What's It Like To Drive A Freshly Restored Big Block Four Speed 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda?
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- On today's episode, it's a shakedown and review of the latest project nearing completion at Rocket Restorations. This yellow 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda is looking great - but what's it like to drive? I'm thinking 440 + four speed = pretty awesome. @rocketresto
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Awesome as usual! You are having all the fun. I'm a little jealous. Thanks
I sure miss my 70 Cuda'. The 440+6 ,4 speed and Dana 60 were stout to say the least.
Mine was a shaker hood car too. No console and no rally dash just the standard dash.
Red with a black vinyl top.
When you look back at the ones you had and let get away, don't you have to wonder, what the hell was I thinking?
Sounds real good
Oh hot damn! I'm in love with that color/interior combo. It sounds so angry!!
See! I like the combination. There’s a lot of hate for the brown interior in the comments for some reason. Haha.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Oh bah! It's absolutely killer, as much as I like a black interior it's refreshing to see something else every now and then.
That is one fine Cuda. Great Job. Regards from Ody Slim
Pretty un-scary test drive.
Nice way to drive in the rain.
Sounds really good.
Hard to beat a day on the job like that.
Look@ this Mopar Beauty 💗😎🔥,I love it!! Everyone should have A CUDA!! Much love from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦!!
Thanks for the ridealong!
Because of the way it looks and sounds overall i've decided that the brown interior isn't an issue anymore hehehe awesome goddamn car )
Haaahaha. Very good.
That is one nice Plymouth. "Mopar or no cart" still gives me a chuckle.
I’m pretty proud of that one. Haha.
my second dream beside my 73 Charger SE , and it always fun to shift with a pistol grip big block car ! thanks for the video
Great looking Cuda!
Cudas and Challengers are the sexiest cars ever. Period !
Very cool 👍
Not a fan of the interior color but LOVE everything else about it and am having daydreams of blasting down the empty back roads with it. Sigh! what I wouldn't give for it. I would definitely put a console in there, always felt naked without a console
Shiny yellow 😍 Really like how the brown interior goes with the yellow and that exhaust sound 😁
Oh killer Cuda man, but you definitely need some slot mags with some white letter tires it will just top it off 👀👍🏼
You know I’m all about the slot mags. But again, this isn’t my car, so not my choice. And I do dig the steelies.
That's right 4"or 6" and 8"x15 and Cooper Cobra or BFG Radial T/A.
Glad i came across this channel, especially since i will he driving my 72 Cuda clone to Everett Washington from Great Fall mt in a few weeks
Nice! That sounds like an awesome trip.
Man that's a beautiful plymouth
The loppy cam strikes again 😊. Cool 😎
Nice Cuda, would like to drive that bad boy! Probably a lot like my 72 Challenger 440 swap.
Beautiful car! I had a lemon twist cuda with a black vinal top only mine had white interior. I sure hope it gets ralley wheels in the future, too beautiful for those black rims!
It’s getting dog dishes - not sure if that was factory or owner preference. Don’t know if that is forever, but personally I dig it. Still not sure if it will get the factory hockey stick stripe or not.
@@DeadDodgeGarage 👍
Dude SWEET!! ride. I wish I had your job.
Still can’t believe it myself at times. Someone needs to pinch me, or punch me in the face or something, just to make sure this isn’t all an elaborate fever dream.
Nice car coming along!
The only thing I can see you got wrong was no rusted out headers and glass packs. Other than that, that's a pretty sweet ride!
🤣 ok I think we can probably agree that it’s also suspiciously lacking in the air shock and shackles department.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Complete agreement. Plus the traction bars that were attached to the leaf spring plates.
@@matthewb8229 and ideally shimmed with wood blocks! That's how they were on my Challenger, anyway, so I assume that was standard equipment.
@matthewb8229 Ain't nothing wrong with slapper bars. I had 2 68 big block Camaros that ran 6.65 1/8th that's ~10.50 1/4.
Sounds 🎶and looks 👌sooo good !!
Just a bit more than 1/2 way through and I'm totally impressed 👍 (love the 440 Wedge in my 70' Duster race ride. The sound/vibration is just what I like).
Sick cuda, sounds wicked 👍
Gorgeous car! Been enjoying your channel - excited to work with you on my Challenger. :)
Yes! I love that car! Absolutely gorgeous. Can’t wait to dig in.
@@DeadDodgeGarage thank you!!
That color combo reminds me of my 76 Dodge van from a long time ago...
When you determine that the Flowmasters are just too loud, make the change I did on my 64 Galaxie fastback 401 FE, I went to Dynomax super turbo and they cut the too loud and the too raspy crack when you whack the throttle. Not too quiet not too loud. This Cuda is awesome.
Not my car, not my problem… I thought it sounded amazing. But I do prefer a quieter exhaust.
Looks and sounds great! Luv your videos.
Nice ride. A '70 rear wing would be nice also to match the black vinyl top..
Great 'cuda!
Nice job
I am envious. You do realize this...
Damn you got all the good cars on your channel, I almost never find myself saying “nice car, too bad it isn’t 4spd”
When I was young, my older sister had a 70 challenger - she would pick me up from school etc in it was a great car (but auto)
That’s how I feel about my Charger. I never find myself wishing it was a four speed. It’s just a great highway cruiser with the column shift automatic. The four speed Demon is very fun… so I guess I just have to have both. Haha. I’m good with that.
Nice!!
What a great idle.
I know. It’s just a great cam and a solid, happy combination.
Very Nice
Nice car !
That's a cool car!
How did you find a shop that only specializes in Classic Mopars? Must be a dream job.
Absolutely my dream job. I actually wandered into their shop (formerly in downtown Olympia) before I even had a driver’s license, and knew right away that I would love to work there. I just had to spend 15 years honing my skills to the point that I was useful first. Haha.
I was 17 and I had a 70 Cuda 440 6 pack pistol grip 4 speed. I sure miss it.
Shoulda kept that one
My mom had a 383 4 speed 70 Cuda. Paid 800.00 for it and drove it home, but that was the 70s
I'm pretty sure those gill trim pieces along the rocker panel are backwards.
EDIT: Nevermind, it looks like they are on right in a later clip.
Interesting. I definitely didn’t reverse them. Lol.
Too cool
E bodies are indeed some of the best handling/ driving mopars! However, I did notice there’s a lot of difference in the suspension between a ‘Cuda and a barracuda. A ‘Cuda’s ride is hard and truck-like compared to a barracuda. Probably due to the ‘Cuda’s heavy duty suspension parts.
There is definitely a spring difference there.
Awesome car, needs some dog dish caps.
It’ll get them! We save the dog dishes until the very end - it’s the icing on the cake.
Very Nice!
Reminds me of a song...oooocha barracuda
Great content. Love your videos.
Bitchin!! Thanks for sharing!!
I was lucky to work at JBA Speed in San Diego for several years. Even when it was long hours, no, it’s not really work. Dealership life is and sucks.
Strange to have a brown interior with a black vinyl top. Since it wasn't a perfect restoration I think a black interior would have complimented the car much more...it sound great!
Apparently it wasn’t a recommended color combo. It’s kind of funky but I actually liked it.
It was the 70s, everything was brown and dull. Except Dodge challengers
They all seem to chug when cold , lol
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
My Dream Car! ^_^
Except for the color... And Manual Transmission... And Vinyl Top and... Nah just kidding. What's the rear end on this beast?
8 3/4! I think only six packs and Hemis would be likely to have a Dana.
also would love to know the updates on the 73 chargers you have, greetings from Lebanon
Updates coming! The blue car is at the body shop and will be in paint within the next few weeks. The other one is waiting for me to spend some time on it - but I have at least started on the next installment there.
@@DeadDodgeGarage keep up the good work brother , am huge fan of '73-74 Chargers ( owner of 73 SE big block 4 speeds myself ) so would love to see more videos of it ! greetings
Nice 🙂👍
John force burnout !
🤣 maybe next time. Haha.
Great car! Was the front bumper in bad shape and thats why it was painted, just asking.
No, it’s a correct original factory option! Elastomeric paint matched front bumper *only* which I learned via the trim tag today. I also learned that it originally had a Gran Coupe type overhead console and belt line trim - but it is a BS Cuda vin. Very odd set of options really.
@@DeadDodgeGarageI learned something. Thanks
She's purrrty
I want to put this exact interior in my own 1971 dodge demon. Speaking of which, how does your blue demon actually ride like does it drive good?
It drives kinda ok. Haha. The way it’s set up is kind of peculiar. There is preload on the pinion snubber, so there is essentially no rear suspension. It is aligned with zero toe to reduce drag from tire scrub. Also, the front end stuff is all old and as far as I know, original. In spite of all this, it really isn’t horrible. It does have a front sway bar (odd for a drag car) and handles pretty well on the road. It wanders a bit. To this point, I have made zero changes to the setup. I would like to drop the snubber, try running down the track without the sway bar, and I may like to go back to drilled shocks, which Dale ran in the day. I can’t say I’ve ever had an A body that drove much better. B bodies, on the other hand… my Charger rides and handles great. And this ‘Cuda is definitely worlds better than my Demon in terms of ride and handling.
@@DeadDodgeGarage your charger is beautiful I must say and it makes sense that those would be smoother. The charger is world's bigger than the demon and the Cuda and the Cuda has all new stuff in it. I'm still getting mine running so maybe get a new torsion bar suspension leaf springs and shocks for it? I thought about going with a modern 5 link challenger suspension and coilovers in the front. Mine is my daily driver and first car actually.
Jamie now that's a sweet cuda. Begs the question on what cam is in that motor. Sounds like a huges whiplash or mother thumper comp cam. Fill me in on that. Ya nothing better than a pistol grip 4spd. Oh ya I will mail you pics of out 73 cuda 383 beast in it I built. Gave the car to my son at age 16 for his birthday he took great care of it but got bored with it or the constant hassle with cops. He got a escort lol he never got stupid with it on the street but I did. Ha ha I need to email ya. Oh ya my cuda had steelies and bottle cap hub caps too and a go wing and a fiberglass aar hood. Looked great with hemi orange. Like I said cops loved the car lol. It was my son's first car show trophy too in the young guns class.
I love the steelies. Nice. So far I’ve managed to avoid the attention of the local constabulary, for the most part… I didn’t pick the cam, the engine was built before we got it. It sure sounds good though, doesn’t it? I’ll have to ask the owner if he remembers what it is.
@@DeadDodgeGarage you've got mail
Awesome car. Hey Jamie, you seem to know a lot about 440s. I bought a 75 dodge club cab with a 440 4 speed. Motor has literally 0 oil pressure and it it not the pump. You got any ideas? It runs smooth and I replaced to gauge with a manual gauge and still nothing. Got any ideas? Thank you for reading this
Runs smooth, no clattering? But zero PSI oil pressure… if you crank it (no ignition!) with the oil filter removed, are you rewarded with a healthy stream of oil? I’m assuming you say it’s not the pump because you have replaced it already? When you rev the engine, does the gauge start to read pressure? I wouldn’t expect a hydraulic lifter engine to be smooth and happy if it truly had no pressure, so this is very curious. In my experience, Mopar engines start making valve noise when they are simply low on oil, and the oil pressure gauge reading will still appear normal. So at zero psi… bad stuff should be happening. Maybe there is some blockage in the oil feed to the gauge sending unit? Or something else similarly strange is going on.
@@DeadDodgeGarage rev it up still zero oil pressure. It is the most weird motor I’ve had. It does not chatter I took the valve covers off and nothing was dry. But I tested the oil pump it’s good. I bought the truck and the previous owner said no oil pressure and he drove it home and left if there for 13 years. It ran smooth for the most part did not rev much and ran rich but it wasn’t chattering I ran it for about 5 min and moved it around a lil bit but still zero oil pressure. I got the pump off and I checked the driver that drives the distributor and pump and it was good. But in the 5 min it ran hot enough that it didn’t want to run. But no valve noises and rod noises it was a pretty quiet noise. Maybe your right where the passage up to the gauge is blocked. Thank you for reading this. Helps a lot!
@@ethanrossmann579 But it also got hot? Dang. It sounds like there's a lot going on there. Wish I could see this in person and wrap my head around it. If you get it figured out, let me know what you find!
@@DeadDodgeGarage will do! And also I sent you a couple videos on instagram of it running so you got so what better idea
Thats my idea of a really fun really cool driver muscle car, great engine check, nice paint and interior (wife approved) check, NO BILLET check sounds obnoxious hell yea, fun to drive might lose my license Giddy up
Noticed that the vacuum advance isn't hooked up. Would help drivability.
With this whacko cam, we will not be running vacuum advance. I haven’t curved the distributor yet, but it will have a tight 10-15 degree curve, and will probably end up with something like 36-38 degrees total advance. I’m not entirely sure what the combination is going to want. It’s really not far off on total now, just a little lacking downstairs.
I live in Spanaway and I’m looking for someone to help me weld some replacement body panels on my 70 roadrunner and help in restoring it can you help me?
Well it’s not something I could help with myself. I just don’t have any great answers for shops or people around that specialize in that kind of stuff. I would suggest asking around in some of the Mopar groups. We won’t do the body or paint end of things in house at Rocket. We use a local painter for small patches and body stuff. I’m thinking he’s not really the guy for doing what you need. I wish I had a better answer… I really need someone that does this stuff for projects like my Barracuda! But I haven’t found anyone yet.
I wish I can get that other car from you
Which?
@@DeadDodgeGarage I have the Dodge Magnum remember I live in Mississippi
Ohhhhh yeah. Dang it. I actually finally sold it to another UA-camr last week, Average Joe Builds.
@@DeadDodgeGarage you got to start putting them on the show man
Cuz you trip me out man you make me laugh
The CORRECT Cuda' exhaust tips would make a big difference!!
And how are they not correct?
@@Mr.mopar71 if you have to ask, you need an education on all things mopar!!
@@jasonmacneil2256 that was sarcasm. Those tips were proper. Back up your confidence with a picture of what you claim.
You must have a few videos about this car, with things like engine specs, exhaust, rear end and gear ratio. I'm guessing 10:1 560 lift, Dana 60 with 354 gears or 8 3/4 with 323 or 355. How far off am I?
I have exactly one video on it, I think, and I didn’t build the engine (or anything else, really) so I have no idea. It’s *not* that aggressive though.
Dude, you are so cool, can you rewire my '72 Plymouth Fury Cop car!!!
I mean… i probably could! Haha.
Cool video..Have a ?
My cars a 4spd..when car was off my son pushed shifter out of gear. But it's actually still in gear. Have any ideas?
Shift rod fall off? That’s the only thing that comes to mind. Well, I’ve heard the pieces that move the shift collars internally can crack. I can’t remember what the heck those are called. If shift rods are still in place, that’s the next place I would look. I don’t think anything in the shifter itself could come apart and cause that but I could be wrong.
👍🏻💯🇦🇺
What size tires in the rear? They look Awesome i have the same with a 340
Ah crap, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen this car in some time. I’m also no good at all with tire sizes. I do know our go to rear tire is a 275 width.
Do you know what mufflers are on that car? Sounds like thrush mufflers. I want my car to Sound like that.
They are those super short guys, flowmaster brand I think. Are they called bullets? Not sure. Definitely 3”, and definitely angry. It sounds sweet.
@@DeadDodgeGarage I paused it at 4:43..looks like spin tech mufflers.
Put a mat in next time...*poke poke* 😊
I think that bandaid had already been ripped off by someone else… but yes. I’ve got mats here at home.
That...looked......... expensive!?!!??
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
No Vaccum advance?
Not on a performance build like this. It’s running a tight 10-12 degree curve, and since the video I’ve dialed total timing at 36 degrees. Much, much more responsive. It may like more or less but it’s a good place to start.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Good deals!. I've inherited a super nice 1 owner 1969 Charger in R4 Red. 383 4bbl 4-speed. Am I reading right that the timing for a manual transmission car is 0 deg TDC?
@@Trex1268 that sounds like the spec for slant six. I really think it should be around 10 degrees. I could look in the service manual but I’m kind of wrist deep in an A833 right now…
@@DeadDodgeGarage I have the service manual. So I'm pretty sure I'm reading the specs for a 383. I just need some verification before I put a timing light on it.
@@Trex1268 You were totally right. I confirmed this today - the spec listed for 383 with manual transmission is TDC (0 degrees) +- 2.5 degrees. This was actually in the '71 manual. For that to work, the distributor they used must have had 30+ degrees of advance built in. Nuts! Personally, I would be checking total advance with a dial back timing light. Who knows what distributor with what amount of advance is in it at this point.
What mufflers?
I think they were welded but don’t remember what series. I may have responded with that info in another comment, or it may have left before I could check. I can’t remember now. But it sure sounded great.
I had a 69 roaw
Roadrunner with a 383 and 4 on the floor and I rebuilt my self and it screamed I miss that car
ME WANT
I guess "restored" is a relative term.
It definitely is. Every car is still a car - and no car is perfect. Some are more perfect than others though.
This thing is sweet I just don’t love the yellow.
I’m not a yellow guy either…
The car looks ok but it just needs something but I don't know what ? The interior is A GROSS COLOR, CAR SOUNDS UNREAL, MANUAL NICE BUT IT NEEDS SOMETHING, MAYBE STRIPES, PIN STRIPPING ? Black interior or maybe even white would have been much better.
I SURE AS HELL WOULDN'T BE ASHAMED TO DRIVE IT THOUGH. 😁
I’m surprised by how polarizing the interior is. Haha. Apparently yellow with tan/brown leather wasn’t all that uncommon. Personally I would’ve gone for black, but I really like this for some reason. It had a black hockey stick stripe originally, and we’re still unsure if that will go back on or not. If it were mine - hell yeah!
@@DeadDodgeGarage HELL YEAH ON THE STRIPE, YES BLACK INTERIOR. THANKS FOR THE REPLY, YOU HAVE GREAT TASTE DOING YOUR " NON- JOB " 😁
Black billboards/440 callout
@@mickangio16 being ‘70 it’s a ‘hockey stick’ instead of the big (and awesome) billboard stripe. It will eventually be getting the original 383, and for that reason the owner has stuck with the 383 badging. We installed factory style hockey stick stripes this week. Looks pretty good!
The color of that interior is a deal breaker for me, I don't care what the car is or how nice it is..what were you thinking.. thumbs down on this one.
Wow. Lol. I kinda like it. It’s definitely different. Reminds me of an English sports car. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but it was someone’s choice in 1970 and I respect it.
I AGREE, The color of the interior does not go with the yellow car. Black would have been SO MUCH BETTER, HELL MAYBE EVEN WHITE ?
It's not a bad color, don't see many that color. I thought with that FY1 yellow it was what the factory called a 'Non-recommended' color combo but it was allowed, odd as it was. Best thing is to just keep it original. I've seen lots of purple and pink cars in junkyards repainted different colors.
A long time ago in the mid '90's I saw a Curious yellow '71 Satellite Sebring in a local junkyard. Pretty basic 2 door Satellite, 318 auto, black vinyl bench seat interior, 14" Mike Brady Barracuda style wheel covers, modestly optioned. It was definitely an old lady's car. Might have had a black vinyl top. I knew the guys at the yard and asked about some parts off it at the office. I thought the price was a little high and remarked in an explicative. He said "Go check the mileage on that car." I did. It was 30k. Very strange color choice for a car like that. Might have even been a Sales Bank car. It was actually a pretty solid car.
@@vincemajestyk9497 I like the YELLOW, I had a 68 Camaro in Yellow but it had stripes. The interior is just BLAH in this Cuda, JUST MY OPINION.
I'm NOT A MOPAR GUY REALLY but these cars are VERY COOL, don't know much about them. I would also BLACK OUT THE GRILL & MAYBE BLACK MIRRORS ?
People like different things, HELL I KNOW A GUY THAT LIKES " HOT BEER " WTF ? If this car was all original, I would have definitely keep the interior that BLAH COLOR. But it's not so I would go with what I liked, like Black interior & other things I've mentioned.
Was the Satellite in the Junk Yard in an accident or just rusted to hell ?
@@NoWr2Run I wouldn't select that int color if I was ordering a new car, but with certain paint colors it's not that bad. It looks kind of putrid with that color though. In the early '80's I used to go to state auctions with my bud to buy state police cars to resell. He absolutely hated, hated, hated tan interior cars. Always avoided them if he could help it.
That Satellite was in a MD junkyard about 25 miles outside DC. It was basically rust free, just a little surface rust in the lower 1/4's & fender bottoms. No perforation. Original paint. I don't remember any accident damage. Maybe a small bump in the front. I think the lady died and the family just 'scraped' it cause it was an old car. Except for the parts that were gone when I saw it, which wasn't much, I'll bet you could have put a battery in it and drove it out of there. I took the steering box out of it. Mine was loosey goosey with 240k miles.
Quit sticking your fingers in the shot ,vice grip garage has that mastered quit copying
No