Along with Dodge, Plymouth got into Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-Am racing in 1970. They contracted with Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers (AAR) to build and campaign cars for that series. To satisfy SCCA requirements, they had to produce at least 2,500 street versions of the car to compete. Plymouth beat that number by about 10%, coming in at 2,724 copies, all built during March and April of that year. This is said to be one of those cars but it’s in rough shape and some earlier restoration work will have to be redone in the process of completing the ‘Cuda. Located in Springfield, Oregon, this rare car is available here on eBay where bidders have raised the ante to $7,500. But they’ve still got a reserve to cross over.

The AAR ‘Cuda differed from the others ‘Cudas in a variety of ways. First was the engine, a 340 cubic-inch V8 with a 6-Pack set-up instead of a 4-barrel carburetor. The rated horsepower only increased by 20 to 290, but that was likely conservative. In addition, the AAR had a “strobe stripe” along the sides, the hood was made of fiberglass, and the exhaust came out of the sides back by the rear wheels.

Of total AAR production, 1,120 were equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission, like with the seller’s car. The original engine is out of the car, but a period-correct replacement is at the shop being rebuilt and all documents about that work will be provided to the buyer. The tranny is also gone with a few other items and replacements for those are not offered. The car’s rear end is not as it came, but the seller will provide a correct one that will need rebuilding. The brakes and Sure-Grip will also need to be redone.

When it was new, this Plymouth was finished in FE5 Rallye Red of which glimpses of it can be seen under the flat black paint/primer that most of it currently wears. An early restoration attempt was ill-performed, according to the seller, so things like both quarters panels and all the floors will need to be pulled and replaced. The fender tag is missing, but the seller says he will validate for the seller (how?). The list of other sheet metal and/or structural pieces needed is rather extensive, which at a minimum should include frame rails, front aprons, upper cowl panel, rear torque boxes, outer wheelhouses, and the rear body panel, just to name a few.

The interior of this car is either incomplete and needing several new pieces. At one time, this could have been a six-figure car at today’s inflated resale values. But it will take a sizeable bank account, time, and patience to bring this AAR ‘Cuda back to show condition. You might spend less money by starting with a project in better condition, but how easy would it be to find another one of these cars that need resuscitation?