Restorations - Cuda Brothers

Classic Auto Restorations and Customization

“Preserving the Barracuda Legend” is our passion and auto restorations are part of achieving our mission. If you are looking to renew your youth, drive a car that no one else on the planet has, or looking for the thrill of your life, contact us if you are looking for a car or truck to restore.

We often hear about old muscle cars sitting in garages, barns, or sitting in a field rotting away. You will get to it some day. Really? The time is now to make it happen. Contact us if you are interested in starting the discussion.

We restore and customize Muscle Cars, Classics, and Trucks of all makes and models.

There are two points of view when it comes to auto restorations and customizations. An auto restoration is reviving a car and bringing it back to original condition. The other is customizing an old classic with upgrades to give it a modern day ride, comfort, reliability, and a lot more power. Contact us if you would like recommendations on which direction to go.

‘Cuda Brothers – Preserving the Barracuda Legend

Numbers Matching 55,000 Mile 1972 Plymouth ’Cuda

Before Auto Restoration

1972 Plymouth ‘Cuda

After Auto Restoration

1972 Plymouth ‘Cuda

This 1972 Plymouth ‘Cuda restoration was done in 1984 and still looks great. We are OK with customizing old muscle cars, but this is one that had to be brought back to as close to original as possible with only 55,000 miles to date. It is a numbers matching 340 ‘Cuda along with the factory original automatic transmission, radiator, rear end and many other parts.

After a long search, an OEM front fender was found along with one chrome piece just below the rear quarter panel window. It’s much easier to get after market parts today then it was back then, but putting in the effort to keep it original was well worth it.

The ‘Cuda was stripped down to the shell and all the paint was removed to the metal. It was brought back to life with 6 base coats of paint followed by 6 clear coats. Many restorations include seat covers but that was not good enough for this one. The seats were professionally reupholstered and the difference is noticeable. The vinyl top was redone along with the headliner. It was all finished with a new set of Mopar Rallye wheels.

‘Cudas and Barracudas are extremely rare and finding one as close to original as this one is almost impossible. The attention that Barracudas get is incredible and this one is no exception. It gathers a crowd wherever you go. When was the last time you saw a ‘Cuda?

‘Cuda Brothers – Preserving the Barracuda Legend

Incredible History of an AAR Tribute Plymouth ’Cuda

’Cuda Brothers Company Car

This AAR Tribute ‘Cuda was purchased with the intention of completing the restoration of what appeared to be in really great shape. ‘Cuda Brother Sam bought the ‘Cuda and ‘Cuda Brother Dan found the car. Sam purchased the ‘Cuda for two reasons. The first is because it is a ‘Cuda and it was for sale. The second reason is because the 340ci engine in this ‘Cuda was very important to ‘Cuda Brothers Sam and Dan.

AAR Plymouth ‘Cuda Tribute

The Importance of this 340ci Engine

Dan was driving along and happened to see a red ‘Cuda with an AAR paint scheme pass the other direction. He turned around and tried to catch it. He did not give up and kept driving around looking for this ‘Cuda. He could not explain why this ‘Cuda had to be found but felt that it was calling to him. If the owner of the ‘Cuda had not stopped at a car wash, Dan would have never caught him. The 1974 AAR Tribute ‘Cuda did not have a For Sale sign on it, but Dan asked if it was for sale. It was. The owner told him that the built 340ci engine came out of a 1972 ‘Cuda. ‘Cuda Brothers dad bought a green 1972 ‘Cuda in 1978 which is still in the family. Can you guess what car this 340ci engine belongs to?

In Search of numbers matching 340 for over 7 Years

Dan did not check the numbers on the block, but just knew it was the one. He immediately called Sam and told him that this is the missing engine out of the green 1972 ‘Cuda. Sam rushed to Yakima from Portland and bought the car. We checked the numbers on the block after the sale was finalized. Amazingly, it was the numbers matching engine block out of the green ‘Cuda.

The missing 340 belongs to green 1972 ‘Cuda

The missing 340 belongs to this ‘Cuda

The Plan for the 1974 AAR Tribute ‘Cuda

The built 400 HP 340 was pulled from the AAR Tribute ‘Cuda. It should go back to its rightful place in the green 1972 ‘Cuda, making it a numbers matching car. The delay in making this happen is money. Dan will have to compensate Sam before the engine goes back in the green ‘Cuda to cover the cost of replacing the engine that was pulled from the AAR Tribute ‘Cuda. Dan has been the caretaker of the green 1972 ‘Cuda since Dad passed away in 1989.

Dan seems to think that Sam is holding him hostage for not giving him the engine from the AAR Tribute. Sam has spent a lot of money so far on the ‘Cuda including having another 340 built and wants to be compensated for the cost to replace the engine.

Sam offered to put more money into the green ‘Cuda to restore it, but only if it goes up for sale. Dan does not want to sell the green ‘Cuda because he claims that it brings back memories of dad. Sam feels that it will all get figure it out when it is all said and done. This may sound like one of those so-called reality TV shows. The difference is that this is for real.

Pulling the 340

Bringing the 340 back to its original home in green 'Cuda

The 340 will make it a numbers matching ‘Cuda

Original Plan – Building an AAR Tribute ‘Cuda

The previous owner had $37,000 in receipts spent on the AAR Tribute ‘Cuda, not counting what he purchased the car for. This included a complete high performance engine build and replacement of almost everything in the car all the way down to the nuts and bolts. The engine work was a large portion of the money spent on the car. A lot of things were done right including the fiberglass AAR hood, AAR stripe and paint scheme, the front eyebrow spoilers, and the installation of the 340ci engine. The main missing components that would make it closer to an AAR Tribute include side exhaust, 6-barrel carburetor, and the factory correct rear deck spoiler. It came with the correct deck spoiler and trunk lid that was not installed.

AAR Tribute ’Cuda Won 3 Awards

Still Not Meeting ‘Cuda Brothers Standards

The ‘Cuda looked great and ‘Cuda Brothers won three awards at car shows since buying the car. Regardless of the compliments, awards, and attention it gets, the car has issues. Sam pulled the engine from the car and found some flaws with the K-member. He did not like the black engine bay and black trunk. It is also in need of some front-end work, which is about the only thing that was not done. The dash cover is not glued down well. It has blue seatbelts in a black interior? Really? The rear and side windows have scratch marks, which appear to be from buffing.

Even though the paint looks good, there is a flaw with one of the quarter panels, a door has a large gap between the door and front fender, the AAR hood was poorly painted, and the extra rear trunk lid needs to be painted. Sounds like a need for a complete paint job. Now you know why the car is being stripped down to the shell.

The New Plan

Modern Day Customization

‘Cuda Brothers feels that it is OK to build tribute cars under the right conditions. We would not mess with a factory correct numbers matching car. It would be our preference to use a 1970 ‘Cuda to build an AAR Tribute since that is the only year the car was made. This 1974 ‘Cuda was originally a 318 ‘Cuda and is a long way from being factory correct. Because of this, we feel that the door is wide open to making this a modern day ride as long as it does not lose the spirit and sole of a ‘Cuda. For these reasons, the AAR Tribute ‘Cuda is being stripped down to the shell and we are starting with a nice straight body.

We will be putting in a modern day suspension. It did not come with AC but we want it to have all the comforts of a modern day muscle car. Even though Sam had a 340 built for this restoration, there is a good chance that we may go for a big block and get completely away from the AAR theme. Modern day engine or a V10 are all on the table too. We are still debating on the engine but it will have a more reliable fuel injection setup. The debate is ongoing as to the color scheme and Plum Crazy sure seems like a good way to go. We still have so much to think about and to discuss.

We call it the ‘Cuda Brothers Company Car and have enjoyed the ride. It will be put up for sale when the project is completed. Every time we sell a ‘Cuda, it allows us to reinvest in the next project. We will always be looking for the next ‘Cuda to bring back to life.

‘Cuda Brothers – Preserving the Barracuda Legend