New Member with a 1970 Cuda

[azfrench]

Hello my name is Rick and I live in Tucson, Az. I was in the middle of Resto-Modding a 1968 Charger that I had bought a few years ago when decided to move to a new home. The Charger was completely stripped and up on a rotisserie. Being in the condition that it was, it was not easy to move and I was struggling to figure out what I was going to do. A few days later on the way to the shop to meet the guys for lunch I was informed that we had to go to a neighbor’s house to evaluate a woman's, late husband's, mid 60's Valiant so she could sell it and get it out of her garage. Ok, a little detour is no big deal and if we can help a neighbor we will. Nobody knew anything about this Valiant except that it has been sitting in her garage of many years and it was time to get rid of it. We pulled around to the rear of her property and in the garage was sitting a 1970 Cuda! I asked the shop owner, "Is this the mid 60's Valiant"? He said, "I think so". Well!!! So much for a mid 60's Valiant! I immediately called out, "I want to buy this"!! As if calling dibs on shotgun seat in the car. We get out and the pics will show you what I saw when we pulled up.

 

[azfrench]

So, seeing what I saw in the above pictures I waited for the woman to come out and talk to us. I did not say anything about wanting to buy the car. The shop owner talked to her about what we could do and told her we would go to lunch and come back and pick the car up to bring to the shop for the evaluation. During lunch I told the shop owner that I really wanted to buy this car and I was not joking. This was perfect for me. I would sell the Charger to help pay for the Cuda and I would have a car on wheels that I could easily get to my new home.

After lunch I returned to her house alone and approached her about buying the car. I assured her that I was not here to low ball her or offer her something ridiculous and that I truly wanted the car for what it was worth to her. She gave me a price that was.....WAY out of my budget. Knowing that I could not afford to buy this car even with selling my charger I told her that I couldn't afford it so I would come back and take the car to the shop and we would continue to do the evaluation and get it running so she could sell it to somebody who could afford it.

 

[azfrench]

We came back to the shop with a tow strap, since it was only a block away from the shop, and towed to the shop. I was the one in the Cuda behind the truck.. I spent the next two days going through this car and documented everything I was finding.

 

[azfrench]

It turns out that this thing had been sitting for years. She stated that he Son-in-law tried to get it going but had no success. He changed the oil and some wires and such and with this explanation I was not surprised he couldn't get it going. I looked at the carb and saw that it had caught fire at some point. After the evaluation I decided to see if I could get it to start. It is a Mopar and it looked complete so it will run. I put a different carb on it, new plugs, confirmed wire placement, confirmed oil and fluids, then poured some gas in the carb and BOOM! It coughed to life and ran! Boy, did it smoke!! This was good news for her but this car was going to need some money to get it to driving condition like she asked. I wrote up a two-page report with pictures and all the steps I did and then listed what it needed to become a driver.

I returned to her home a couple of days later with the shop owner to give her the report. At this point I had no intention of buying this car because she wanted way too much. I was just doing my job. I went through the report with her and gave her some estimates for the repairs. She looked at me and stated that it was a lot of money. She then looked at the shop owner and asked if there were any shortcuts that we could take. He explained to her that she could most likely sell the car in the condition it was in but it would have to be towed and she most likely would not get as much for it. She then looked back at me and asked, "Would you still want to buy this car"? I was shocked!! I answered, YESSS!!!!! I mean, "Ma'am, I would like to try and afford this if it helps you out". She asked me how much was the car worth in its present condition. I told her that I was not the right person to ask and said I honestly don't know what it is worth. The shop owner offered to call a buddy of his that knows Mopars and he could give her a better idea of the worth. We called right then and there. With the phone on speaker he stated that X would be a good deal for the seller and Y would be a good deal for the buyer. She immediately looked and me and asked if I would give her Z for the car. Well Z was in the exact middle of X and Y so I agreed. I could not be happier. So, now I am a past member of FBBO and a new member of FEBO.

 

[440rush]

Welcome Rick
That's great looking" Valiant" you have there. Glad you were in the right place at the right time.

 

[Rapidfire]

Welcome to FEBO! Greetings from Nebraska! Great story and thanks for sharing it with us! I am glad it work out for you! Looks like you have a really nice Cuda!

 

[Rapidfire]

Welcome to FEBO! Greetings from Nebraska! Great story and thanks for sharing it with us! I am glad it work out for you! Looks like you have a really nice Cuda!

 

[340challconvert]

AZ
What a great story and a really nice Cuda. Good luck with her!
and to FEBO from New Jersey

 

[fasjac]

How cool is that! Welcome from Little Rock. Great looking cuda
Perfect example of being in the right place at the time. Cheers!

 

[azfrench]

Thank you all. I feel very fortunate that I am the second owner of this car.

Rick

 

[azfrench]

Well I took out the back seats to look for the build sheet.....It is not there.

Rick

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Typical it was a E code car built in LA right , they very rarely had the sheets

 

[azfrench]

Yes, that is correct.

Rick

 

[fasjac]

Yes, that is correct.

Rick

Just for drill, look behind the glove box. Most likely not there but, easy to look.

 

[SFEbody]

ok, great story, now let us know the price you settled on.... This helps all of us in the buy/sell market