During the winter months, Mopar guys and girls around the world either build, restore, or add improvements to their rides, while some set out to make theirs "more perfect."
John Camden had three goals for his '67 Barracuda Hardtop Coupe: Make it a ten-second car, get a picture of it with its front wheels off the ground, and have it featured here in Mopar Muscle.
He has the wheels-up photo (and the 10.80-second time slip) at his Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home where John did the bulk of the work on the Barracuda.
Even with owner-fabricated...
Even with owner-fabricated mini-tubs, plus a relocated battery and fuel cell, there's still room for weekend luggage in the trunk of John's Barracuda.
Now, with this feature, his third goal is met. But that isn't stopping John from improving his '67. After the photos were taken, when we spoke with him, he was in the middle of a major engine upgrade, the fifth such major project on this car since he bought it when he was just out of high school. "I'm in the middle of another big project that, I hope, puts me in the low 10s or 9s," John says about the Indy Cylinder heads that he's putting in it. "Every winter I do something new to it. This is my baby. I've had it for 22 years."
Those heads are going on an already-stout LA-series small-block. It's a 340 that was punched out to 416 cubic inches, and John tells what else it has. "The carb is a Holley 950, the intake is an Edelbrock Victor, pistons are Diamonds, the rods are Eagle H-beams and the steel crank is also by Eagle." All that went on before the Procharger supercharger that is running 11 pounds of boost, and a water/alcohol injection system to limit detonation, went in.
The 340 is bored/stroked to...
The 340 is bored/stroked to 416 inches and wears a Procharger putting out 11 pounds of boost.
With all that hardware and the Edelbrock heads, the 416-inch LA spun the dyno to 510 rear-wheel horsepower--and powered the A-Body to 10.80 at 124 mph on the strip.
John did the bulk of the work on the Barracuda himself, which includes fabricating and machining parts like the dash insert that houses a full set of AutoMeter Pro Comp gauges. The work he didn't do was done by nearby shops like Extreme Fabrication in nearby Waukesha, who put in the roll cage. He also contracted Kilpatrick Engines (also located in Waukesha), to do the engine machining and short block build.
The body is all steel, except for the AAR fiberglass hood. Bodywork and paint were done by a fellow Wisconsin Muscle Mopars Club member in his garage.
John's '67 is far from a trailer queen--he's driven it to the Mopar Nationals several times, and he's also done Power Tour with it. As he puts it, "I don't baby it--I built it to go fast and look good doing it. There's always rubber on the quarter-panels."
Just like the rest of the...
Just like the rest of the car, the cabin is built for street and strip. Roll cage surrounds Summit Racing-sourced buckets. Owner-fabbed dash includes AutoMeter ProComp gauges, and the phrase: "This is one fish you'll never catch!" is engraved on it.
Fast Facts
'67 Plymouth Barracuda Hardtop Coupe
Owned by: John Camden, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mopar Power
Engine: Replacing the 273 is a 340 bored/stroked to 416 inches. There's a Procharger D1-SC supercharger with water/alcohol injection (both from The Supercharger Store). Inside are Diamond 8:1 compression pistons, Eagle H-Beam rods and steel crank, and a Comp Cams hydraulic roller cam. Heads are Edelbrock Performer RPM), and an Edelbrock Super Victor intake wears a Holley 950 HP from Performance Carburetors. Ignition is an MSD 6AL, with MSD distributor, coil and wires.
Exhaust: tti headers and three-inch-diameter exhaust pipes.
Engine machining and short block build: Kilpatrick Engines, Waukesha, Wisconsin