Question for an E body fan

[ACUDANUT]

I don't believe it was a rush job at all.  Only a E Body hater would say such a thing. 

[Alaskan_TA]

The E-body car designs were in the works at least as early as 1968.

[Ghoste]

The only thing rushed was production when the moment came.  They were right to do so but wrong to do it. 

[ACUDANUT]

if it was a rush job, explain how a 71 Hemi ' Cuda is worth a Million bucks

[Pete in NH]

The E-body car designs were in the works at least as early as 1968.

Even starting as early as 1968, that's not a lot of time for a 1970 model year release which really means the fall of 1969. I think today it's easy to forget what the car design process was like. The bodies were modeled as full size clay models and then lofted by very skilled tool and die makers to hard tooling dies to stamp out panels. There had to be an incredible amount of skill and time involved in that process. Today computers produce design drawings and transfer them to tooling with precision that could only be dreamed of in the 60's.

I'm not an E body hater by any means. I think they were and still are very good looking cars. I'm just saying in their day I would not have bought one compared to a B body.

[Mike DC]

   
Exactly.  Pointing out downsides of a car does not mean you hate it and think it's worthless. 

IMO all our muscle cars are too heavy.  They have hundreds of pounds of cast-iron in places that should be aluminum.  Their solid axles suck for anything besides drag racing.  Etc.  But I'm still on this site every day. 


As for the E's being worth so much?  So are wing cars.  Wing cars were even more rushed/sloppy jobs that did one thing well and bunch of other things worse.  I still think wing cars are cool. 

[stripedelete]

explain how a 71 Hemi ' Cuda is worth a Million bucks

fixed

[HPP]

My dad bought his Road Runner new in late '68. My Uncle got out of the Navy in late '69 and was so impressed with the Plymouth's performance, he went down and bought a new Challenger. While he could deal with the Plymouth outrunning his Dodge in a heads up race, he never did like all the squeaks and rattle the E body had compared to the B body. He sold it after a couple of years. My Dad had the Plymouth until the day he died.

if it was a rush job, explain how a 71 Hemi ' Cuda is worth a Million bucks

Scarcity and time.  The automotive press thought the '71 Cuda was ugly and because of the recession that year, the buying public agreed it was ugly enough to not spend the tight money supply on it. Sales figures dropped significantly, inadvertently contributing to its low production numbers. At the same time, no one was aware it was the last gasp of gross HP numbers that everyone liked to quote. Combine those conditions with decades of rose colored memories, and prices go through the roof.

[Mike DC]

 
Car guys tend to like more extreme styling & engines than the mainstream public does.  Same with limited-editions.  

Plymouth struggled to sell 1970 Superbirds by later in the run.  It turned out there were only so many buyers interested in wing cars and a lot of them had already bought Charger Daytonas.  
 

[Bronzedodge]

If memory serves, in 70 Cudas and Challengers with 340s came with 15" wheels.  The factory was marketing them as a handling pkg, knew they would be better with the small block.

If you're looking at a project, some years are harder to restore than others.  I'm thinking of 71 Challengers in particular, like 70 Chargers.  One year only fenders, grille, etc.    Friend of mine in another club has a 71 Challenger, I think there may be a difference in the front valence too?  Not sure.

As far as your original question:

Cuda VIN BS23 or BS27 for 'verts
Barracuda VIN BH23 or BH27
Gran Coupe VIN BP23 or BP27

Challenger VIN JH23 and JH27 for 'verts
Challenger VIN JH29 for the SE cars, non RT
Challenger RT VIN JS23 hardtop, JS27 for the 'verts  and JS29 for the R/T SE's

[303 Mopar]

I restored a '71 Challenger (best year IMHO) and am blessed enough to currently own a '70 Cuda along with my '68 Charger.  They are all good, but my Cuda kills the Charger in handling because it is smaller.  However, I have had both at car shows and cruise-ins and the Charger gets way more attention.  A lot of people have no idea what the Cuda is, I think because it does not have the notoriety of the Charger. 

I love both cars for different reasons.  If you are serious about buying an e-body or want to know more facts check out cuda-challenger.com.  Great guys with a loads of information.

[Troy]

If memory serves, in 70 Cudas and Challengers with 340s came with 15" wheels.  The factory was marketing them as a handling pkg, knew they would be better with the small block.

Much like a lot of other things Mopar did, that requirement didn't last long! I'd have to verify the Cudas but the Challenger A66 (340 4bbl) package only came with 15" wheel for a very short time before they tossed that idea in the trash (even though all the printed sales/reference material was already printed). It still had the HD suspension and brakes though. The AAR and T/A were a completely different story of course.

Troy

[Alaskan_TA]

First page before the A66 package was released - http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/dealerships/DealershipDataBook/1970/old/116.jpg


Revised page with A66 mentions 14" tires. http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/dealerships/DealershipDataBook/1970/70_Challenger0024.jpg

[Bronzedodge]

I stand corrected.     Thought that was for the entire model year.

[6bblgt]

& of the ~6000 1970 340 'Cuda hardtops (BS23H0) just over 25% had E60-15 RWL POLYGLAS GT tires

[FY1 Charger]

303 mopar, your cars are gorgeous. I've visited that website once or twice, i might have to visit it more.

My next question is why are their fog lights on the bottom of some Cuda's, is that only for the AAR because of Trans-Am racing?

[6bblgt]

Fog Lights are STANDARD equipment on ALL '70 'Cudas (BS23 & BS27, AARs included BS23J0B) , they became an OPTION on Barracuda & Gran Coupe mid-model year 1970.

For 1971 Plymouth e-body line they were an OPTION, no longer STANDARD on 'Cuda.

[ACUDANUT]

For those that come across theses "shitty built and too heavy E-bodies" for sale. Please send them my way. THANKS

[maxwellwedge]

I owned a very nice 1970 RT/SE 440-6 4-speed 4:10 Shaker car 30 years ago. In the E-body world, It doesn't get much better than that (except for a Hemi), but that was the 1st and last E-body I've ever owned. That tells you what I think of them.

Yes - This car......I sold it but may get it back.....beautiful combo.

PS everyone - All Mopar's are cool.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Memories...............