Z Rodz's 1970 'Cuda w/ 850-hp 572 HEMI

2nd Gen HEMI projects and products.

Moderator: scottm

Post Reply
User avatar
scottm
Posts: 3443
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Z Rodz's 1970 'Cuda w/ 850-hp 572 HEMI

Post by scottm »

Image
Image Image Image Image

How a Rusty 1970 Cuda Won the Triple Crown of Rodding
https://www.motortrend.com/features/rus ... n-rodding/
There's an old adage seasoned customizers often cite when the query is how to begin a build and that's to start with the very best example of the desired car one can find. And that's really good advice, but here's an exception to the rule and that's this stunning 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda that took Best Street Machine at the inaugural Triple Crown of Rodding held within the 34th Annual Hot Rod Roundup, hosted by Shades of the Past Car Club in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The saga of Zach Ingram's Z Rodz and Customs resurrecting Casey Hornik's 1970 'Cuda into a show winner began when the prime-year Plymouth was found stuffed in a semi-trailer in a salvage yard on the outskirts of South Bend, Indiana. It was an extremely rusted hulk, so rusty that plucking it out of the trailer on the prongs of a pale loader and plopping it onto a car trailer didn't seem overly disrespectful. Underneath its hole-riddled cancerous shell the skeleton of the 1970 'Cuda was intact and DNA-wise the car had excellent bones, it rolled off Plymouth's Hamtramck, Michigan, assembly line with 340 'Cuda bloodlines. And then it's guessed somewhere in the '80s that the 340 'Cuda was cloned to AAR specs using genuine AAR parts.

Typically when a hard-core Mopar fanatic spots a 340 'Cuda as heavily modified styling-wise as this 'Cuda, an outburst of preservationist peeing and moaning begins, but the truth of it is few would have gone to the trouble and expense it took to bring this 'Cuda back from its barest elements. This car would have never been whole again if hadn't been entrusted to the right hands. The process of putting a car body back together panel by panel has to be done exactly right or the fenders, doors, and quarter-panels aren't going to square up, and that's after the trunk floor and roof have been put back precisely where they need to go. And that doesn't even begin to cover the extreme process Z Rodz and Customs involved to convert this 'Cuda from unibody construction into a body-on-frame configuration.

We'll start from the ground up; the chassis is the new Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) Max G on mandrel-formed 2x4-inch rails that feature the company's latest design, a dropped steering arm that operates Corvette C6 spindles and allows the Detroit Speed rack-and-pinion steering rack to be mounted lower, which translates into more engine clearance with a lower center of gravity. Independent suspension doesn't stop at the front wheels. The AME Multilink IRS (independent rear suspension) features a Strange Dana 60 packed with 3.55 gears and limited slip. JRi Pro Touring shock absorbers and Wilwood 14-inch disc brakes equip four corners. The Wilwood brake master cylinder and hydraulic lines are plumbed in stainless steel with Aeromotive fittings and flex hoses. Contributing to the stance, Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires are on 19x10 Nutek Series 755 wheels in front, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on 20x12 Nutek Series 755 wheels in the rear.

Converting the 'Cuda to body-on-frame meant cutting out the entire stock floorpan with its boxed support structures beneath and inner fenderwells tied integrally to the radiator core support. In place Z Rodz fabricated a one-off floor from 16-gauge steel, and punched-in ribs with a Pullmax to strengthen. With the beefy new floorpan in position and welded to the original 'Cuda skeleton the next step was hanging Auto Metal Direct (AMD) quarter-panels, roof, trunk floor, front fenders, and trunklid into place.

The 340 'Cuda came from the factory in Alpine White, Zach repainted it Viper White in PPG products, starting with Deltron DP90LF epoxy primer followed with PPG V-Prime acrylic surfacer, sealed with PPG V-Seal, basecoated in Viper White, and cleared with VC5700 Ditzler Custom Clear. The finishing touch was a complete color sand and rub.

There's a group of guys, friends actually, who Zach accredits as major contributors to constructing the 'Cuda. Dave Daunheimer of Competition Fabrications in Maple Park, Illinois, is where Zach transported the car to fabricate a 21-gallon aluminum gas tank, four-point chrome 4130 chromoly rollbar, and custom-bent 4.5-inch oval exhaust system with SpinTech mufflers, plus Dave wired the 'Cuda using an American Auto Wire wiring harness.

An over-the-top car deserves an over-the-top engine and transmission, so Zach looked to Moran Motorsports of Taylor, Michigan, to build an all-aluminum 572-inch Hemi reported to produce 850-plus horsepower with 800-plus pounds of torque. Ancillary devices tasked with driving the power steering pump, and high-output alternator keep spinning thanks to a Billet Specialties Tru Trac system. Competition Fabrications built headers for the Hemi with the engine installed in the car.

It takes a bulletproof transmission to handle the extreme amount of horsepower and torque produced by the 572-inch Hemi, so that's exactly what Bowler Performance Transmissions did—beef a GM 4L80E automatic to the utmost degree. And it takes a special bellhousing to adapt the 572-inch Hemi to a GM 4L80E and from there back it's beefed goodies to keep it together. That expression "it takes a community" came to mind while interviewing Zach about building Casey Hornik's 1970 'Cuda, good friends like Mark Bowler and Dave Daunheimer, to mention a few.

It took a tremendous amount of work and attention to detail to transform the 'Cuda from a rusted-out hulk peeled out of a salvage yard shipping container into winning Best Street Machine at the inaugural Triple Crown of Rodding at the 34th Annual Hot Rod Roundup, hosted by Shades of the Past Car Club in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and we'd say the payoff was big.
More Photos: http://www.thehemi.com/gallery3/index.p ... uda572hemi

What an amazing build with this 1970 'Cuda. It's a rolling piece of 850-hp artwork.

#Plymouth #Cuda #PlymouthCuda #572HEMI #HEMI #ZRodz #TripleCrownOfRodding
Post Reply