If money were no object....

[grdprx]

I'd get a 68 Hemi Charger 4 speed if money were no object.  Have a hard time deciding which color, maybe this burgundy one.  I'd keep my current 440 68 as a daily driver.   

[426HemiChick]

23 June 2026 1651 MST

In 1972 I returned from living in Japan. I was supposed to go to Europe after my vacation. After having spent 9 years of my life at sea, I resigned from my. DOD contract and bought a Service Station.

In so doing we bought the Hemi Daytona and about a week or so later we bought our 70 Hemi Cuda 4 Spd.

The Cuda looked Hot, ran well after removing the junk the previous owner installed on the engine. It was fun rodding around town but sucked on trips longer than 20 miles. A 4:10 rear is not ideal for lengthy romps.

Eventually, we sold it just to get rid of it. Turned out to be one expensive mistake. Can't win them all.

Sometime in 06 a gentleman came to our house asking if we wanted to sell the Daytona. I asked how he knew about the Daytona. Turned out a neighbor that was an enthusiast was talking to the guy that stopped by and told him about our car. If you want something to remain a secret, don't share your secret with anyone.

Eventually, we agreed to allow this person to see the car. We cleaned it up a bit, took all the stuff that was piled on top and made it possible for the prospective buyer to view it. Told the guy to come Sunday afternoon. He showed up with a guy that knew a lot about Daytonas.

They came and we allowed them to look the Daytona over. The guy that came along verified the car was legit. The principal wanted to know what we wanted for it. I told him we wanted $1.6 Mil. He said: "That's a bit high." I told him if you look around here there are no For-Sale signs. You came to me, if you want it that's the price. If that's too much, tough shit, it's not for sale.

What he didn't know is how much I knew about him. He was a convicted felon, was involved in an insurance scam that netted the Governor of Louisiana and one of his cohorts prison sentences while the sleaze-bag trying to buy our Daytona ended up with a Felony conviction and 10 years probation.

I think he still lives in Southlake Texas in a home about 1000 feet from the house we owned at that time. I figured he was going to try and do a flim flam deal to steal our Daytona. That would have been a serious blunder on his part.

If you're interested, do a little online research on the: "Louisiana Governor's insurance scam."

Last I heard the prospect was still scamming.

What happened to our Cuda? That's another story for another time.

Enjoy

C

[bakerhillpins]

I asked how he knew about the Daytona. Turned out a neighbor that was an enthusiast was talking to the guy that stopped by and told him about our car. If you want something to remain a secret, don't share your secret with anyone.

Went to a car show across the state, (NH isn't all that big, lol) I think the registration for the show asked for the town I lived in and name. I won the Chrysler category but the organizers had trophy issues and it wasn't handed out. Whatever, I didn't actually care. 3 months later a guy knocks on my door. Turns out he was part of the club that ran the show. He drove though town for business, brought the trophy, stopped a the local market and asked about a black Charger. They sent him right to me. Small towns, if you want to drive it, it's going to be known.

[426HemiChick]

Monday 29 June 2026 1706 MST

Here we go with the 4 Spd 70 Hemi Cuda story.

Not long after we bought the 69 Hemi Daytona in Hemi Orange w/Black trim, Auto tran, we were getting ready to buy a big Harley. My buddy and I headed out the door into the garage. I heard the telephone ring so I went back in and answered it. No cell phones in those days. It was the owner of the Hemi Cuda wanting to know if I still wanted it. We made a deal on the phone so I dropped the Harley idea and met up with the Cuda owner.

He was a UPS driver that bought the Cuda from a friend of mine who Worked for Ray Thomas Chrysler Plymouth in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio who sold him the car when it was new.

We agreed on a price and I bought it a few days later. The Harley idea went out the window.

After we got it we did a good bit of work on it. It ran like crap so we replaced the Mallory ignition, plug wires with Mopar originals. It was like we bought a new car. Had fun running around town with it. Taught myself how to do a "Bootlegger's Turn," which surprised a few folks that were almost a nutty as I was.

I made a trip to Columbus Ohio one week, taking the Cuda instead of the Daytona. What a rude awakening that was. Running 70 on I 71 was a real awakening. It wasn't meant for anything except rodding around town trying to be "Cool." I was 32 at that time and had my head where my ass was.

Didn't take long befor the novelty wore off. At the time I was living with a good looking gal with big Boobs and a brain diametrically opposite. She left for work early in the AM and I remained in bed. All of a sudden I heard this trerrible sound of metal being crunched. A short while later the phone rang and it was "Miss Einstein" on the phone telling me she scratched my car a little. I got dressed and went down to view the "Scratch." The scratch turned out to be a huge gouge along the driver's door and rear quarter. I'll leave out the conversation she and I had over this "minor" incident. Believe me, there were others as I rapidly figured out big tits were not symbolic of one's mental acuity.

As time went on the Cuda was used infrequently and became a burden storing it. Put it up For-Sale and sold it to some young hot shot. Wrote a very creative ad for the Akron Beacon Journal. Someone on the site found it and posted it on this site.

The day came for the kid that bought it to trade me his bucks for my orange noisy Hemi Cuda. I gave him the title and keys after he gave me his money. He hopped in the Cuda, started it, backed out of the driveway and burned rubber down the street and up the hill. My first thoughts were: "This ain't going to end well."

Never saw the car again. One day a friend stopped by and told me he had seen the Cuda. I asked him where he saw it. He said: "In a wrecking yard all rolled up in a ball." That jived with my thoughts as he burned rubber on his trip home with his new prize.

I have checked the VIN and it doesn't show up anywhere. Never found out what happened to "Mister Cuda Boy." Forgot to ask if the kid was still in the "Cuda Ball".

Take Care

C