For years we have heard stories about a wild ‘Cuda that hit the New England scene in the late 1970s wearing a paint scheme that was unparalleled for the time. The stories seemed so wild that they couldn’t be true. They were, and the car has resurfaced, with the insane paint intact right down to the last airbrushed morsel of the trunk mural. Epic is way overused these days, but there isn’t another word we’d use after seeing this car in person. 

The paint was laid in 1978 by a very young Blair Smith, one half of the squad at the BS-named “Bat Cave Bodyshop” that turns out work like the awesome Hack Job General Lee and ultra high end show vehicles and restorations. Smith was a body guy at that time, toiling for relative pennies at a long dead Dodge dealer in the Southeastern Massachusetts area. From the flames, to the flake, to the striping under the hood, to the glass etching, to the incredible trunk mural that is an exact copy of the cover at from the album Boston by the band of the same name.

He had 40 hours in on the mural alone, using an ancient single action air brush gun. The interior is 1970s chic with some nice, plush, rug-like fabric on the doors, roof, and package tray area.

This is a real, fully matching numbers 440, six-pack, four-speed, ‘Cuda. The Dana 60 is there in the back, and all. The shaker scoop was hand mabe by Blair when he did the car. He carved the shape out of foam, laid the ‘glass, and created it. The mesh behind the holes? He figures that came from a hardware store.

We’re going to stop there, because when the revival is finished, and the car is wet sanded and presented for public viewing, we’re planning on a major feature either here at BS or on the pages of one of your favorite car rags.

It is totally astounding that the car made it this long intact. For a couple of decades, when this type of paint was on the outs, it would have been nothing to have someone strip the car and re-shoot it. Instead it has lived long enough to see a second day in the sun, and that totally freaking rules.  

Use the following quick shots from the shop to whet your appetite.