For some of us, it takes a while to settle on the perfect car for a build. We scour the available targets, consider the pros and cons of each, hunt for a good buy, and eventually we make our choice. But for others like Trumbull, Connecticut’s Jim Sciortino, it is a far simpler choice.
“I saw a purple ’Cuda in 1970 when I was 11 years old, and that was it,” the 10/10 Lube Center owner acknowledged.
In 1976, Sciortino bought his first musclecar, an all-original 1970 Dodge T/A 340 Six-Pack, and over the years owned and customized a number of other Pentastar projects including a back-halfed and tunnel- rammed 1971 440 ’Cuda, and a ’68 Barracuda with an Indy-headed 499 mill. However, in 1982, Sciortino purchased a very rough 440/4-speed Dana rear 1970 Barracuda and embarked on what he described as an “on-again/off-again project” for the next 20 years. However, in 2000, he decided it was time to get serious about the build and the car was sent to Mark Markow and MRC Racecars in Windsor, Connecticut.
After assessing the classic Mopar, MRC started from scratch, constructing a full tube 4130 chromoly chassis with Santhuff struts up front and a custom MRC-constructed 4-link with Koni double-adjustable shocks out back. The MRC-fabricated rear housing was stuffed with a Strange ultra center section, 4.10 gears, and 40-spline axles.
The car rides on a set of Weld wheels, with 15×3.5s up front and 16×16 double-beadlock rears out back. The super-skinny Mickey Thompson Sportsman fronts provide remarkable contrast for the morbidly obese 34.5×17-16 meats out back. A matched quartet of Strange cross-drilled discs help slow all four corners of the car…. Read more of this article. Just click on the digital feature below this introduction.
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