Howdy gang, as the title states, it's time to offer up the 66 Cuda I have been enjoying for the last couple months. First, a little history....
This car first came into my life in 1988 when my brother and a good friend of ours went in on it together. After doing a couple things to it and enjoying it for a while, our friend bought out my brother. Fast forward 24 years and I get the call to purchase it, which I obviously did!!! I have researched the car all the way back to it's original owner and have talked to one of the original owners. It was a one family car before my brother bought it so I got some past history on it. I have the original certicard and the buildsheet which is in nice condition. I also have a bunch of old receipts documenting things done to the car and more importantly the mileage when things were done. This car was used very sparingly even in the years before my brother purchased it. Heres the details of the car....
It is a 1966 Cuda, original black on black, 273 V8 with automatic and 7 1/4 open rear end. It is a manual brake and manual steering car. It currently has 75,880 original miles on it, about 500 of which I've put on in the past month. I have made trips of 50, 75 and 120 miles as well as much tooling around town. When purchased in 1988 the car had 72,000 miles, and during the ensuing 24 years managed to only gather 3,000 before I got it. The rest of the time was spent in the garage. Most everything on this car is original to the car, and I will describe the specific areas in the following paragraphs....
Engine and trans... the engine is original as well as the trans and neither has ever been out of the car. Due to the limited road use, the motor was smoking when I got it, mostly due to sticky rings, but has since cleared up quite a bit. It must have also been a problem for Dave (the former owner) as he had the heads done in 1997 under the belief that the valve seals were gone. That may have helped some, but the car still smokes upon start-up and diminishes as it gets warm, but still uses oil. IMO, a re-ring is certainly in order or maybe a complete rebuild. It currently runs like a top and drives like a dream. The trans shifts nice, does not slip and there is no problem with the rearend.
Brakes and suspension... I just completely went through the brakes, all the shoes are good, all have been adjusted , and work nicely. I fixed a bad line and there are no leaks. The brake lines were redone in 1988 when my brother was caretaker, but no pre-bent lines were available back then, so all of the lines were handbent using auto parts lines. IMO, they are good to go, but I would certainly consider buying all new lines and changing them out. They are 10" drums on all corners.
The front suspension is in decent shape, but there is a clunk in the drivers front when you go from reverse to forward and turn the wheel, maybe a ball joint, but does not appear bad when the front is jacked up and the ball joints tested. IMO, a rebuild kit would be in the future.
Interior.. all of the interior items are original, nothing has been changed!! The carpet is original and although the front and rear seating area are nice, it is faded and needs replaced. The cargo area and rear seatback are a little tattered and faded as well. A carpet kit would certainly go a long way to upgrading the interior
The seat covers in the front are ripped as can be seen in the included pics, and the seat buns leave popcorn on the floor beneath the seats, but the rear seat is nice. New front covers and seat buns would also bring the the interior up a bunch. The door skins are decent, the headliner is nice, the consold carpet is OK, the dash is nice, all the lights and guages work properly as they should. IMO, if the front seats were recovered and new carpet added, the interior would be really nice!!
Body and paint..... The car was repainted in 1988 when my brother and Dave first got the car. Some minimal bodywork was done and it is shot in enamel. The paint looks and shines nice. There are some small areas of bubbling under the paint in spots around the car, but overall the paint looks pretty nice.
Undercarraige and trunk... The floorpans are nice and not rusted through, but there are some areas of rust and some attention will need to be paid in the following areas.
The rear crossmember behind the bumper is rusty and needs to be replaced. The rear spring perches are solid but do have scaly rust on them and when the crossmember is being attended to, this area should be checked better.
The front drivers side frame rail has been repaired by Dave in 1989 or so, with a piece of framerail welded over the existing piece. The job was done nicely, but if I were keeping the car I would consider changing out the entire rail. The other front rail is nice.
The trunk extensions have rusty holes where they meet the wheel tubs in the trunk as well as near the rear crossmember piece, and need to either be patched in or replaced. Exhaust fumes come in through the holes and permiate into the interior when the windows are down, so at the very least they need to be seam sealed for now.
Trim and bumpers... all of the trim is original to the car, and most all of it has some pitting. The grilles, taillight housings and rear window trim all have a fair amount of pitting and could use to be replaced, but are still decent as is for now. The front drivers side wheellip trim is a little dinged up, but not bad. It should be replaced to be as nice as the other 3. The front bumper is decent but as a small amount of rust around the mounting bolts, the rear bumper has some rust through and definetly needs replaced.
Exhaust and tires... The exhaust was new in 1988 as well as the tires and rims. The exhaust still looks new and are run as duals all the way back. The tires still have the nibs and for all intent are like new. They are not dry rotted and only have about 3,000 miles on them.
OK, lets sum this up. This is a nice little car, everything works as it should, it is a blast to drive and would make someone a nice cruiser with some upgrades as you were enjoying it. The price is $2500.00. That price is firm and not negociable. This car is definetly worth every penny of my price and more, and I will not entertain any offers. If you do not like what you see in the pictures, just pass on the car. If you would like to see any additional pictures of any area not pictured, just ask and I will send them along. I have taken lots of pics and will not include them all in this listing, but will message them to anyone who is interested. If you would like to see the car in person, it is located at my home in Pinckney Michigan, just outside Ann Arbor.
I do have some additional parts available for the car such as a nice windshield, the rear crossmember, all four frame rails, and I have upgraded a few things already and plan on doing some more as time permits. I will offer any additional parts at very fair prices if the buyer wishes to purchase them.
It is only being listed here for now, but as a reasonable amount of time passes if it does not sell, I will offer it locally as well. I don't need to sell this car but would like to pass it along to someone who would enjoy it as much as I do.
As usual, message with any questions or requests. Any PM's or inquiries will be answered in the order in which they are received, including claims of intent to purchase. Thanks for the ad FABO, you all ROCK!!! Geof
This car first came into my life in 1988 when my brother and a good friend of ours went in on it together. After doing a couple things to it and enjoying it for a while, our friend bought out my brother. Fast forward 24 years and I get the call to purchase it, which I obviously did!!! I have researched the car all the way back to it's original owner and have talked to one of the original owners. It was a one family car before my brother bought it so I got some past history on it. I have the original certicard and the buildsheet which is in nice condition. I also have a bunch of old receipts documenting things done to the car and more importantly the mileage when things were done. This car was used very sparingly even in the years before my brother purchased it. Heres the details of the car....
It is a 1966 Cuda, original black on black, 273 V8 with automatic and 7 1/4 open rear end. It is a manual brake and manual steering car. It currently has 75,880 original miles on it, about 500 of which I've put on in the past month. I have made trips of 50, 75 and 120 miles as well as much tooling around town. When purchased in 1988 the car had 72,000 miles, and during the ensuing 24 years managed to only gather 3,000 before I got it. The rest of the time was spent in the garage. Most everything on this car is original to the car, and I will describe the specific areas in the following paragraphs....
Engine and trans... the engine is original as well as the trans and neither has ever been out of the car. Due to the limited road use, the motor was smoking when I got it, mostly due to sticky rings, but has since cleared up quite a bit. It must have also been a problem for Dave (the former owner) as he had the heads done in 1997 under the belief that the valve seals were gone. That may have helped some, but the car still smokes upon start-up and diminishes as it gets warm, but still uses oil. IMO, a re-ring is certainly in order or maybe a complete rebuild. It currently runs like a top and drives like a dream. The trans shifts nice, does not slip and there is no problem with the rearend.
Brakes and suspension... I just completely went through the brakes, all the shoes are good, all have been adjusted , and work nicely. I fixed a bad line and there are no leaks. The brake lines were redone in 1988 when my brother was caretaker, but no pre-bent lines were available back then, so all of the lines were handbent using auto parts lines. IMO, they are good to go, but I would certainly consider buying all new lines and changing them out. They are 10" drums on all corners.
The front suspension is in decent shape, but there is a clunk in the drivers front when you go from reverse to forward and turn the wheel, maybe a ball joint, but does not appear bad when the front is jacked up and the ball joints tested. IMO, a rebuild kit would be in the future.
Interior.. all of the interior items are original, nothing has been changed!! The carpet is original and although the front and rear seating area are nice, it is faded and needs replaced. The cargo area and rear seatback are a little tattered and faded as well. A carpet kit would certainly go a long way to upgrading the interior
The seat covers in the front are ripped as can be seen in the included pics, and the seat buns leave popcorn on the floor beneath the seats, but the rear seat is nice. New front covers and seat buns would also bring the the interior up a bunch. The door skins are decent, the headliner is nice, the consold carpet is OK, the dash is nice, all the lights and guages work properly as they should. IMO, if the front seats were recovered and new carpet added, the interior would be really nice!!
Body and paint..... The car was repainted in 1988 when my brother and Dave first got the car. Some minimal bodywork was done and it is shot in enamel. The paint looks and shines nice. There are some small areas of bubbling under the paint in spots around the car, but overall the paint looks pretty nice.
Undercarraige and trunk... The floorpans are nice and not rusted through, but there are some areas of rust and some attention will need to be paid in the following areas.
The rear crossmember behind the bumper is rusty and needs to be replaced. The rear spring perches are solid but do have scaly rust on them and when the crossmember is being attended to, this area should be checked better.
The front drivers side frame rail has been repaired by Dave in 1989 or so, with a piece of framerail welded over the existing piece. The job was done nicely, but if I were keeping the car I would consider changing out the entire rail. The other front rail is nice.
The trunk extensions have rusty holes where they meet the wheel tubs in the trunk as well as near the rear crossmember piece, and need to either be patched in or replaced. Exhaust fumes come in through the holes and permiate into the interior when the windows are down, so at the very least they need to be seam sealed for now.
Trim and bumpers... all of the trim is original to the car, and most all of it has some pitting. The grilles, taillight housings and rear window trim all have a fair amount of pitting and could use to be replaced, but are still decent as is for now. The front drivers side wheellip trim is a little dinged up, but not bad. It should be replaced to be as nice as the other 3. The front bumper is decent but as a small amount of rust around the mounting bolts, the rear bumper has some rust through and definetly needs replaced.
Exhaust and tires... The exhaust was new in 1988 as well as the tires and rims. The exhaust still looks new and are run as duals all the way back. The tires still have the nibs and for all intent are like new. They are not dry rotted and only have about 3,000 miles on them.
OK, lets sum this up. This is a nice little car, everything works as it should, it is a blast to drive and would make someone a nice cruiser with some upgrades as you were enjoying it. The price is $2500.00. That price is firm and not negociable. This car is definetly worth every penny of my price and more, and I will not entertain any offers. If you do not like what you see in the pictures, just pass on the car. If you would like to see any additional pictures of any area not pictured, just ask and I will send them along. I have taken lots of pics and will not include them all in this listing, but will message them to anyone who is interested. If you would like to see the car in person, it is located at my home in Pinckney Michigan, just outside Ann Arbor.
I do have some additional parts available for the car such as a nice windshield, the rear crossmember, all four frame rails, and I have upgraded a few things already and plan on doing some more as time permits. I will offer any additional parts at very fair prices if the buyer wishes to purchase them.
It is only being listed here for now, but as a reasonable amount of time passes if it does not sell, I will offer it locally as well. I don't need to sell this car but would like to pass it along to someone who would enjoy it as much as I do.
As usual, message with any questions or requests. Any PM's or inquiries will be answered in the order in which they are received, including claims of intent to purchase. Thanks for the ad FABO, you all ROCK!!! Geof
