Back in the early 1970s, the famous Plymouth Barracuda was switching to its third (and final) generation. The Plymouth Valiant connection was finally severed, and the Chrysler E-body fittingly shared with the larger Dodge Challenger. Now, this tasty pro-touring build based on a 1971 example honors the latter car with a glorious stable of 707 ponies, courtesy of a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat crate engine swap.
But that’s not all, because we all know very well that Shawn Davis, the host of the AutotopiaLA channel on YouTube doesn’t deal with just any kind of car, even if it’s a powerful Mopar. As always, the ride needs to hide something a bit more meaningful, whether we’re dealing with a classic truck or something a bit more contemporary.
On this occasion, we are treated to a 1971 Plymouth Cuda that wasn’t exactly a clean canvas, to begin with. Instead, the owner and the restorer/upgrade specialist worked together on something that previously started life as a restomod project for somebody else.
These jobs tend to go sideways in terms of cost easily, and that is exactly what happened here, so the Cuda was just waiting in the shop for the proper attention (and a chunk load of cash, probably). The story then easily unfolds: “I bought it from the (previous) customer and then we changed the direction of it, that’s how we ended up with this.”
Those are simple terms for something that looks good enough to get distilled into a drink, according to Shawn. So, let’s kick of the proceeds with uncovering the secrets from underneath the tasty crimson body first (from the 1:10 mark), which include the Magnum Force front end as well as a four-link rear for the unibody construction.
Then, from 1:35, it’s time to marvel at the clean looks of the “bone stock” Hellcat crate motor hiding under the hood. It’s completely untouched, save for the savory painted details that make it a 707-hp work of roaring art. That latter bit is made possible courtesy of the three-inch (7.6-cm) aftermarket exhaust system with mufflers and resonators.
This Cuda’s engine swap and interesting choice of shades (both on the outside and in the cabin, check the latter from the 4:37 mark) reveal a very personal way of dealing with the different bits and pieces of this classic pony car that has been turned into a proper supercar using all those modern parts.
And they have all the elements to back that up, from the coilover suspension right down to the fully caged interior, which interestingly enough, doesn’t feature a back seat delete, even though it’s not usable anymore.
As far as the drive part is concerned (kicking off at the 5:45 mark), Shawn doesn’t give us a customary burnout this time around. It's not that he’s preoccupied with the “great sound it makes,” which is not “obnoxiously loud, but definitely sounding like a Hellcat.” Instead, we think he forgot about it as he was focused on playing with the Tremec stick.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News