extensions. I would replace both lower quarters, at the mid-body seam, if I was doing the resto. Then, there is a little hole on the lower rear corner of the passenger door (pic# 38 on my site, see below), and some rust repair on the lower front passenger fender. Of course, there is a lot of regular body work to be done, dents, old bondo removal etc, after 42 years, as you can see from the pics. There are many extra items that come with the car at the Buy-It-Now price, including: A complete 440 engine that is 1974 date-coded, that came out of a 1974 Dodge Motorhome. Pair of ‘Cuda doors that are in great shape. Complete ‘Cuda roof section, with both windshield pillars below the original factory welds, plus 2 inches of quarter panels below those factory welds. A 3.55 Sure-Grip rear end “pumpkin”. If you wish to purchase the car without these items, I’m open to it, make me a specific offer. Also please note that pic #24 is of someone else’s ’74 Cuda, that shows what this car looked like when new, that pic IS NOT of this car! One other note, I wouldn’t use this roof section for this car, get a $600 Roof Skin from AMD, and just section out the sunroof part, use the rest of the new metal for a few patches where needed. Save this complete ‘Cuda roof section for a 1970 or 1971 high-$ ‘Cuda, that had a vinyl top and is totally rusted beyond saving. MUCH better use of this roof! Or, just leave the pop-up sunroof in it, it was probably put in 35 years ago, very retro! Apparently, one of ebay’s recent changes for sellers is that I can’t add a link to my own website, so you can see all 85 pics of the ‘Cuda. I’ll add that link to this description later if I can, or message me, or call me, and I can give you the link. Also, my pics are about 4 times the size of the ones here, so you can really see any details you are interested in. After looking through all the pics, if there is some part of the car that you have additional questions about, I’ll be happy to take another pic of whatever it is you wish to see better. I know what it’s like to buy a car “sight unseen”, which is why I try to have tons of pics. I have been a buyer/seller as CudaManiac on ebay now for over 18 years, have 100% positive feedback both buying and selling. I want both the buyer and myself to be happy with the deal, I don’t want to EVER get my FIRST negative or even neutral feedback, so if you are unsure of something, ASK!!! I'm asking $7,500 or best offer (US Dollars only), at this time. I'm open to offers of course, but if you have to borrow the money, get the approval FIRST. Also, I reserve the right to end this auction early, as the Cuda is advertised elsewhere. If you have any questions or comments, either send me a message through ebay, or call me (Darrell) on my cell at (405) 650-2864, I'm in Oklahoma, Central Standard Time. Thanks for viewing! |