Bad omen for the value of 69 M-Code Cudas
That's badass, Jim! So, are you restoring it as close as possible? I seem to recall you said you didn;t have the numbers engine, but the car is a true M code. Still be worth a pile and be super nice either way. Keep us posted!
well... this car is a real m code car. and the work AMD did put the floor pan, frame rails, inner quarter panels, inner wheel wells and outer quarter panels back to original specs. however, because this car had a lot of "restoration" work done and will never be an "untouched" original car, i am going to build a m car that "was never built." i had AMD install a 4 speed shift tunnel in the floor pan for the 833 4 speed i'm going to install. ALL m cars were automatics. and i'm going to find a 69 "date correct" 440 but i'm going to build it to 69 Road Runner A-12 internal specs with the six pac carb assembly. my goal for this car is to build a Cuda that Plymouth "could" have built from "off the shelf" parts that they had in 1969. the rear diff will be the 8 3/4 posi unit that came in the m Cudas with a 3:91 that was available as a factory option. i'm putting the factory disc brakes on the front (an available Cuda option in 69) and factory drums on the back. i am going to install OEM power steering which you could get in a 383 car but was never offered in the 440 m Cudas. finally, i'm going to use a blacked out fiberglass hood with the "Ramchargers" hood scoop similar to the A-12 Road Runner with the ram-air setup. but for this item, i'm going to install the OEM hood hinges without the springs instead of having the hood be a total "lift off" like the Road Runner's hood was. another item that i'm going to ad to this car is a set of 8 inch wide 69 mopar "Police wheels."
i was 16 and had just got my w.va. driver's license in 1969 when the mid-year A-12 Road Runner came out from Plymouth. i went to the local Chrysler dealer and took a test drive in that car - a hemi orange 440 six pac 4 speed 4:10 read diff beast. it has been 48 years since i took that test drive but i remember it as though it was yesterday! the A-12 Road Runner was an unbelievable car. tire traction in first and second gears on "1969" street tires was almost impossible. the 440's torque along with the low rear gear combined to almost throw you into the back seat under instant hard acceleration in first gear. and the three hollies under that "non-insulated" fiberglass hood sounded like they were going to suck the hood into the engine at redline.
after spending a lot of time enjoying my memory of my six pack Road Runner experience decades ago, it struck me that a fastback Barracuda with the same drive train as the A-12 would be an amazing car - given that the Barracuda is about 400 lbs lighter than the Road Runner. AND you could further shave weight with the fiberglass hood - an item that could easily be found in any mopar parts counter in 1969.
so the car when it's done will be a "real" VIN number M-Code 69 Cuda but with modifications that "could have" been done by Plymouth or a Plymouth dealer in 1969. i think i'm going to paint the car in the same hemi orange as the A-12 Road Runner was offered in. i have a vision in my mind of a brand new orange A-12 Road Runner sitting in the show room of a Plymouth dealership in 1969 right beside a "special" "orange" M-Code Cuda with the same drive line. this vision just strikes me as something "Mr. Norms" would have had if he had sold Plymouths instead of Dodges.
it may take me a number of months but i am going to build the special m code cuda i've described. then i'm going to take it to the mopar nationals in columbus, ohio and see what the reactions might be.