Build Thread: HMC Plymouth Cuda

[Steve Holmes]

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If there is one thing this website lacks, its build threads. People love build threads! They love watching a car being transformed from a road car into a race car, or being restored from a rusty hulk into something beautiful and shiny once more. Given how many members here have built their own race cars, there really haven't been enough build threads on this site. So I'm going to start one myself, in the hope it'll inspire a few of you who've done this yourselves to create build threads of your own cars.

Anyway, one of the new and rapidly growing classes in New Zealand historic racing is the Historic Muscle Cars category for period correct, pre-1977 big-bore racing sedans. HMC was started in 2011, and following its first event at the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing in January 2012, has seen rapid growth.

One of the most recent builds to get the green light for HMC is this Plymouth Cuda, being built for Andrew Sinclair. Most of the work is being done by Mike 'Bic' Anderson at Sonic Race & Machine (Sonic is a Roaring Season sponsor also). It'll be built as a lookalike AAR Cuda, as run in the SCCA Trans-Am Championship in 1970, by Dan Gurney's All American Racers team, and driven by both Dan himself, and his young protege, Swede Savage. The big difference, however, will be under the hood. Andrew's Cuda will be running a big block Hemi! In fact, one of the original AAR Cuda's from the Trans-Am series made its way to France in 1971, and was itself fitted with a Hemi, so there is a really cool connection here.

Anyway, I'll kick off by posting a couple of photos of the Cuda as it arrived in New Zealand a few months ago.

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I'll update this thread regularly as this car takes shape.

[Racer Rog]

Thats a mean looking machine, love it
Roger

[Shano]

Wicked. A car that's a bit different too.

[Spgeti]

That is really going to add more flavour to an already great field of cars......

[928]

certainly like the idea of a different looking car racing. Gordon Spice ran a hemi cuda in saloon car racig in the UK for a while. Car tended to understeer off at corners due to the weight of the big engine up front. Good luck with the build, I shall watch with interest

[Steve Holmes]

Here is the first update from Bic at Sonic, explaining the early work done on the car. At the time of writing, its at the panel beaters getting some panel work done, before it returns to Sonic again. This is actually the second Cuda the team bought, with the sale of the first car falling through:

"The first Cuda we bought, the dick with-drew it from Ebay without a reason! The second one, this one, was in Illinois, a snow state, hence the rust.

"We stripped the car out, got it soda blasted, seam-weld the whole thing, removed some unnecessary bracketry, filled all the unused holes and repaired some dodgy previous structural repairs. Add a few little braces here and there as they, as a factory car, are very flimsily stuck together. I think the core design/layout of the car/chassis is good, it just needs a bit of help structurally and suspension geometry-wise. We’re running the monster Dana 60 diff that all the stick Hemis had in them, a 120L fuel tank as the Sinclairs may do the odd enduro for a bit of fun.

"I doubt the car will ever win a race (unless Dale rigs it for us!) due to its front weight %, but it will be a nice tidy, COOL, easy to service/tune car that will smoke the bags at will".

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[Steve Holmes]

More from Bic: "Just to be clear, Keith Sinclair, Andrews dad, is the owner. He has been wanting a “TOY” for a few years now and decided at the HMC meetings (at the 2013 New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing) in January that he wanted a HMC type car. Andrew planted the Hemi Cuda seed and it went from there.

"Keith is a great guy and is like a kid in a candy store when he comes down to look over the car or open newly arrived parts box’s. Andrew – #2 car fan, (it goes Keith #1, Andrew #2, me 3, Mandy 4 -----------) makes sure I’m not running rampant, checks over invoices and helps Keith with car decisions etc. Keith will be the main driver but will share the driving duties as he pleases".

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[Shano]

I take it that Keith & Andrew Sinclair are the former powerboat racers?

[Steve Holmes]

Yes thats right Shane.

[Kiwiboss]

We welcome Keith into HMC(and you Andrew) this car will be one great addition to the field.

Heres a few engine bays pics form the real thing, the Craig Jackson ex Gurney Trans Am Cuda

[kiwi285]

Fantastic news - this will really boost the class with more variety on show. It will look fantastic when it is complete and who the hell cares if it doesn't win races - just to see it there will be the icing on the cake.

[Shano]

Tight fit, those headers - it'll take some skill to get them right (another whole post brewing about how it was done....)

[Steve Holmes]

By the way, the 15" diameter Minilite wheels will be 10" wide at each corner, 2" up on the AAR Trans-Am cars.

[Kiwiboss]

By the way, the 15" diameter Minilite wheels will be 10" wide at each corner, 2" up on the AAR Trans-Am cars.

The 15X10 wheels with the HMC spec Hoosier or Blue Streak will make this one TUFF looking Cuda. My recent viewing for the Moffat Mustang at Bowdens looked really good with its 15X10's alround!! way to go.

[richiev8]

That's a great look, 10's look excellent on the front

[Rod Grimwood]

Dale these people are good buggers, but be aware of your chilly bin. Looking forward to catching up with them again been a while between drinks.
If they go as hard in this as they did in the boats, will be good watching.

Andrew and Mandy have been running muscle cars for awhile and go good.

Don't worry if its like old time, The old boy will flex his muscle as well.

Can't wait to see this beast in the roar.

[Steve Holmes]

You're right there Rod, been racing many times with the Sinclairs/Urquharts. Plenty of stamina is required!

[Steve Holmes]

The 15X10 wheels with the HMC spec Hoosier or Blue Streak will make this one TUFF looking Cuda. My recent viewing for the Moffat Mustang at Bowdens looked really good with its 15X10's alround!! way to go.

I had to ask Dan Bowden about the Moffat Mustang recently, as I couldn't figure out why it no longer had the wide front flares it wore in period when it went from 8" wide wheels in 1969 to 10" from 1970 onwards. Turns out it currently has 8" wide wheels in the front, and 10s in the back. Looks nice!

[Rod Grimwood]

You're right there Rod, been racing many times with the Sinclairs/Urquharts. Plenty of stamina is required!

Spent an evening with Mr Urquhart and boys from Topaz a few weeks back after boat race up here, not much changes.

[George Sheweiry]

Hey Guys, if you need a set of 426 Hemi heads I do have a spare set for my 73 Cuda and I may be persuaded to sell one of my 3 white stripe Hemi 833 boxes that I was intending to run in Production Muscle cars. Your project looks good so far and it will be great to have some "Chrysler clowns" as the yanks say, out there.