At the California Hot Rod Reunion, I caught a glance at the insane looking Plymouth you see above.
Before I even got any closer, I knew I found a perfect Car Spotlight for Haulers & Sedans month.
From some angles, it looks like a simple and clean Valiant Wagon with some big rubber out back.
But then there's the front view, and any notion of "simple" is thrown out the window.
Looking for a little presence in your engine bay? A blown Hemi with a fat pair of Holley carbs will certainly get the job done. Obviously, this wasn't one of those simple weekend engine swaps.
Obviously this engine setup is putting out some serious power, but you get the idea that this car was built as much for the grin factor as it was for any performance reasons.
A better view of the Weld race wheels and Mickey Thompson meats. As you've probably noticed this car is sporting a more contemporary low stance as opposed to the retro high-riding look.
The only thing the car is missing is a giant, gruesome, rat fink-esque character popping through the roof, burning rubber into the sunset.
This is my '73 Plymouth 'Cuda, my first car, a long term project, and my introduction to working on cars. I drive it as often as i can, including 1500+ mile road trips through some of the most remote and beautiful parts of New Zealand.
It's currently a 4-speed small block, but i plan to put a 440 in it this year, and when I do it'll look like the image below, an homage to the factory Mopar drag cars from the late '60s.
The long term goal is to build it into a street driven race car, with 440ci small block, 6 pack EFI, 4-speed, GV overdrive, stock-style but fully updated suspension, full bare-carbon front end, and custom body work.
When we did our call-out for American iron this month, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. After all, we’ve never done this before. What I should have known was that you guys would respond with an astounding selection of American-made machinery. It’s not just our US readers that participated, but American car owners from around the world. While we didn’t have time to get to all the submisisons, we’ve assembled a nice little collection of American cars owned by the global Speedhunters audience.
Here they are.
(Above) Jeff Stroh has owned his ’67 Mustang fastback since high school and he’s used the car for autocrossing, open track days, drag racing and more. It’s powered by an EFI small block with a Tremec 5-speed and paint color comes from an Aston Martin.
It really doesn’t get any more American than an old-fashioned, hard working pickup truck. This ’62 GMC Stepside belongs to Garrett Goodrich from New York and I don’t doubt it when he says he gets plenty of looks when driving through town.
Trevor Mantkus lives in Detroit and works for General Motors as part of their design team. On weekends he can be found working on or driving his ’78 Corvette drift/track car project. It’s powered by an LS1/T56 combo and he’s currently working on building a turbo setup for it.
This New York-based ’56 Chevy 210 is not only Ralph Scarabaggio’s daily driver, it’s also his first car. It’s got a 383 stroker with 4.11 gears and has run down the quarter mile with a best ET of 12.9.
Fredrik Sørhaug lives in Haugesund, Norway, but his ride of choice is an American icon. He says done in a few engine and drivetrain modifications to up the fun factor.
Dean Strickland from Ocala, Florida is the owner of this 1982 Camaro with a full S&W race chassis and a 540 cubic inch big block. Those rear wheels are a ridiculous 20 inches tall and 18 inches wide…
Ben Simons of Florida is the owner of this 1964 Dodge D100. It was purchased brand new by his parents. special ordered with a 426 wedge motor and the performance pack. The truck has since been handed down to him and now sports a mildly-built 440, four wheel disc brakes and other goodies.
This 1965 Shelby GT350 replica was built by Joseph Pacione from Toronto with the help of his father. Over the course of the build, Joseph and his dad transformed the standard Mustang into an R replica powered by a 347 stroker with a 5-speed, Koni suspension and more.
Nicolas Varjabedian from Middleboro, Massachusetts submitted this image of his dad’s ’66 Pontiac GTO. It’s one of a couple Pontiacs in the family and is powered by a 389 with a Holley carb and a Muncie 4-speed.
Simon from the Freaky Cold Troopers in France sent in this dropped ’65 Ford Galaxie Ranch Wagon. Another cool example of American iron abroad.
Tony Breunig from the San Diego area built this tough looking Ford Ranchero with a 306, 5-speed, custom suspension and 18″ Rushforth wheels. He says the car has many rock marks from road trips – and that he’s plenty proud of that.
Mark Gingo originally wanted a GTO, but he ended up with this ’63 Pontiac Catalina instead. It’s got a 428 with a Muncie M21 trans and a set of 17″ steel wheels covering Wilwood brakes.
Representing the modern side of the spectrum, we have this 2011 Mustang GT owned by Nash D. Palazzo of the USMC. It’s got full Ford Racing suspension, Magnaflow exhaust, SVE wheels and a supercharger is on the way.
Next up is another Ford, but one that was built 80 years earlier. This ’31 Model A Pickup is owned by Ontario, Canada resident Jared Leary and his brother Josh. Interestingly, it’s powered not by a V8 buy by a supercharged 3.8 liter Pontiac V6.
Thomas Falkiner of South Africa can be found on the track in this ’65 GT350R replica. The Mustang is used for competition against Comets, Novas and Furys in his local historic racing series.
Justin from Cupertino, California originally found this ’69 Firebird rotting on the side of the road. Not only did he save it from the scrap heap, but he turned it into a full restomod project. It’s now got a 462, a Ford 9″, four wheel discs, and a lot more.
Florent Landreau of France is building his ’86 Camaro in the spirit of a Japanese street drift car. As you can see, he’s already made some solid progress in the wheel and suspension department.
Sam from Rochester, New York bought this ’71 Nova out of New Mexico and quickly replaced its stock six cylinder with a built small block making over 450hp. He’s currently redoing the interior and hopes to have it back on the road in time for summer.
Coming from New Zealand is this 1979 Chevy C10 pickup owned by Matt Elliot. While the bagged Chevy has the look of a show machine, it’s also got a Procharged small block making 500 horsepower to the wheels.
George Papatheodorou from Melbourne, Australia wanted to share his dad’s ’67 Ford Fairlane. It’s equipped with a big block and has been kept in extremely original condition with only light restoration work since it was new.
Jon MacKinnon from Prince Edward Island, Canada has owned this ’68 Camaro for 13 years and is currently in the process of rebuilding it from the ground up. It’s been channeled and lowered with custom coilover suspension and has an LS1 swap on the way. The finished product will be daily driver and part time track rat. A very cool way to wrap up this selection of readers rides.
I think it’s fair to say that it’s easy for us Speedhunters to became jaded when it comes to automobiles. After all, we spend our days shooting amazing events, getting up close with some of the world’s most exciting cars, and scouting out incredible build projects from across the web. We live the life of automotive overindulgence – and we love it.
There are few places where this sensory overload is more apparent than at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. With each corner you turn at SEMA, there’s another ridiculous machine sitting in front of you. In many cases these wild projects began life as a popular Muscle Car – a ’69 Camaro, a Mustang, or maybe a Dodge Charger. They are covered in one-off body work, have enormous tires, huge brakes, more horsepower than most people could ever use.
With so many insane Muscle Car builds out there today, it’s easy to forget that these cars were pretty damn special even when they left they factory so many decades ago. After all, there’s a reason that these cars are loved by so many across generations and international borders.
When people talk about their fond memories of these cars, you won’t hear them talking about twin turbo kits, custom fabricated chassis, over drive transmissions, or adjustable coilover suspension. No, you will instead hear stories about cars that rolled out of the factory with things called “Pistol Grip”, “Air Grabber”, and “Six Pack”. These are the machines that played starring roles in tales of stoplight drag races, drive-ins, and high school parking lot burnouts.
There are still many people out there that want to enjoy these machines in the way they remember them, and the world of Muscle Car restoration and preservation is not something to be overlooked.
It was with this in mind that I recently paid a visit to Restorations by Julius in Chatsworth, California. On the outside it looks just like most other shops in the US, tucked away in an industrial alley.
But head inside and you’ll meet Julius Steuer, a man who has built a fine reputation for Muscle Car restoration. Not just any for any Muscle Cars mind you, but specifically Mopar products from 1962 to 1974.
This isn’t a place where you will find monster pro touring builds or earth-shaking engine swaps. What you will find is a man that has mastered the art of preservation and restoration of these legendary Mopar Muscle Cars.
Julius has surrounded himself with Mopar Muscle Cars for most of his life – dating back to a Plymouth Belvedere which he purchased new back in 1967. He has over three decades of experience in the automotive industry and is considered a pioneer in the West Cost Mopar scene.
The shop isn’t huge, but as soon as you walk in door you know this is something special. I happen to be a big Mopar fan, but I honestly think these cars are cool enough to win over anyone. On this particular day I dropped by, the shop was packed with E-body cars in various states of completion
If you aren’t familiar with Mopars, you might be asking what an E-body is. That would be the 1970-74 Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda – two of the most desirable Muscle Cars ever built. It’s not that Julius specializes only in E-bodies, they just happened to be in the shop on this particular day.
Among the drool-worthy E-Bodies hanging out inside was the gorgeous ’70 Cuda coated in Ivy Green.
And yes, it’s a genuine 426 Hemi car. About a decade ago the price of these Hemi cars went through the roof, sometimes dipping well into the seven figure range. Those prices have come back down to earth since then, but Hemis are still and will always be highly sought after by Muscle Car fans.
In this view you can see the pair of four-barrel carbs sitting atop the 426, but normally they are hidden…
…beneath a “Shaker” hood scoop. Julius prefers to leave the scoops off until all the work is done, as the process of removing and installing one is a bit involved.
Julius even took a moment to fire up this car for me, and let’s just say there’s nothing quite like the sound of an unmuffled Hemi indoors. Many shivers went down my spine.
Sitting beside the Cuda was a ’70 Challenger 440 Six-Pack undergoing some resto work. This one is of course colored in iconic “Plum Crazy” purple.
The interior was completely removed as the car was being rewired…
…as was the engine and the complete front subframe, which can be seen here.
Besides the cars themselves, I spent a lot of time admiring the assortment of photos and other Mopar artifacts that Julius has on display in the shop. Here we see some vintage advertising material along with a poster for Vanishing Point – a film that should need no introduction for the Speedhunters readers.
There are also numerous photos of cars that Julius has owned and restored over the years.
It’s an impressive lineup of cars, and each one has their own special story. For example, back in 1980 Julius acquired a rare AAR Cuda in a trade for a customized Honda Civic of all things. Somehow I doubt you could do the same thing today.
It was actually that Civic for Cuda trade that reignited Julius passion for Mopars and lead him to establish the shop.
I also took a quick peak at the hardware and spare parts corner, a massively important part of any good shop.
Julius is a big Richard Petty fan and he built this homage to The King using a NASCAR wheel and a Plymouth front fender painted in Petty’s signature blue. He’s definitely not the only Mopar fan that considers Richard Petty a hero.
Of course not every car that rolls in and out of Julius’ shop is a 100% factory correct resto. This ’71 Cuda is equipped with a built Hemi making somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 horsepower.
But you certainly can’t tell by looking at it. The engine bay looks bone stock down to the original style battery.
The interior is equally as original, with Mopar’s signature Pistol Grip shifter operating an upgraded five speed transmission.
Also adding to the group of E-body legends in the shop was this Dodge Challenger T/A. This was the street car inspired by Dodge’s SCCA Trans Am race program, powered by a high winding 340 small block with a trio of two barrel carburetors.
Sitting outside the shop were a couple future projects covered up and awaiting their turn to be brought back to glory. Any one keen enough to identify them?
It’s not hard to love wild pro-touring builds and other extreme projects based on classic Muscle Cars, but thanks to people like Julius we’ll never forget what made these cars so special in the first place.
