1970 was the year when the muscle car era reached its peak, and there’s a reason why it would take half an eternity to list them all. But at the top of the list is the up-and-coming Plymouth Barracuda, which is in fierce competition for pole position. Two events happened in 1970 that changed the fate of Cuda into a legendary car. It was the arrival of his HEMI option in facelifted cars and the upscale move from the compact A-body to the new E-body (shared with its twin cousin Dodge). challenger).
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
To be a high-performance machine on short straights of 1,320 feet, the Cuda needed some serious firepower. Built to accommodate all the motors Chrysler was producing, this rescaled car had the heavy bones to carry the big tormentors, his 426 HEMI and his 440 Super Commando. I was there.
But sometimes even hard-punch muscle isn’t suited to meet the needs of a racer, and so the car became a hot rod the moment its front-running owner drove it out of the dealership. Inside the secret cabal of gearheads, there are stories of men who bought rogue “Cudas” and loosened the reins of the factory just because tire smoke smelled like rosewater to some people. There are many.
One such man lived in New England and did exactly what was described above. In 1970, he bought his Barracuda a brand new Plymouth. U-code “Cuda”, 375 horsepower (380 PS), 480 lb-ft (651 Nm) 440-4. The livery he chose was his FC7 Code paint, making this ‘Cuda one of his 3,708 cars in his Violet Metallic hue. (I know Plum Crazy sounds much better and is more commonly used, but it was exclusive to Dodge. Plymouth called it just that, and it’s actually The name of the color is mentioned in the paint nomenclature).
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
The 440-4 V8 was produced in small numbers in 1970. The 986 Barracuda was equipped with a torquey 7.2 liters (equivalent to 440 cubic inches in metric units), and only 34 of his cars were equipped with a ragtop. All the rest were hardtops like the one in the video below, the same one the New England resident had purchased in his 1970.
What’s interesting about this car isn’t its racing history. The first owner was an avid drag strip enthusiast with a talent for quarter-mile discussions. The man knew exactly what he had and kept the car for the rest of his life. But he also took great care to ensure that others enjoyed the car visually. Even if it means accidentally igniting a muscle car in one teenager’s heart.
The tenacious young man asked the original owner of this “Cuda” to take a look at it. And that effort alone lasted for three years until the protective Mopar guy agreed. From there, the boy waited patiently for 29 years until he could sit behind the wheel of a machine.
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
If you look at this car now, you can completely understand the boy’s wishes. Pocketed magazine, fatty meat in the rear, I had to jack the car up for it. What should you not fantasize about? Still, the owner never gave in. This story is told entirely by Cardner Peters, the current owner of this life-sized Hot Wheels toy. He was a teenager in his 1987 and decided to buy a Mopar after a long wait. The car was kept in a speed shop near his home, and Gardner made several attempts to persuade the Cuda’s original owner to sell it.
Partly because it wasn’t meant to be, the two never shook hands on the twin-scoop bonnet of the glamorous Plymouth. Sadly, the man who bought this two-fender tag machine in 2014 went to the drag strip at Happy Racing and taught the Angels a thing or two about big blocks and fat tires.
The heirs spent two years deciding on the car’s fate, but one day in 2016, Gardner’s phone rang and his lifelong wish came true. After 30 years of waiting, even adult men in their mid-40s need time to adapt to sudden changes and move in the right direction. (By the way, note that this man has owned 22 Mopars so far, so he’s not easily impressed by one Mopar.)
Photo: YouTube/Lou Costabile
The night he brought the car home, the proud new owner still couldn’t believe it. He woke up in the middle of the night and rushed to his car to convince himself that he wasn’t actually delirious. He wasn’t, but his car seemed up to the task, with a 440 cubic inch big-block Earthquake starter and three-speed heavy-duty TorqueFlite.
The engine is not exactly original. The first owner was a considerate racer and installed a .509 lift cam for the purpose of a fat rear tire. And while it definitely made the guy’s smile bigger, it also robbed the brake booster of the vacuum power it needed. So we added a vacuum canister.
Hotcam also had a second side effect. The radiators ran for long hours to cool down the roaring Super Commando. Overtime equals overflow. So the obtrusive hose coming out of the top of the big thermostat is connected directly to a very non-stock but very practical soda can. A larger CFM carburetor and Mickey Thompson valve rocker cover tell the quarter-mile story. Or maybe this car was the first owner’s speed toy, so who knows how many.
A mileage of 70,808 miles (113.930 km) is reason enough to wonder how many sets of tires this ‘Cuda burned through during its 53-year adventure on the planet V8. Custom paint was added in 1971 and perfectly matched the car’s raised stance. His 8-track tape containing Deep His Purple album is the perfect addition to this spirit of the greatest years in the history of Muscle His Car.