Car Craft – November 2019

56 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2019

V

E

G

A

S

S

T

R

O

N

G

tweaks continuously upped the power

curve to the point that he felt the car

was truly quick.

As 2005 rolled in, his attention

shifted to the body, as it was starting

to show its age. What he thought was

going to be a simple repaint ended up

being much more. New York winters

aren’t kind to most cars, and the linger-

ing effects of the Plymouth’s stay there

started to show in the sheetmetal, so a

need for a new skin was on the menu.

Using the skills he learned working at

the body shop, he replaced many of

the body panels at home, which

included both quarter-panels and the

addition of some frame connectors.

The body makeover spanned a number

of years and culminated with a color

change to a Dodge Ram Inferno Red

Crystal Pearlcoat. The interior was also

given a new lease with the installation

of some new seat skins from Legend-

ary Auto Interiors at ABC Discount

Upholstery in Las Vegas.

Toward the end of that rebuild, he

also decided to up the game under the

hood. Staying with the existing 383,

the plan was to stroke it and upgrade

the drivetrain. The bump in displace-

ment came courtesy of a stroker kit

from Muscle Motors in Lansing, Michi-

gan. Dave sent the block out to HBR

Competition Engines in Las Vegas to

have all the machine work done and

the new bottom end assembled, which

pushed the 383 to 491 ci. Once he got

that back to his garage, a set of mildly

ported Edelbrock heads, Edelbrock

intake, and Holley carburetor were

installed to button up the refreshed

mill. The Torqueflite was also given a

rebuild that included a Cheetah manual

valvebody and a TCI 12-inch,

2,000-stall-speed converter. At the

rear, he retained the 3.55:1 gears but

added a set of Moser rear axles and

installed a Caltracs rear suspension kit.

By 2008, the Barracuda had

reemerged from the garage.

He has tweaked the car to get it

down into the 11-second range and has

upgraded the fuel system and put

some new tires on it, but beyond that,

he admits, “I haven’t done much else to

it in the last few years.” He has the car

running at the sweet spot that allows

him to still enjoy it on the street and at

the ’strip. His local track is The Strip at

the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where

he has run a best time of 11.78 at 116

mph, and at the 2019 Muscle Cars at

the Strip show, where he made it to

the finals in the street class.

“I came from Chevy town, and

everyone drove Chevys. No one even

had Mustangs—it was Chevy, Chevy,

Chevy.” —Dave Teller