70 HEMI 'CUDA " THE MOST SAUGHT AFTER OF ALL !! "

From 1966-71, Dodge stuffed their massive Hemi into the small E-Body platform and the 1970 Hemi 'Cuda is widely accepted as one of the most saught after of these. Only 652 were built when new, including 14 rare convertibles, making an original Hemi 'Cuda a rare sight. The Hemi 'Cuda was forced in scarcity due to the extra $900 it cost to build one-nearly a third of the standard purchase price. At $250, the 390 bhp 440 V8 became the norm and made the Hemi Cuda an exception. Motor Trend tested the 426 Hemi ’Cuda in their May 1970 issue, reaching 0-60 in 5.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 14 seconds at 102 mph. The long list of options made available for 1970 Barracudas included such goodies as a Track Pak with a 3.54:1 differential ratio, Rallye wheels, a range of exciting colors including Plum Crazy, pistol grip shifters, hockey stick sport stripes, hood pins and a variety of creature comforts. Of all the options, the R-code steet Hemi 426 was the most legendary Mopar engine. It typically delivered 425 bhp through the solid 727 Torqueflight automatic and a 3.55:1 Sure Grip rear axle. That is, unless the car was one of the 284 that got a 4-speed manual. With their classic shape, tire-shredding American power, limited production and huge popularity a 1970 Hemi 'Cuda can easily fetch over $150 000 USD. This is a remarkable amount for a car with the same build quailty as a mass-produced Plymouth. However, the aggressive sound of Hemi combined with visual street cred and Barrett-Jackson publicity now make these Cudas more expensive than most Ferraris produced in the same era. Changes for 1971 were minimal and included a more complex 6 inlet grille design and fender gill louvers. Only 100 or so of these were built and the seven ultra-rare 1971 convertibles are the most expensive muscle cars money can buy. In 72, the government and EPA kicked the muscle car in the ass with emissions regulations. After that time, no more Hemi or more big block models could be ordered

Thursday, August 13, 2009

All about me

Hi my name is Rob Holgate and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada where I lived most of my life and I am currently working on my new E-Store which is following my passion for Classic Cars, so I decided to create a store that would give fellow car buffs some collectible items they to can display for there love and passion of the classics too. I have been Car Crazy since as long as I can remember, as a kid I used to walk around and look at some of the gems of the past and see if they were 4 speeds and look to see what they had for engines and would dream of the day when I to would be able to sit behind the wheel of one of them. When I turned 14 I used to help out in an auto detailing shop and new cars would come in from the GM, Ford and Chrysler dealerships in the area for new car detailing for the lucky customers that had just purchased one of them. I remember so well to this day the look and sound of these cars from Z-28 Camaro's to Cougar Eliminators and a whole assortment of Chrysler products which I thought were the most awesome, I remember one of my most favorite was the Hemi Cuda which I had the privilege of asking to go for a ride back to the dealership with the salesman who came to pick-up this gem, as I was not old enough to even think of driving one of these cars, I can say it was a ride I will never forget trust me !!

When I got older I had various project cars which me and my buddies would tinker with and experiment with, what we could afford and would always be at the local speed shops of the day like J B's Automotive and Pacemaker High Performance Specialties buying what we though would make our cars faster and better some ideas worked as some did not, but it was all a learning experience. I always liked road racing over drag racing as I liked the challenge of taking corners at high speed, so not like my friends who were drag racers I ventured into joining a sports car club and trying my hand at import racing which I found out how fast and how much power you can get out of those small engines, I raced for a few years and must say had a lot of fun doing it.
My passion for American Muscle was still haunting me and the cost of road racing was becoming very expensive to be competitive so I took some time and bought and sold a few cars but I had not found anything that really excited me, I finally came across a very rare find at a local collector car auction and you know when you are at the right place at the right time. I was looking at different cars when I looked across the parking lot and could not believe what I saw and it was'nt even in the auction I walked over and could not believe what I was looking at was a 1967 Shelby GT 500 with the very rare 427 side oiler, the car was for sale but not in the auction I sat and waited until I saw a couple of guys wearing Shelby jackets and I had to assume they owned it, I made the deal and the next day was the proud owner of this classic. It had quite a history which I could talk about for a long time but to make a long story short it was a show car at the time, but I was not happy with it the way it was so over the next year it went into a complete restoration project and made it into a car show winner and it won many awards at local shows and our local World of Wheels yearly event, I owned that car for some 16 years but as time went on I realised it was time to let it go and I sold it in 1997. I never purchased another toy for about 6 years but as you know a car guy is always a car guy you are always searching for the next project.

Currently I own a 1969 Camaro RS which a nice car and not like the Shelby, is a car you can drive and have fun with, I said after
owning the Shelby that I would not get that carried away again and wanted something I could enjoy but not something you were
worried about all the time. We visit local car shows and it draws attention and we have fun with it we have taken it on highway trips but with the price of fuel as you all know can get pricy, but that is the joys of owning a classic. I have done some upgrades suspension, brakes etc. but that is all it needs for now I have some plans for the future but that will be another story, for now I am working on my E-Store which is under construction I will keep you posted when it is complete and then I would would love all of you to visit my website at http://robbiestees.com/ and also visit http://www.zazzle.com/robbiestees and check out some of the new creations that we are working on, these and more will also be available on my website in the future. Share some of your stories on this blog about your adventures in the Classic Car World of the past, present and the future, to all you " Car Crasy " people have a Great Day !!! til we talk again ............................

Rob
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