June 2010 Under Construction

'70 Cuda
Inherited Build
Originally a 318 car, this '70 Barracuda adopted a 340 engine and matching quarter-panel hockey stripe graphics indicating its displacement. Under a previous owner, the 340 was removed, and a 440 from a '74 Challenger drag car with a ton of high-performance parts was put in its place, but the tail sticker remained. This is where it stood when Jim Jones of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, took ownership in 2006. Jim and his wife, Lyn, were extremely pleased with the car; the previous owner had put a lot of work into it, and it ran strong and looked great doing it. First thing they did was replace the tail graphics to sport the 440 name. The only thing Jim wished it had was an overdrive transmission so he could take it on longer cruises without the overpowering sound of the 3-inch exhaust from the over-revving 440. While a five-speed swap was already in the playbook, Lyn suggested that since he was already doing so much work, they should freshen up the 440 as well.

Shortly after that conversation, the 440 was removed and Jim bought all the parts to stroke it to 505 ci. His plan to build it up was becoming more difficult, as he was diagnosed with scleroderma seven years earlier. He had been pushing through his sickness remarkably for this time. Lyn tells us, "Looking at him and working with him, you would never knew he was sick. He never mentioned his condition to anyone and had a positive attitude." Despite his optimistic nature, the disease eventually took many of his fingers due to Raynaud's disorder. This made working on the car extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. A long string of unexpected rare conditions eventually took his life.

Jim's friends and family knew how much the car had meant to him, and promised they would take over the build and give it everything they thought Jim wanted it to have. They are currently reworking the body, and the engine is out and on its way to Rocket Racing. The whole family and close group of friends are dedicated to the build until it's exactly what Jim envisioned.