Right before the holidays, the very first pilot E-body HEMI ‘Cuda ever built by Chrysler went up for auction for a staggering $3 million with $1 million of sales going toward Hurricane Sandy victims. The price for the fast fish seemed a little heavy, but considering that it was a true pilot car with a dual-quad HEMI and a 4-speed…well, you can fill in the blanks.

But no matter how much you think the early generation Plymouth muscle is or isn’t worth, the truth of the matter is that a muscle classic that you could’ve readily found in 1980 lying around in a field for $900-1k is now much harder to find, and for the same amount of money you just might be able to buy some decals and a door handle.

Our featured find out of Florida is evidence, however, that even in a complicated world where commodities are overpriced and most of our favorite auto classics have become junkyard relics, there is still hope.

This obscure pair of ‘Cudas is one that you don’t see every day, and both cars are well-optioned enough to be featured in some of the car craft’s most prestigious auction blocks, possibly even in their current unrestored states.

In fact, the owner of the early E-bodies has been approached about the Mopars on three different occasions by an interested enthusiast, but all three times the ‘Cuda owner has expressed the sentiment that he one day hopes to restore the Mopar classics. The yellow ’70 ‘Cuda is an original 383/4-speed car while the red one is a ’71 with a 440 Six-Pack with a 4-speed chasing a Dana rear.

Both fish do apparently run, and the ’71 440 car even has a recent license and registration sticker. We can’t blame the owner for wanting to hold on to his rare E-bodies, but at the same time we can’t help but wonder how long it will be before we get to see a pair of nicely-optioned ‘Cudas just lying around like these, if ever?!