This 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda is the coolest car that never was. Tim Wellborn created the featured car after he saw an artist’s rendering that was done to showcase all the cool body colors that Plymouth offered in 1970.

The original rendering was featured in a “Rapid Transit System” brochure that Plymouth put out that year. The brochure was carried as an advertising insert in the November 1969 issue of Hot Rod magazine. The rendering was of a Hemi ‘Cuda with “hockey stick” style Hemi graphics.

Tim Wellborn, of the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum saw the rendering and thought it would be interesting to build a real life version of the car in it. He contacted The Bomb Factory Rods & Resto (www.thebombfactorynola.com) in New Orleans about the idea of turning the rendering into a reality.

Charles Handler and Trey Hansen run the Louisiana shop and Wellborn knew that they specialized in wild paint jobs, hand-painted graphics and era correct hot rod and racing styling. He decided that they were the perfect “car artists” to bring his rather wild concept to life.

Since it wasn’t necessary to use a million dollar Hemi ‘Cuda for this project, a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda with a 383-cid V8 and four-speed manual transmission was obtained. The car’s original body color — EF8 Ivy Green Metallic — was left on the driver’s side of the car, as was the original vinyl roof. The other side of the car was finished with a special vinyl wrap showing stripes of all 25 different colors that Plymouth offered in 1970.

The Color Code ‘Cuda is proof positive that Plymouth, in 1970, could cater to the taste of any customer, whether it was mild or wild. The color available for 1970 ‘Cudas ranged from traditional looking whites and grays to those famous “High Impact” colors that characterized the furthest out muscle cars of the era.

Photos by Christa Haley

Article courtesy Speedville.