A blast from the past

44-years later, Cuda comes home

Leroy Miller received a birthday gift from his wife Rose last year that brought back memories. The gift was a toy replica of a 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda, just like the one Miller owned when he met Rose, but the story doesn’t end there.

Miller, who lives in Clear Lake, graduated from Mason City in 1972 and often drove his Corvette to Clear Lake to the Lighthouse Drive-in where Rose was a car-hop. A friend of his named Keith Chapman had a 1970 AAR Cuda that Miller bought from him later that fall for $2,000.  At the time, Miller was the third owner of the car.

Originally the car was bought new in Spencer, Iowa by Butch Medsker, who still has the window sticker that shows the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $3,397.

There were a mere 2,724 Cudas manufactured— 1,120 four-speeds and 1,604 automatic, with just 4 percent painted the eye-catching “sassy grass” green.

Miller drove the Cuda on their

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honeymoon, but ended up selling the car in the fall of 1973.

“After I got married my grandparents were telling me to stop being a playboy and get rid of some of my stuff,” recalled Leroy.    

It’s a decision he has always regretted, since cars like the Cuda are selling for over $100,000 now.

Miller sold the car to Mike Heinzerling, from Osage, who enjoyed the vehicle for more than 40 years before selling it.  The vehicle was sold again and again, finally landing with Steve Lint, who became the sixth owner in the vehicles’ history.

To his surprise, Leroy received a call in February this year from Lint, who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Lint found Miller’s name in the glovebox on some paperwork for a loan from a bank.  Miller was sure he had found his “old Cuda” when he asked Lint if it had a medallion in the shape of the American flag and a peace symbol in the back window.  It did.

Miller invited Lint to the C.L.A.S.S. car show where he got to meet him and see the “Cuda” once again.

Leroy and Rose, along with D.J. and Butch Medsker and Keith Chapman spent a good part of Saturday looking over the Cuda which stole their hearts many years ago.  Although Lint has attended car shows, the C.L.A.S.S. event was the first show he has entered a vehicle in.

Lint showed the group the inspection report which showed the Cuda had 55,468 miles on it in August 1973.  Today, it has 69,000 miles on the odometer.  The lack of miles is largely due to the fact that it was torn apart for seven years for restoration.  That work was completed in 2015.

“It’s fun to meet these guys and hear their stories,” said Lint.  “The Cuda holds a lot of memories for them.”

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