Cuda clone fills the convertible bill

“I love it when a plan comes together” was a saying popularized in the 1980s by the television show “The A-Team.”

That could be the theme for Gaynelle Mayes’ brilliant red 1971 Plymouth Cuda convertible, which apparently was supposed to be a remodeled kitchen.

Confused? It gets worse, as her car was put together by the company that supplied the Plymouth Cudas for the “Nash Bridges” TV show, which starred Wichita native Don Johnson.

“I always joked that I wanted a little red sports cars, but with four doors,” said Mayes, who is married to a longtime Mopar addict named Ron Mayes. She figured such a machine would be perfect for transporting their five young grandsons on trips for cold snacks on hot days.

“I was announcing the Wichita Area Mopar Club car show last year and mentioned over the P.A. that I was looking for a red convertible for my wife,” Ron said. “A guy came up to me and said, ‘I’ve got one.’ So I bought it.”

That’s the part about a plan coming together. Never mind about the four doors.

“I announced the purchase to Gaynelle while out to dinner with good friends … by passing around pictures of the Cuda and saying she had her new red convertible. Nell was less than enthusiastic because she didn’t like the surprise purchase. Something about a kitchen remodel was mentioned,” Ron said.

The purchase was something of a leap of faith, as the car would not start, so he did not have a chance to test drive it before the deal was made.

“It had sat for years with ethanol in the tank,” he said. With the help of his friend Rick Aldrup, president of the local Mopar car club, he replaced most of the fuel system on the car, including the fuel pump, Holley 4-barrel carb and fuel lines. While they were at it, they installed new belts and hoses and a complete ignition system.

“I found the spark plugs were the Atlas brand of Amoco gas stations,” he said, so he knew they were old.

What about the “Nash Bridges” tie-in?

Mike Kennedy, the previous owner (not the Wichita State sports announcer), had bought the Cuda in 1998 from Ultimate Rides in El Paso, the company that contracted to provide three ’71 Cudas for the TV show, which ran from 1996-2001. The TV cars, it turns out, were all 1970 Barracudas, the base model convertible, converted to the sportier-looking ’71 Cuda. The company is defunct.

“This car was originally a lime green ’71 Barracuda convertible, with a 318 V-8 and air conditioning,” Ron Mayes explained. “They turned it into a 440 Cuda with the proper badging, Shaker hood, heavy duty suspension, the deck spoiler, Cuda grille and the Cuda gills in the fenders.

“We’re calling it a clone. I’m not making any bones about it … it’s not a numbers-matching Cuda,” Ron Mayes said. He and his wife have owned the car since June 2013.

“Since then, I and my technicians at Advantage Communications have worked on the interior, dash and gauges, installed a new stereo system and fixed the convertible top and trunk rust,” he said. “We had Knipps remove the white hockey stick decals off the rear quarters to meet Gaynelle’s taste and at the same time buffed out the paint to a very nice shine.”

The 440 big block engine provides more than adequate horsepower with a single 4-barrel carburetor, so there are no plans to convert it to the iconic Six Pack setup. A 727 automatic transmission rests underneath the floor shifter in the center console, while an 8.75-inch Chrysler rear end fitted with 3.23 gears puts the power to the pavement via a set of factory-style Cuda steel wheels and wide BF Goodrich T/A rubber.

“The Cuda is a blast to drive and is constantly being tuned to meet Gaynelle’s driving preferences with the top down,” Ron Mayes said.

“I took the grandkids out in it to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July,” said Gaynelle, who evidently is coming around to see that in the grand scheme of things, sometimes a red convertible trumps a kitchen remodel.

This story was originally published September 4, 2014 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Cuda clone fills the convertible bill."