Finally got my M-Code Cuda

hey dave...

you're right - the 340 and 383 formula S cudas automatic and 4 speeds and the "automatic only" 69 M-Code Cudas were equipped with 8 3/4 chrysler rear axles. the 440 and hemi 4 speed B body cars came with 9 3/4 Dana differentials.

i'm going to build my M-Code like "what Plymouth should have built" - a 69 M-Code Cuda with the 69 1/2 A12 Roadrunner drive train - 440 six pack, 4 speed and 4:10 "Dana 60" rear axle. this car could have been built with off the shelf parts available at the time. the articles i've read on M-Code Cudas say that Chrysler didn't want to put a 4 speed in those cars because they felt they would be torn up too quickly. the A12 Roadrunners were almost bullet proof so i think if the Cudas would have had the A12 parts, they would have been reliable also. more importantly, the 69 Roadrunner weighed a little over 3400 lbs - the 69 Cuda came in around 3100 lbs. with a little shaving here and there, you could have gotten a 69 M-Code Cuda down to 3000 lbs or less which would have made it much faster than the A12 Roadrunner. Ronnie Sox did his famous drag test of a "stock" A12 4 speed in 1969 and got it down to 13.00 seconds flat in the 1/4. six pack 69 Roadrunners were capable of high 11's low 12's all day long with good tuning, headers and slicks. putting the A12 drive train in a 69 M-Code Cuda probably would get you into the mid-low 12's right out of the box. with a few mods, an A12/M-Code probably would have been an 11 second street machine you could drive every day.

i'm not building my M-Code to be a drag racer - that's what it was and i'm bringing it back from that world to the world of stock. however, once i put the A12 components in it, i'm pretty sure it's going to be one hell of a fun car to drive to the local car cruises.