After around 2 months of looking for my 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda, the search was over. I had found a car through a car locator and it looked perfect. I had Steve Curle (Kiwi Shipping) confirm what we thought we knew, that the 71 Cuda was as good as it looked in the photos. Steve viewed the car and called me 1 hour later to confirm she was as straight as the photos showed from what he could see. I immediately called the owner to confirm I would indeed purchase the car. A deal was made and payment taken care of. The 'Cuda came with a Clear title and bill of sale (of course). It's was a true 'Cuda (BS) (not a BH Barracuda).

To lower the price, I asked the owner if he would sell the car minus: the 383ci engine, Torqueflite-727 transmission, rallye wheels & tyres (but it came with rollers), A/C and the lower dash A/C piece. He threw in a standard control piece to fill the gap on the lower dash panel area. She LOOKED as straight as an arrow with no rust, bubbles or bondo. It was 100% complete and had a perfect grille which is the main piece of 1971 'Cudas. With NOS grilles costing $4,000+ USD, it's a good idea to get a car with a mint grille!

The reason I purchased a complete "restored" non-#'s car is because it was 100% complete. Parts for the 71 Cuda are a ridiculous price and to buy a shell needing new floors, rails, trunk pan, fenders, 1/4 panels, etc, is a HUGE outlay, let-alone having to then turn around and buy the rest of the pieces for the car; from bumpers to headlight buckets, sheesh, the road lamps are $400 USD each!! I factored that into what I was buying and by some margin, this was the only way to go. Well, for me it was. So, I bit the bullet and decided that it's cheaper, easier and faster to get a car needing no parts or no/minimal body work. Well........that's what I thought and as you'll see in the following pages, I got shafted by yet another quick American bondo restoration we hear and see so often down here. You win some and you lose some, just the way this hobby is.