Plymouth HEMI Cuda de course

First race of HemiCuda at Spa shows cars huge potential

I must say that the guys at the MOPARSHOP did a great job setting up the drivetrain and getting the Cuda ready for its first race at the Spa RMU 2010. The handling is absolutely phantastic! Thanks to some good weight analysis and picking the right parts from MOPAR, the Cuda was a dream to drive. Braking was also great, so coupled with the handling, driver confidence was building up. Best lap time was in the upper part of our CRL field and a couple of GT40s and numerous Lotus were way behind our swift E-Body coupe!

Hemicuda 2010 Racing Season starts at Spa RMU Classic

Be there or be square! Our Hemicuda will make its racing debut at the famous Ardennes track, better known as the Belgian roller coaster to drivers and spectators alike. We'll be competings the usual suspects like Porsche 911 RSRs, Ford GT40s and Chevrolet Corvettes in the Classic Racing League field. Between round , we'll sure take a look a the other stunning classes that are to be at the Spa RMU Classic, namely Historic Formula 1, Group C and Orwell Super Sports Can-Am cars. So you have plenty of good reasons to be with us at Spa on May 21, 22 and 23!

OlyCuda ready for action: testing soon

The guys at the MOPARSHOP did a great job to get the HemiCuda ready for racing action. Testing in on our schedule now before we hit the track. The front spolier is now reinforced and fitted like it should. The dry-sump system is also now fully operational and has been run in the shop. Right here, you can see a video about the initial fire-up and the crackling sound of the race HEMI.

1974 Spa 24 Hours racer inspiration for Cuda fender enlargements

Some fellow racer lately asked me why I choose to enlarge the front and rear fenders like this.The answers is fairly logic: to do it the same way as Belgian endurance racer Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps did in 1974 when he prepared his Hemi'Cuda to race at the 24 Hours of Spa. This was the onl way to fit the huge slicks on 9 to 11x15" rims under there. We will content with 10x15" rims, which is still plenty!

AAR Cuda brakes: Plymouth on mystery calipers

Two early shots of the calipers that were first used on the Gurney T/A Cudas. These are also represented on the FIA Group 2 homologation forms (FIA #5337). They are of the floating type, which is rather unusual in racing.

Hurst Airheart brake caliper on Trans-Am Plymouth Barracuda

Here an extremly rare picture of the T/A Cuda fitted with Hurst Airheart calipers. Thanks to Mike Camicia, who wend us this picture that came from Chrysler engineer Bob Tarozzi, we now have proof that Gurney did indeed use Hurst Airhearts, which were later unsed in NASCAR Winston Cup and on the IMSA Greenwood Corvettes, on his Trans-Am Plymouth racers!

Barracuda in IMSA race: Sid Rust at Road Atlanta

After their Trans-Am endeavours, the Barracuda's kept racing. Here is Sid Rust, who raced IMSA Camaros in th early 70s, in one of the ex-Gurney cars at Road Atlanta in 1981. It would be interesting to know what Sid does these days. Please post a comment if you have a hint.

The Cuda has landed in Le Mans

40 years and two days after that Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins took Apollo 11 to the moon, our Cuda set its slick tires on the famous Le Mans track for the first time. Thanks to circuit director Patrick Coutant and press officer Magaly Seraphin, our Cuda could make a few laps this morning.

Hemi Cuda racing brakes: Hurst Airheart

Like the Trans-Am Cudas, our racing HemiCuda will rely on Hurst Airheart calipers and vented rotors for stopping power. Designed to fit inside 15 inch rims, these calipers are solid mounted and have four pistons each.