HomePick of the DayPick of the Day: 1970 Hemi Cuda, a time capsule driven just...

Pick of the Day: 1970 Hemi Cuda, a time capsule driven just 84 miles

The fully documented former drag racer now an all-original showpiece

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“The Lowest Mileage Hemi Cuda On The Planet! PERIOD!” reads the lettering on the windshield of this remarkable time capsule, a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda 426 Hemi coupe driven just 84 miles in its half century of existence.

The Pick of the Day “is an amazing, all-correct, all-original and all-numbers-matching Tor Red Hemi Cuda with significant racing history to boot,” says the Jackson, Mississippi, dealer advertising the Cuda on ClassicCars.com.

cuda

“It was special-ordered and purchased new at Shreves Plymouth-Dodge in June 1970 by Bill Reardon of Clarksburg, West Virginia, who was finally buying his dream car at 62 years of age,” the dealer relates in the ad.

“One of the last ten Hemi Cudas built in 1970, it was exactly as he imagined it: Tor Red with a black interior; Torqueflite automatic transmission; Shaker hood with tie downs and color-matching steel wheels with dog-dish hub caps and Goodyear Polyglas GT tires. He named it True Grit.”

cuda

Reardon extensively modified the Cuda for the drag strip, setting aside all the original factory parts in storage.  In his first season of racing, he made about 30 passes on three local strips, “occasionally dipping into the high 10-second range,” the dealer says.

“Sadly, that would be his one and only season as Bill suddenly passed away. When his widow passed in 1977, the couple’s son sold the car and all the original parts to Marvin Dillion, who, after returning it to its original configuration at 42 miles, drove it less than a single mile in the 16 years he owned it. 


“The car passed through three more caring owners before renowned Hemi specialist John Arruza of Thomasville, North Carolina, purchased it with 61 miles on the odometer. Arruza performed his magic on the car, refreshing it after its years of storage with a complete fluid change and tune-up and overhauling its carburetion system so that it once again performed as new. Arruza drove the car to 73 miles in the process of refining the car’s state of tune.”

The Cuda now stands in pristine original condition, brought back to factory spec and said to be dialed in for best performance and drivability.


“Today, it is the textbook definition of a time capsule; unmolested, original and in superb condition, with documentation that includes the factory broadcast sheet and a recorded verification of the numbers and codes,” the seller says. “For Hemi lovers, it’s the Holy Grail!”

Naturally, the Holy Grail Hemi Cuda is valued in the stratosphere, with the seller asking $1.2 million for this unique example of a highly desirable muscle car.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day

Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

20 COMMENTS

  1. I knew a guy who bought a new one of these back when they came out. He punched it once and it scared him so much he said he’d never do it again. From then on he drove it like a little old lady.
    I lost track of him after 15 years or so but the last I knew he still had it and treated it like his baby. I’ve often wondered what happened to him and that car.

  2. Great car!
    Needs totally restored with 80 miles. Yea right.
    Very hard to believe when they rolled it back should have put at least over a hundered or a thousand . Prolly was Craig Jackson’s at one time.

    Too many owners for the mileage wake up people.

  3. Ok great deal it’s sad so many greedy people in this world nothing but money and greed a fair price what u smoking car cost 4000 new prob

  4. A fool and his/her money will soon part. Let’s be realistic, the younger generation isn’t interested in these cars from the late sixties and the early seventies. And those of young enough to kinda remember them remember being able to grab one of them off of a used car lot in the 1980’s when no one wanted them. Back them the rage was cars from the late 40’s and 50’s or a real T-bucket.

    Time for these cars are nearing their end. The next trend will be the late 80’s and early 90’s Grand Nationals, real 5.0 mustangs, Z28 and Trans Ams.

    This seller is living a pipe dream.

    • You underestimate the love and pride people have for America’s first muscle cars. This affection will last for many more years.

      • Yes correct. However at these prices the younger generations cannot afford them and let’s face it you cannot drive them around on a daily basis like 80s-90s cars. The market for these at exuberant prices is dwindling and market corrections will be in line.

  5. I bought a Brand New 71″ Cuda 340 .. Sold it in 1984 in mint condition , by the way my car was Tor-Red. The car shown is no way Tor-Red ..

  6. This is NOT Tor Red. I had a 69 Roadrunner which was Tor Red & this Cuda looks like Hemi Orange. Also if you watch Meacum auctions there is no way this Cuda would bring 1.2 million- Maybe 200K.

    • Yeah seems that way so only the motor has that many miles on it which would mean the car should show alot more mile and they rolled it back simple as that don’t care what anyone says 5 maybe 6 owners during the 80’s-2020 and your saying not one of them drove it even though it wasn’t anything super special back then right makes sense.

  7. Forgot the ralley dash cuda did not come with stock non ralley dash. Jerry lohr (ben there done that) red wheels and red under hood not stock paint

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