Magazine editors are sometimes guilty of getting a little too cute with their headlines, but when it comes to Chris and Laurie Cook’s 1973 Plymouth Cuda, the above headline really fits.
     In 2005 the Medicine Hat, AB couple were offered two cars — a ’70 Charger and a ’73 Cuda — by a friend, Gene, in Shelby, MT. The deal was too good to pass up so they drove down to Montana and hauled both cars back home.  This left them with something of a logistics problem This was a dream come true,” says Chris. “Two awesome cars that needed full restoration. But two cars would blow the budget. We could only restore one.”
     So, they developed a plan that included putting both cars up for sale. The car that sold first would make their decision for them. As fate would have it, the Charger sold first, leaving the couple with what turned out to be a very cool Cuda.  This car was originally sold in Mineola, New York and was ordered from Chrysler Military Sales Corp. It ended up in Helena, MT and was raced — with a nitrous-aided 340 — for years at Lost Creek Raceway by a lady owner.
     But the car’s drag racing came to an end in 1996 and it sat until the Cooks came to the rescue in 2005. Cannibalized over the years, the Cuda was missing lots of parts, including the engine, tranny, bumpers and even interior. Despite being picked over, the car’s sheet metal was in great shape. Chris says they replaced the Cuda’s quarters “just for piece of mind” but other than that the car was reportedly rust free. The Cuda was originally green, with a green vinyl roof and green interior. “That’s a lot of green,” says Chris, without having to explain that wasn’t a good thing. So, Chris borrowed a rotisserie from good friends Rick and Shelly and disassembled the body and had the green sandblasted away in preparation for its new colour; Plum Crazy Purple — with a twist.
     “The metallic was substituted with a flake to add depth and glimmer to the paint,” says Chris. Jody Starner at Sonic Body and Paint Shop and “the guys that busted knuckles to do a great job” get credit for the dazzling exterior. There are some subtle body changes on this Cuda, including a lack of ’73 Cuda mouldings and now functional hood inserts. The stripes and mouldings of a 1970 Cuda replaced the stock versions.
     The bumpers were sucked tighter to the body and painted body colour to clean up the lines and all the lights were updated LED taillights, Halogen headlights and purple bulbs in the marker lights. Ron at Apple installed the white vinyl roof.  Underneath this Cuda, Cook replaced the stock suspension with an all new Hemi Torsion bar system up front and Hemi leaf springs out back and a sway bar. Rear end is stock 8 3/4 unit stuffed with 3.55 gears and a Auburn Sure Grip posi. The car now has a Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation 4-wheel disc brake kit. Rear wheels are custom made 20x8.5 Torque Thrust IIs and 18x7.5 up front.  The car now rides 3 1/2 inches lower in the rear and 2 1/5 inches lower up front than a stock Cuda with no tire rubbing even with big rubber.  The green interior also had to go, so the dash was painted black, a black console purchased and white was chosen for the door panels, seats and headliner. The original ralley gauges were restored, though a set of mini Autometer gauges keep track of engine vitals and the pistol grip shifter handle is aluminum. The stereo system is still under construction, says Chris, though the base tube is a bright blue nitrous bottle. “It’s a conversation piece at the car shows,” says Chris.
     A car that looks this good has to go good. The car’s factory engine was a 318, but it was long gone and Chris had no intention of replacing it. Instead he built a “tire burning” though mild 440 ci mill with 9.5 to 1 compression, stock 440 crank, Street Comp cam, windage tray, Edelbrock intake and 750 Edelbrock carburetor. TTI ceramic coated headers flow spent gases through a 3-inch, mandrel bent Flowmaster ceramic exhaust system that includes 40 series mufflers.  The car was finished in about a year, but Chris says they will always be improving on it, though at least one group of people already see the car as perfect just the way it is. At last year’s Three Hills Street Freaks show, in Three Hills, AB the club chose the Cook’s Cuda to be on this year’s show T-shirt.  “I was out looking at the cars and Laurie was by the Cuda and the members of the club approached her and said ‘you have won an award.’ We did not know that they gave out awards but they explained the car had been chosen to be on the T-shirts for this year’s show.
     “I’ve been going to that show for 14 years and they have been selling T-shirts with vehicles on them and I didn’t know they were the previous cars that they have chosen. Sometimes you see but you don’t really see. “We’re still stunned,” says Chris.  Seems an appropriate response.
   This is one stunning Cuda.