A one-owner car sits on the top shelf in the car hobby because the buyer gets feedback from the only other person who owned it.
They are hard to find, but the brief history of a one-owner car adds immense value to a vehicle—especially when the vehicle is an extremely rare 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda.
Ken Van Rootselaar wasn’t looking specifically for a ’70 AAR Cuda 14 years ago when he found this legendary Mopar. He was searching for an E-body Mopar in general, but the car and its history made it an easy decision to buy this classic.
The previous owner bought the car new in Ohio, and it was his wife’s “grocery-getter” in its early days. Ken has all the paperwork for the Cuda, so he knows the original owner paid 3800 dollars for his brand-new car. Ken said he paid fair market value at the time for the AAR—much more than its original retail price.
The money was worth it because it was a 52,000-mile ’70 Cuda with only one owner on the title, so Ken didn’t blink at the sale price. He found out the AAR was raced a little because the original owner was a track guy, but it wasn’t a regular at the strip. The owner also added a fabbed-up front spoiler to give the AAR a look similar to what it would have had as a genuine road track car.
Ken said the maintenance on the AAR was regular and detailed over the years, so his car is an exceptional driver thanks to the former owner’s attention to the little things. For example, the six-barrel carbs were tuned by a Ferrari mechanic who was a huge Mopar fan. The ignition system was also updated by the original owner to give it more reliability.
There’s a sunroof in the car because the AAR doesn’t have air conditioning and the former owner found out how hot it can be in California without the comfort of AC. Ken explained how the first owner simply added a sunroof to cool the car down in summer—that was a go-to strategy in the 70s.
The interior of Ken’s car looks new—so does the vinyl roof. That tells you how this car was protected because it spent most of its life in a hot and sunny climate. The AAR shows some road wear, but it will never be painted under Ken’s watch.
Ken doesn’t daily-drive the AAR, so he’s only added about 3500 miles to the odometer over the last 14 years because a low-mileage Mopar muscle car is something to protect—not mile out.
He explained how he only runs this classic Cuda at around 65 miles per hour on the highway because it has a 3:91 rear gear so he doesn’t want to work the 340 too hard. Ken pointed out how these AAR Cudas routinely gave big blocks far more than they could handle thanks to weight advantages–and the reality that the 340 pumped out a lot more than its advertised 290 horsepower.
Ken’s biggest victory over the years of ownership is simple—he’s never had to do anything to it. That’s how well the first owner looked after it.
Call it the perfect E-body purchase.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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