1971 Plymouth Hemicuda Convertible: Muscle Car Of The Week Episode 209

[@v8purrr92]

Who would have thought back in 1971 that in 46 years some yellow Plymouth would cost more than any Rolls Royce of the same model year?

[@livewire2759]

Who? Me, that's who. They would've all called me crazy though...

[@Anonymous12465]

Regardless, I would have bought this and kept it forever if I lived back then.

[@johntoth7048]

I had a 73 Cuda when I was in my 20's. I hated to sell it in 1982, but I was raising little ones and needed a station wagon. Now that the kids have all grown up, I bought myself a 2015 Dodge Challenger, and ordered it to look like my old Cuda; red with black R/T side stripes. I feel like I'm in my 20's again everytime I drive it.

[@MBailey1977]

I'm a Chevy fan but this car is just amazing! The first time I ever really noticed a cuda was from Nash Bridges!

[@the70442]

They actually tried to aquire this car in the production of Nash Bridges

[@davehibbs9111]

My 71 cuda convertible, I bought mine in 1978 for $2000 dollars, however I had the 440!! Automatic same color combo! Sold it in 2005 needing lots of work for $135,000 dollars.....

[@mtntime1]

I've always thought the 440 is an all around better engine than the "legendary" 426 hemi. Dual quads for the street, as in the 4 speed dual quad positraction 409, really don't make sense. Too much carbeuretion at low rpm, tend to bog out. Meanwhile, the 440 is revving, only opening the secondaries when the motor can actually use them. But the Hemi gets all the hype.

[@mtntime1]

Shoulda kept 'er. But, you already know that..

[@DisneyUpBoilerUp]

Ahhh .. the Icon of Nash Bridges 😎

[@billkerstein1637]

Always liked them from day one but never saw enough of them. This one Rocks!

[@glenanhorn3671]

Wow! 1 of eleven! Nicest muscle car made.....period.

[@rickbailey189]

One these exact models sold for 3.5 million at MECUM in Seattle-2014

[@chrisspearline767]

Only 11 of these ever produced but the rarest of the rare is the 4 speed manual hemi convertible Cuda with only 3 ever made

[@justinsanders2705]

That's a nice car bubba. Nash would approve. 💪

[@paulw.woodring7304]

"Five-George-Thirty-One in pursuit!"

[@rjwintl]

saw a blue one on Mecum auctions go for $3.5 million !!!

[@fasteddie4010]

The perfect muscle car made in a museum of art❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@claiborneeastjr4129]

Super rare, super nice, super desirable. It would be even more so if it had a 4-speed gearbox.

[@derekfirt5306]

I love that you guys obviously love mopars more than anything!!!

[@pauleannetta4063]

Love the White Interior!

[@judeurioste6835]

My pops has this car but in hemi orange 🔥

[@TechSeller]

IMO the best car ever! I was Buick guy! late 60s, early 70s CUDA!

[@andreinikitin3262]

Like Nash Bridges)

[@livewire2759]

ooooooo, ahhhhhhhh. Very nice. Excellent rant by the way, and excellent video overall. Too bad the trans wasn't a 4 speed though....

[@gf4353]

The blue one is a 4 sp. Only 2 4sp.s

[@generalpatton8468]

Anyone else got Nash Bridges vibes?

[@Tonefiend]

I saw a yellow '71 Hemi cuda convertible driving down the 163 in San Diego in 1991. Wonder if it was this one.

[@DoudD]

There's obviously a good side/bad side to the high market value of old musclecars...or most any other specialty cars. In the end, though, I agree with Kevin. It keeps more neat old cars on the road. Corvettes are an excellent illustration. I can remember a time when only the C1 and C2 cars were considered “worthy”. As they became expensive those wanting a Corvette-on-a-budget found C3 cars still affordable. They eventually popular and “worth saving”, at least the early versions. The mid-70s cars were still looked down on....until the early C3s became a bit expensive. Then the mid-70s cars became popular and worth saving....as opposed to being left to rot behind the barns and sheds of America. As muscle cars in general became expensive hobbyists started discovering that ordinary Skylarks, Tempests, Fairlanes....and even Studebaker Larks and other plain-jane cars....were pretty cool, too. As a result, more and more of those are lavished with attention and kept on the road and looking great. It wasn't all that long ago that a Dodge Dart Swinger with a slant-6 and three-on-the-tree would've been sent to the boneyard without a second thought. Now, though, it's all the rage to save such cars. In fact, they often draw a lot of attention at car shows. All boats float higher when the tide rises.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

I agree with you about the motivation to save the also rans of the collector car hobby. I read thru your comment and memories flooded back of not only the '67 427 Vette Roadster i owned but also my '62 Studebaker Lark Daytona drop top. 425 Dual Quad Nail Head 4 speed. Also agree about convertibles with hot engines. What can be better on a nice spring, summer or fall day? Cruising top down in a sharp muscle car with the sweet exhaust note burbling out of duals out back. I have owned a few and why is a Hemi 'Cuda convertible thought such a strange concept yet has anyone thought the same about Corvette Roadsters like my Forest Green '67 with 427 and 4 speed? The last ragtop i owned was a 1966 Alfa Romeo and in it's own way it was just as awesome. DOHC all alloy strong running 1600cc with a 5 speed in a blazing red little roadster with black ragtop and interior and performance and build quality that has kept me an Alfa enthusiast for life.

[@jonathancohen479]

I couldn't agree with Kevin more on this point of the high-end cars (like this HemiCuda) keeping the muscle car hobby viable and alive. There are some theories that when the Baby Boomers die out, muscle cars will become a thing of the past...WRONG! That's like saying Tiffany glass or Faberge eggs will eventually stop being venerated antiques. Some things stand the test of time due to their incomparable nature, and the HemiCuda is one such thing.

[@romans828.]

This baby boomer will not let that happen!

[@romans828.]

And a microphone to dictate your thoughts while you drop the hammer on the 426 ... Haha reminds me of the mister microphone back in the day commercial, guys riding in a convertible with the microphone says" hey babe well be right back" or something 80's like that!

[@jurisprudence5259]

could it really record the radio though like he says in the video?

[@paulcharles6474]

Here is a little fact It's been said that you 4 possibly 6 cars for the Nash Bridges shows They all looked alike and not a single one of them was a hemi They gave the impression to the people who watch the show that they were

[@Roberta_Esposito]

just heard they werent even ‘71s 🙀🙀🙀

[@chrisspearline767]

They weren't even Cudas they were Barracudas made to look the part

[@SteveHolsten]

This 'Cuda is precious!

[@haleydog8]

Surprised by the lack of detailing around the console shifter. I would've expected the interior to match the exterior level of polish and shine.

[@carmello1207]

LOOKS LIKE NASH BRIDGES HEMI CUDA CONVERTIBLE ON THE T.V. SERIES!!!!

[@Roberta_Esposito]

yes , and Both Douches called this a “ 1970”🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@ronaldmoparornocar9590]

Same year different color this is lemon twist Nash Bridges was bahama yellow aka (butterscotch)

[@ronaldmoparornocar9590]

Oh and all the Nash Bridges cars were 1970 barracudas turned in to 1971s..... just so you know

[@victorxavier9977]

I remember when this car was sold for big money in the late eighties by a guy from CT. As a young man I had a picture of this very car on my bedroom wall through the late 80's and 90's, beautiful car!

[@gf4353]

Steve Seigel

[@markdobek2307]

This car was in my driveway

[@Roberta_Esposito]

im from Providence . begged dad to buy me 71 from my neighbor in 1983.... wait_____ $600... i was 14

[@celsoprincipal351]

very beautiful car.

[@Taka-lr4ff]

beautiful!! great！👍

[@stevebrackett2676]

Great review of an awesome car! Thanks.

[@jeremythompson9895]

Awesome car but always preferred B-Body Mopars( Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Super Bee, GTX, Roadrunner). Better weight transfer for drag racing than the lighter Cuda and Challenger R/T

[@Perry_Fan]

So freaking beautiful, i have a 70 340 Grand Coupe Cuda Convertible and its beautiful too 😉

[@stratoleft]

You can blame the car. It is the best looking car ever made.

[@petemedina8446]

Fabulous car love it and I agree with what you said about value and want.

[@drm9979]

well said!

[@robdawg7183]

Wonderful car.great video

[@garymatthews1280]

Beautiful car and I think this series is great. As for the value and daily drivability of these cars, well I'll stick to the present day descendants. Hemi's have been back for a while now. And even my 2015 Mustang GT makes a little more horsepower. Sure would be nice if it's worth 7 figures 10 years from now. (Not holding my breath)...

[@billthompson5644]

I'll keep my 69GTX440. 2 Owner

[@my1vice]

In 1986, I bought a '70 Cougar Cobra Jet and a '69 Firebird 400 for $6,500 total..... LoL.

[@rrmech11]

beautiful

[@WOLF10307]

My older Brother owned a Hemi Cuda back in the 70's got it used in 76 and it was a hardtop.He thought the convertibles were more aimed at the chicks back then.

[@breezy0037]

not a mopar guy but DAAAAAAANG!!

[@bobsilver3983]

Nash Bridges

[@yzfx]

You bet bubba

[@kenphillips6550]

It’s crazy that the Hemi was rated at 425 horsepower but the true horsepower was found to be closer to 500.

[@bartschwartz7217]

Steve segil’s old hemi sold for $300.000 back in mid 80’s

[@alecksdj]

Nash Bridges ???

[@robtheoutsider]

Nashman

[@astrogen1960]

I don't know, even the survivor basket cases from the 60's, are demanding high dollars, relatively speaking. You might as well build one with all aftermarket parts and not worry about collector value. At least you'd have something brand new that you could actually drive and enjoy, rather than just letting it sit in a garage somewhere, worrying about ruining it's value by driving it. With all due respect, Kevin, I think there would be enthusiasts cars available to us today, even without the over inflated investors market.

[@burtbenz9964]

Barracooodah!

[@brianonthego]

Nash....

[@shoominati23]

Man the prices on these are just bombing right now, especially if they are an original unmolested A12

[@howarddavis1307]

The cuda and the challenger were truly beautiful cars but as the road testers said back in the day said they performed ok but the 440 are 383 was a better all around car even 340 cars are great I was never a big fan off the hemi I think it’s over rated✌🏿

[@jurisprudence5259]

it needed 4.10s to come into it's own. not very street friendly. with a 440 u can run a 2.71 and still blow everyone's doors off

[@SolamenteVees]

Highland Park Hummingbird at 3:59

[@heavenhelpus479]

A purple one of these sold for over 3 mil.

[@chiefbobdavis99]

Had a 71 cuda 383 4bbl 4 speed. Not a ragtop though…

[@anthonyk1234]

Yeah the crazy price increase has ruined it for normal people.

[@roryschweinfurter2601]

Isn't that the same car Don Johnson drove on Nash Bridges

[@sahyadubowik6808]

because ferrari testarossa

[@roryschweinfurter2601]

The testarosa was the car he drove on Miami Vice. He had the yellow 'Cuda in Nash Bridges

[@boyczk2]

Weren't there 14 convertibles?

[@relaxinmaxin7246]

I thought it had a hockey stick

[@ytpmichaelrosen9190]

Homer's 1970s sports car from The Simpsons Hit and Run.

[@davidknighttv6752]

Nash bridges cuda

[@kurtweggler4880]

You blew it at 22 seconds in calling this car a '1970' 'cuda convertible.

[@coloradodriveshaft8833]

Kurt Weggler Cut Kevin Oeste some slack, I picked up on it too, overall he does a great job of narrating. He always sounds sincere and knowledgeable. At least he did not say ‘69 Cuda. Now that would have been bad.

[@wildestcowboy2668]

@@coloradodriveshaft8833 I'm glad you told that Joe Biden loving gun banning clown off

[@jurisprudence5259]

here i thought, when he said 70 Cuda, I thought he was going to say that it was one of the few 70 Cudas, that was converted to 1971 spec, for the Nash Bridges series TV show (or a Nash car wannabe that was a 70 originally)

[@nopolleyanna]

I owned a 71 convertible c'uda way back, it was not AUTOMATIC, like really!

[@Dogboy1960]

Actually.......you CAN afford a '70 Hemi Cuda on a more modest budget. While you can't buy the real thing at a reasonable price.......you can build a clone for something reasonable.

[@johnkrout8131]

Yea right, 1014 total convertibles built in 71 minus the 374 that were cudas , and that might get you a 50k pile of rust.!

[@Dogboy1960]

@@johnkrout8131 If it's got to be convertible.......it will cost you more that's a fact I wouldn't ever dispute. "Reasonable" is a Moving target and it means something different to each person who reads it. When I posted was referring to hemi Cuda's in general. If you want a 70-74 Cuda it doesn't ever come to you really cheap. While it doesn't have to go over $100,000 ... you're likely going to come close to that figure for a car done "right" and it is easy to top it if you can't do most of the work yourself. You figure in paint, body and a all the mechanical stuff and no car goes together on the "cheap". If you can't handle that price tag then this isn't isn't the car for you. How-ever I'd still argue $100,000 or just under is still a decent price tag for a Hemi car you can actually drive that looks and drives "good". I'm sure you are aware that even the REAL hard tops go for much bigger price tags too these days. Building a "clone" is really the only reasonable option if you want an actual "driver" for sunny Sunday afternoons. True Collectibles are too valuable to drive and you definitely don't want to "beat on 'em" as was originally intended. Blowing up a matching numbers engine to the point where it can't be saved would be catastrophic to your investment in the car. Today you can buy a carburated Hemi Crate motor of this vintage over the dodge parts counter and it's makes a CRAP LOAD more power than the original anyway. Building something like this never comes really cheap but it doesn't have to cost $500,000 and up. Best of all when you're done......you 've got a better car anyway. You can drive it and hurting anything while beating on it doesn't destroy the value of a Clone.

[@johnkrout8131]

4 to 5k in 71 was alot but man what a investment, 3.5 mil for your trouble, holy grail !!

[@johnkrout8131]

Passed up 71barracuda conv in 85 to buy 70 v code shaker super trac pak car, bought same 71 conv 12 yrs ago but at 10 times the price but hey try finding one thats not cloned or beyond fixing. Love those Cuda's

[@Dogboy1960]

@@johnkrout8131 The problem is nobody knows at the time what will be "in demand" and "in short supply" both so many years later. It's not especially hard to see why a Hemi car, hard top or soft top goes for so very much today and there are so few other muscle cars that approach or match the auction prices. Chrysler was a DISTANT #3 finisher in sales during the Muscle car era. So when you ask why a Chrome Bumper Mustang or Camaro doesn't even come close to the selling prices you find your answer in how many survive of each example. Ironic ......the cars few people wanted back in the day vs the alternatives end up fetching the BIG MONEY years later. There are other examples. One of the 8 original Convertible '69 Trans Ams would easily fetch $1 million or more........and if the ONLY '69 ZL1 Corvette in private hands ever sees the auction block.......it'll not only be the most expensive Corvette ever sold it likely also tops all muscle cars including the Convertible Hemi Barracudas by far. It's all about "exclusivity" for the collectors when talking a desirable model of car. For us regular folks though......Clones are the way to go.....assuming you want to actually be able to take your car out in traffic and have some fun with it.

[@romans828.]

Nothing cool as a Vert!

[@relaxinmaxin7246]

Was this the car those brothers drove to Reno and left the air cleaner at a motel after trying to repair the warrantied elephant to get it back to Arizona?

[@terribelbliss9646]

I had an 81 J2000 it was awful.

[@jeffjackson9679]

Same here! Even with the 4 speed it was a slow rusty POS.

[@pdennis93]

No you didnt The J2000 came out in 1982.

[@stratoleft]

How many fakes did "nash bridges" drive?

[@kevinpatrick8788]

none of the cudas used for the series were factory hemi cudas due to their super low production numbers. they were mostly barracudas with 318 engines ..

[@eugenejulson8742]

The bus company called. They want their paint back.

[@derekfirt5306]

At the beginning you mean a 1971 not 1970 lol

[@robd1859]

It's a great start but I don't like the yellow. But that's not the reason I would Not by it. The real reason that it's no deal and I would not buy this car is that it's an automatic. I will never buy a car that expensive in an automatic. Automatics are granny transmissions.

[@halmerch2229]

Eehh I think a bunch of rich dudes hoarding these cars as investments, and nothing more, is kind of sad...

[@MuscleCarOfTheWeek]

That would be sad, if it were true. The owners of these cars know every detail about every car they have, and are the biggest Muscle Car enthusiasts we know. Is there an investment side of the sport? Sure, you don't want to spend money on something and have it lose value, but the owners of these cars fully enjoy them and utilize our show to share them with other Muscle Car fans. Stay tuned for the opening of their museum and you can go check the cars out in person.

[@halmerch2229]

MuscleCarOfTheWeek I bet the brothers are passionate about these cars, and yes I'm looking forward to the museum.

[@stratoleft]

You screwed up the shaker intake with the gray-ish silver color crap. Leave it the color that matches the back panel, nitwits.

[@gloriakelley1001]

I was born in 1971 don't own one

[@stratoleft]

Take the fog lights off. It ruins the looks.

[@stratoleft]

You run your mouth in regards to the former cars, or interest in them, and the entire time you running your mouth, you fail to even mention the Plymouth Duster?

[@hornetbrown]

Nice but enough with the burnouts.

[@cliffordjones9715]

Mopar for life

[@a.v.3008]

Nash Bridges