1969 440 'cuda ~ Original Road Test

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1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

Satisfied with what this 'Limelight Green Freak' could perform with
'puny' E70 x 14" tires and left in 'Drive', we were out for some fish-food for our 'Hungry Cuda'.

Sonny Falcone then pulled out the Floor Jack, and removed the rear
6.25" wide skinnies for our set of Goodyear {D3 Compound} 9" wide
and 27" tall slicks mounted on 14" x 7" Keystones.

With the Keystone wheels mounted, Driver; Cilff Gromer brought the 440 'Cuda to the burn-out area.

Now with 40 lbs. in the front tires, and 20 lbs. in the Slicks, Cliff did
'two' 15-Second burn-outs, before staging.

This time,

Cliff would leave the Line with a 3000 RPM 'Power-Brake', and shift the Torque-Flite manually {@ 5000 RPM's}.

Fred Mackerdodt gave Cliff the 'signal' and the lights in the Chrondek dropped.

Cliff then left the line with a 'hard lurch' as the front-end of the 'Cuda
came up as the 9" Goodyear's dug in. The car took off like a missle.

'WHAM', Cliff slammed the Torque-Flite in 2nd-Gear, and the 'Cuda was screaming.

Just past the mid-way point in the Track, Cliff hit 3rd-Gear in
the Torque-Flite.

Now the 440-Wedge was 'breathing', and was roaring down the Track with a 'massive-suction' sound coming from
the big Carter 750 CFM 'AVS'.

Cliff flew thru the Traps with the 'Freak' at 110 MPH.

Results....'WHAM BANG'.......... 12.93 @ 110.2 MPH
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

Satisfied with what this 'Limelight Green Freak' could perform with
'puny' E70 x 14" tires and left in 'Drive', we were out for some fish-food for our 'Hungry Cuda'.

Sonny Falcone then pulled out the Floor Jack, and removed the rear
6.25" wide skinnies for our set of Goodyear {D3 Compound} 9" wide
and 27" tall slicks mounted on 14" x 7" Keystones.

With the Keystone wheels mounted, Driver; Cilff Gromer brought the 440 'Cuda to the burn-out area.

Now with 40 lbs. in the front tires, and 20 lbs. in the Slicks, Cliff did
'two' 15-Second burn-outs, before staging.

This time,

Cliff would leave the Line with a 3000 RPM 'Power-Brake', and shift the Torque-Flite manually {@ 5000 RPM's}.

Fred Mackerdodt gave Cliff the 'signal' and the lights in the Chrondek dropped.

Cliff then left the line with a 'hard lurch' as the front-end of the 'Cuda
came up and the 9" Goodyear's dug in. The car took off like a missle.

'WHAM', Cliff slammed the Torque-Flite in 2nd-Gear, and the 'Cuda was
screaming.

Just past the mid-way point in the Track, Cliff hit 3rd-Gear in
the Torque-Flite.

Now the 440-Wedge 'breathing' and was now roaring down the Track with a 'massive-suction' sound coming from
the big Carter 750 CFM 'AVS'.

Cliff flew thru the Traps with the 'Freak' at 110 MPH.

Results....'WHAM BANG'.......... 12.93 @ 110.2 MPH
Click to expand...
And today, Cliff Gromer is the Editor of Mopar Action Magszine
 
1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

When Cliff came back down the 'Return Road' and pulled back up to the
'Starting Line', he had a big smile on his face.

He got out of the 440 'Cuda and said >
That was one F***ing wild ride. What did we turn.

I told him >
You ran a 12.93 at 110 MPH. Man, that F***ing car took off.

Cliff added >
I knew the MPH was going be good. This car was flying
thru the Traps. Joe, the car scared the S**t out of me.

I added >
OK, then change your underwear, and lets do it again.

Cliff said that he was shifting at 5000 RPM's, and the 440 was still pulling
before the shift.

For this run, Cliff would again leave the line at 3000 RPM's, but he would
bring the revs up to 5200 RPM's before shifting.
 
1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

Cliff started the Barracuda back-up, and pulled the 'Freak' up to the
burn-out area.

Cliff did another 'Monster' burn-out, lighting up the 9" Goodyear Slicks
with ease. The 'D3' compound slicks were working well in this brisk weather.

It was another 'point-and-go' from Fred working the Lights.

Cliff again 'Power-Braked' for another launch at 3000 RPM's.

The Chrondek Tree hit green, and Cliff punched it as the 440 swallowed
'air-and-fuel' as the car roared out-of-the-hole.

With Cliff now shifting the Torque-Flite at 5200 RPM's, the 'big' 440 pulled
harder.

Again the car looked like a 'Green Flash' roaring down the Westhampton
Dragstrip.

Results ......... 12.82 @ 110.9 MPH
 
Results . 12.82 @ 110.9 MPH[/QUOTE]

Great story, thanks for sharing. That's a stout time for a basically stock car.
 
1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

We were quite pleased with the 12.82 @ 110.9 MPH, but we
knew the 'Freak Fish' had more in it.

Sonny Falcone {Rockville Centre Dodge 'gearhead'} made his move. First, he dropped the air-pressure in the Goodyear Slicks to 17 lbs., which would give the light-rear A-Body a little more bite off the line.

Then he added '5' more pounds of air into the front E70 x 14's, pushing the
limit at 45 lbs., which could make the 440 'Cuda handle like 'skating-on-ice' on the Top-End.

Next, Sonny loosened up the 'Fan Belt', so that there would be less drag on the
Water Pump and Alternator pulleys.

Then, Sonny replaced the 'factory' Breaker-Points with a set of Echlin 'Hi-Rev' High-Performance points, with a 32-ounce tension-rate.

Cliff then fired up the 'Cuda, and Sonny reset the Timing to have a Total Advance
of 38*@ 2500 RPM's, which is the best maximum setting for a Street/Strip 440.

Sonny then added a 'final tweak' to the Carter AVS Carburetor before slamming the
Hood, and pointing to Cliff while saying >.... "Bury the F***ing needle."

Cliff then warmed up the Goodyears, and did a 'Power-Brake' burn-out for a good
20-Seconds, with tire smoke literally hovering over the entire staging area.

Cliff then pulled up to the line and 'staged', as Fred Mackerdodt prepared to
trip-the-lights and send the 440 'Cuda on it's way.

Cliff brought up the RPM's to 3500, as the rear-end of the 'Cuda lifted,
and with the big 440 sounding like a 'growling' Grizzly Bear.

Fred 'flipped-the-switch', and the lights came down the Chrondek Tree.

Once the 'Green-Light' came on. Cliff left the line with a 'voracious roar'.

The 'Cuda left the line with a ferocious leap, and the 'Fearsome Fish' tore thru
1st-Gear as the Carter AVS vacuum secondaries swallowed air like a Jet Engine
roaring during take-off.

Cliff was banging into 2nd-Gear with another 5200 RPM shift, and the 'Cuda
was moving like a Barracuda in attack-mode in the water.

Another hard 5200 RPM shift into 3rd-Gear, and the 440 pulled into the
5500 RPM range as it headed into Top-End at 110+ MPH.

It was a 'Fish-with-a-Flash' as the Limelight Green Freak went thru the traps with Cliff flashing a big wide-grin on his face.

Results ..... 12.68 @ 111.9 MPH
 
This makes me wonder how long the wimpy axle studs in the sbp 8 3/4 would last at this rate.......
Great story, BTW!
 
Dartnut said:
This makes me wonder how long the wimpy axle studs in the sbp 8 3/4 would last at this rate.......
Great story, BTW!
Click to expand...

Good question 'Dartnut'.

After the Performance Test, the Tech Advisors at 'Magnum-Royal Publishing'
did mention their concerns about twisting off the lugs while using the 9" wide
Goodyear Slicks on the 4" Bolt Wheel pattern.

I believe that is why they tried to go no lower than 20 lbs. air pressure, to allow
for some tire-spin coming out of the hole.

Except for the last run.
 
Good read! I bought one of these in Feb '72 and it indeed ran 14.0x all stock. With some 9" slicks it ran 13.65. That is with 3:23 gears.

BTW, the fold down back seat must have been an option, because my back seat doesn't fold, it is rigid mounted.

Mike
 
weekend said:
Good read! I bought one of these in Feb '72 and it indeed ran 14.0x all stock. With some 9" slicks it ran 13.65. That is with 3:23 gears.

BTW, the fold down back seat must have been an option, because my back seat doesn't fold, it is rigid mounted.

Mike
Click to expand...

1969 Barracuda 'Fastback'

Option Code > C73 'Fold-Down' Rear Seat ......... $65

The Fold-Down Rear Seat was 'standard' with the 1967 and 1968 Models.
 
1969 440 'cuda

This Car Was Built For One Thing Only,

We were more than pleased with our best run of 12.68 @ 111.9 MPH, at Westhampton Drag Strip. We decided to pack up and head back to Rockville Center to drop off the 440 'Cuda.

We changed tires and put the puny E70 x 14's back on, and Sonny re-set the Timing to a more streetable level.

We popped the floor jack in the trunk with our tools, Timing Light and Dwell Meter, and put the Slicks in the back seat.

I {Joe} drove the 440 'Cuda and Sonny was the passenger. Cliff rode in Fred's 1966 Corvette.

We hit Sunrise Highway, and took off for our 1-Hour ride West, back to Motion
Performance in Baldwin.

About 30-Minutes into the drive, Sonny said that he wanted to see what the
Barracuda was capable of on the 'open-road', with a straight punch-out.

I looked at Sonny, and said > "Should I punch it."

He laughed and said > "C'mon Joe. We're not out here for a F***ing Country Drive."
 
Another great story. Paul's stories and factual documentation is incredible.
They should all be compiled in one spot.
RIP Paul and thanks!
 
krazykuda said:
No, Mr. Norm found a trick to make it easier than they thought. :D


Once he showed them, they said, that will work.... #-o
Click to expand...
By using the 65 C-body left side engine mount (adapted a little)
 
YY1 said:
With today's tire and suspension technology, and some aluminum engine components-

This car is capable of having the best of both worlds:

Unmatched 1/4 mile times even by most new cars, and better than average if not road course handling.

I wonder why they planned on almost 2 to 1 Darts to Cudas? Weight?
I believe the Cuda rear glass is actually a benefit for traction as well as handling...
...and the Cuda quarters and wheel wells are already large enough to run almost any tire you could want.

If the 383 fit, why is it such a stretch of the imagination to suggest a 440?
I don't get that at all.

I'll take two please, and auto for the strip and manual with a Passon 5 speed for the street.
Click to expand...
Cuda is lighter than the dart and a shorter wheelbase
 
Another M-code GTS owner here. Did I miss the part where they put headers on it or was that through the “terrible” manifolds?
 
44o gts dart said:
That would be incredible if it were through the manifolds ‍♂️
Click to expand...
After years of listening to people say how bad the drivers manifold was, it would be. I’ve never had my car down the track, it ran 12s in the mid 80s with fenderwell headers. I have the engine out right now and have a set of old used TTIs that I was going to put on and put the 440 manifolds into storage but I’m on the fence. A big part of that is because I don’t have an extra 5 grand to buy another set if something happened.
 
Canucklehead said:
After years of listening to people say how bad the drivers manifold was, it would be. I’ve never had my car down the track, it ran 12s in the mid 80s with fenderwell headers. I have the engine out right now and have a set of old used TTIs that I was going to put on and put the 440 manifolds into storage but I’m on the fence. A big part of that is because I don’t have an extra 5 grand to buy another set if something happened.
Click to expand...
A c-body manifold is very close for looks.
 
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