The adage often is that a car is only original once, and many
understand that provenance is a crucial part of buying investment-grade
muscle cars. A vehicle of this nature is expected to exhibit signs of
preservation, and a great deal of attention is paid to the originality
and date coding of all the components. For those looking for what has
become an icon of the American performance era, the 1971 Hemi Cuda, not
only is the provenance of this particular car noteworthy, but so is its
ownership trail.
It was 1975, and Frank Badalson was not yet recognized as one of the
premier Hemi originality experts in the Mopar hobby. He was a college
student, and he was buying Terry Dye’s all-original 1971 Hemi Cuda as
daily transportation and for an occasional pass at the local dragstrip.
Even at that time, Badalson understood just how unique any Hemi car was,
and the gas crunch of the mid-‘70s made ownership possible for a number
of people like Frank who had missed them when new.