It’s called the SEMA crunch: it seems that right before the big event that everyone in the automotive world waits for, all of the builders suddenly realize that they are down to weeks in order to get a car ready to be worthy of showing at the Las Vegas Convention Center. That never bodes well…you’ve seen the reality TV car shows: people get angry, feelings get hurt, tools get thrown and yet, through the magic of the camera, everything comes out just fine in the end. It’s a bit cliched, but that’s the gist of it.
So you’ll bear with us when we say we aren’t quite buying that Tony and Lucky have spent the last month thrashing to build this rather barren 1972 Plymouth ‘Cuda up for the big show. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t busting their tails to make something out of nearly nothing, though. This ‘Cuda was found in Kentucky and dragged west, and other than being an original 340 car, there really wasn’t much going for it beyond being the shell of a Plymouth ‘Cuda. By the time we appear in Las Vegas next week, this ‘Cuda will be ready to drift in the manner which Tony is very, very accustomed to. In the meantime, there is a ton of work that has to be done…like a full suspension from scratch, for starters. This is highly detailed work, and it moves fast, so pay attention as the guys break out the welders and the pipe stock!
A drift car.
How interesting.
Next….
Not only that, but come on, coil overs on the front of a Mopar? Really? Lets take the awesome goodness of engineered torsion bars that sit below the CG, and add coil overs. The Mopar Action Magazine’s “Flying Brick” used 100% Mopar parts, including Mopar taxicab brakes, torsion bars and leaf springs, to humiliate John Sitlow’s high dollar GM-engineered Camaros on the One Lap race series, several years in a row. Beaten only by the all carbon fiber mid engined big block powered Consulor, they proved without a doubt that Mopar has always had it right.
I understand they gave Mark Stielow\’s Camaro a tough time too. Since these guys aren\’t called Mopar Action they could get rid of the giant crank levers that are a torsion bar suspension lower control arm and go for something lighter/more easily adjustable for this purpose, just a guess. Still, don\’t think I could use E-body sheetmetal for something that\’s going to hit a wall sooner-or-later, but this might be interesting.
The torsion bars may be fine for the flying brick,and One lap of America,but drifting is another way of driving.I think this would be interesting too 🙂
I liked that they were fabing stuff up, explaining why they were doing it a certain way, and not just bolting on sponsors parts. Even if it sucks and fails miserably, I enjoy the process.