Читать книгу Lost Muscle Cars - Wes Eisenschenk - Страница 20

1971 Rallye Red Hemicuda Convertible

By Wade Ogle

As a young man, Morgan (last name omitted for privacy) was involved in a terrible accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. As part of his insurance settlement, he decided to buy a new car. With money to spend and a new lease on life, his new car had to be fast and had to be a convertible.

Because of economic, safety, and environmental concerns, by 1971, the muscle car era was waning and convertibles were fading into obscurity, so Morgan’s prospects were thin. Chrysler no longer offered convertibles on its new B-Body line, and for this year Dodge chose to limit the engine size on its E-Body Challenger convertibles to 383 ci. In terms of ultra-performance, this left just one option: the vaunted Hemi engine in a 1971 Plymouth ’Cuda convertible.

Sure to bring your blood pressure up . . . This is what it looks like discovering the last missing 1971 Hemicuda convertible. (Photo Courtesy Wade Ogle Archive)

The Order Specs

Morgan went to Bill Luke’s Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Phoenix, Arizona. He discussed his physical situation with the sales manager, who agreed to install hand controls for him to operate the gas and brake pedals on his new car. Satisfied, Morgan ordered a code BS27 ’Cuda convertible with the stout 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission.

As part of the ’Cuda package, Morgan’s car was automatically equipped with chrome hood pins, dual exhaust, and chrome exhaust tips. He chose FE5 Rallye Red for his new ride, along with a V3X black convertible top. He loaded the order sheet with convenience options, including Power Steering, Console with Slap-Stik shifter handle, six-way adjustable driver’s seat, black leather interior with bucket seats, power top, Light Package Group, AM/FM Multiplex Stereo, undercoating, tinted windows, and V5X vinyl side moldings.

For optimal performance he selected the top-of-the-line A34 Super Track Pak axle package that included power front disc brakes, the Maximum Cooling package, Hemi suspension, and 4.10 gears in a bulletproof Dana 9.75-inch housing with Sure-Grip differential.

And last, of critical importance, he upgraded from the 383 to the top-of-the-line E74 engine option. By selecting this box he had equipped his bright red ’Cuda with the most powerful engine ever installed in a convertible pony car: the 426-ci 425-hp Hemi. This included the menacing Shaker hood, a Hemi-only F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, and other Hemi-specific accoutrements.

One of Seven

Chrysler’s production figures reveal that for U.S.–ordered cars in 1971, only six other individuals made this same E74 selection in the BS27 ’Cuda convertible. Of these seven prized vehicles, two 1971 Hemicuda convertibles were equipped with 4-speed transmissions and five others, including Morgan’s, were supplied with automatics.

Because the 1972 model year saw Chrysler’s discontinuation of both the ’Cuda convertible and the Hemi engine option, these seven pinnacle U.S.-shipped cars, along with five others exported to Canada and Europe, were the last and arguably greatest cars ever produced during the muscle car era.

Even when ordered, the guys at Bill Luke’s dealership knew it was a special car. They had never ordered anything like it before, and it was a huge event when the transporter finally arrived. The dealership team installed the requisite hand controls and Morgan was off on his first short trip, which was literally across the street, where the car was immediately fitted with headers, traction bars, and mag wheels.

From Weekender to Lost

To the chagrin of Bill Luke’s service team, the car, now equipped with Arizona license plates (PTE-971), became a fixture at the dealership on Monday mornings. Morgan generally picked up his car on Friday and proceeded to tear it up over the weekend. Monday morning, like clockwork, he brought it back for some sort of warranty repair, often with the interior filled with empty beer cans. By Friday the cycle started all over again.

This punishment didn’t last long, and in early 1973 the ’Cuda was sold to its second owners, Bill and Bob Graham, for $1,700. They had wanted a Corvette convertible and couldn’t find one, so they settled for this car instead. The first thing they did was to remove the hand controls. The original transmission was having problems and they took it back to Bill Luke for warranty repair, but the dealership said no. The dealership had had enough of this car, so the Grahams performed the swap themselves.

During one long, overheating trip from Phoenix to Reno, the Graham brothers accidentally left the Shaker bubble at a gas station. They later decided to fill the gaping hole in the hood with a homemade tunnel ram setup. They put dirt tires and high-lift leaf-spring shackles on the rear and turned their ’Cuda into a desert dune buggy of sorts.

Just two years later, the Graham brothers traded the four-year-old ’Cuda for a 1967 tri-power Corvette convertible, finally fulfilling their dream. Less than a year later, the ’Cuda was for sale again, this time for $1,900. The Grahams considered buying it back, as it looked the same except for a hole in the rear convertible window, but they couldn’t come up with the cash.

And poof! For the next 30 years the car disappeared into oblivion.

Search Leads

Fast forward to the spring of 2005. By this time the value of these rare cars was in the stratosphere, literally in the millions, after having experienced price doubling each of the previous five years. As this happened, all of the 1971 Hemicuda convertibles had surfaced, except this one. Because Chrysler’s U.S. production numbers were fairly well documented, it was known that seven of these cars were manufactured for the United States, but only six were accounted for. One equipped with an automatic was still missing.

The hunt for this “missing” car was on. Rumors were flying that this car had been shipped to England. Another rumor was that it had been a race car in the Midwest. No stones were left unturned. Because the seven-digit VIN prefix for all 1971 Hemicuda convertibles is the same, all these VINs start with BS27R1B. People with resources used this partial info to scan DMV and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) records, trying to be the first to find this car. Without a specific VIN number, these efforts were fruitless. Everybody dreamed about finding this renegade car in a barn somewhere, but by now hope was waning, and in the back of everyone’s minds, they suspected that this car’s life had ended in the crusher long ago. With prices so high, what other explanation could there be?

Phoenix Karma

That’s not to say that the whereabouts of this elusive machine were a total secret. As with any well-kept secret, of course, some people are in the know. Two of these individuals were Dave Blake and Charlie Grant, both from Phoenix.

From the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, Dave Blake had the foresight to hunt out and buy as many Hemicuda and Challenger convertibles as possible, going so far as to place want ads in Hemmings Motor News. After years of hunting, Dave was eventually successful; by the mid-1980s he claimed five prized examples, including a 1970 Hemi Challenger convertible, three 1970 Hemicuda convertibles, and a 1971 Hemicuda convertible.

At the beginning of Dave’s mission, production totals were not publicly known, and hunting for cars nationwide was difficult. During these early efforts, Dave came to one critical realization: He knew these cars were far more rare than the general public thought, because try as he might, he simply couldn’t find one to buy.

This early effort led to an unbelievable chance meeting in Phoenix in 1977. On one side was Dave Blake, a young man actively scouring the nation for a Hemicuda convertible. And on the other side was Bill Graham, previous owner of one of these rare automobiles. These two guys were both street racers, and on this day they bumped into each other on the hot Phoenix asphalt. Car chatter ensued and eventually Dave brought up his quest for a Hemicuda convertible. Bill’s reply? “Oh, I used to own one of those.”

Dave was in shock. Could this be true? Or was this more bench-racing talk? Dave’s doubts forced Bill to prove his point. Bill sped off and shortly returned carrying an old insurance slip. Sure enough there it was, the magical BS27R1B VIN prefix along with serial number 337604 suffix proving the car’s existence. Dave had been unsuccessfully combing the world for one of these unicorns only to find out there was one right in his own backyard the whole time!

As a fun side note, this discussion led Dave and Bill to become friends, and Dave introduced Bill to his sister. So the car’s legacy laid the groundwork for them to become brothers-in-law.

A 30-Year Secret

Dave, now armed with the car’s VIN, went straight to the Phoenix DMV. This was 1977, before any privacy concerns, and for the princely sum of $2 Dave received a comprehensive printout detailing the car’s current ownership. The current owner was Charlie Grant, right there in Phoenix. What were the odds?

Turns out, Charlie had been the buyer of this ’Cuda just one year earlier, shortly after the Graham brothers had turned it down. Charlie had the original Hemi engine for the car, but it was damaged and sitting on a stand in his garage. The early years had not been kind, and after another year on the road under Charlie’s watch, the car was beginning to show its age. With only 20,000 miles showing on the odometer, Charlie placed the car into long-term hibernation in 1977, planning to restore it someday.

And of equal importance, Charlie was a very private individual and didn’t want anybody to know about his hidden treasure. But Dave Blake knew, and beginning in 1977, he tried for years to buy the car, to no avail. Still, this secret was safe. Charlie was extremely private, and Dave had nothing to gain by revealing this hidden treasure. This unspoken secret alliance lasted for nearly 30 years.

And a Revelation

During the spring of 2004, Dave and his father took their most prized possession, their 1971 Hemicuda convertible, to the Spring Fling car show in Van Nuys, California. Dave had been following the recent surge in prices and had already turned down huge offers for his car. But this day was different.

Two special people were in attendance, Bill Wiemann and Charlie Grant. Charlie had come to see what all this fuss was about, knowing that sitting in his garage was the “missing” car everybody was looking for. And Bill Wiemann? Well, at this time Bill was both a successful businessman and a Hemi convertible buyer extraordinaire, at this moment being the owner of 3 of the 12 1971 Hemicuda convertibles ever produced. And on this day, Bill had his sights set on Dave’s 1971, to add a fourth to his stable.

In exchange for Dave’s pinnacle car, and in full public display, Bill dropped the bomb. He offered Dave $2.5 million and a P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Dave and the rest of the world were floored, because at that very moment they had all just witnessed the price for these rare 1971 Hemicuda convertibles double yet again.

The Earth shook, and everybody felt it. Most important, onlooker Charlie Grant felt it, and Dave now knew that there was no way he would ever be able to buy Charlie’s car. Dave’s secret was no longer valuable, and it was finally time to let the rest of the world in on it. Dave politely rejected Bill’s offer, but as a consolation he told Bill his secret: the existence and whereabouts of the “missing” 1971.

As you can imagine, this sent Bill into a tizzy. Bill, like a bull in a China shop, stormed up to Charlie demanding answers. This strategy backfired, and a subdued Charlie flatly denied all existence of the car. But Bill now knew the truth, and acting like a rabid treasure hunter, he was not deterred. For the next year, Bill hounded Charlie, all to no avail. Bill even went so far as to do a property ownership search on Charlie, and then flew his private helicopter over Charlie’s properties trying to catch sight of this elusive machine. Charlie still kept quiet, to Bill’s frustration.

Lost No More

The day finally came in early 2006. Bill, also now living in Phoenix, had driven his fleet of Hemi ragtops to the local Pavillions car show. Charlie Grant was on site as well and saw how well Bill cared for his cars. Charlie also recognized that although he owned this fantastic vehicle he would not have the means to restore it with the care and attention it required. It was time.

Charlie met with Bill and told him that yes, he did in fact own the “missing” 1971, and it was at his shop in town. No time was wasted, a deal was struck, and the last of the U.S.–ordered Hemicuda convertibles finally returned to the public eye after 33 years of hibernation.

A few years earlier, I had purchased a different car from Bill Wiemann, and that transaction had gone smoothly by both parties, so I felt comfortable contacting him again.

Having owned the car only for a few weeks, Bill was understandably still riding the high because of his new find, but he could be persuaded. He had agreed to publicly debut the car at the Chryslers of Carlisle show in just two months and was frantically rushing to get the car ready. I agreed to honor his commitment, and we struck a deal. The “missing” Hemicuda convertible was now mine, and the debut at the Carlisle show was a resounding success.

The hunt for the last known 1971 Hemicuda convertible had finally come to an end.

Restored to its “as-original” condition, this 1971 Hemicuda Convertible is on the very short list of most coveted muscle cars for collectors. (Wade Ogle Photo)