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View attachment 275187
View attachment 275188

So what have they got to do with my Cuda ?

 

Great pictures again! Beautiful Hotrod...

 

Probably what not to build

 

fixed Mopar Mark.

 

Thanks , much appreciated 👍👍👍

 

Benn waiting nigh on 9 weeks to get radiator repaired, finally able to collect finished & tested rad today. 1st new core leaked like a mother, so had to try alternative vendor. As usual in these Covid times, replacement took ages.
if weathers good, might get a chance for a small cruise out this weekend

 

Nice write up on your car.

Looking good!

The Big Fish: Mark Sheridan's Twin Turbo 1971 Barracuda

Mark Sheridan and his friends have always been into fast street cars, and his twin-turbo 1971 Cuda is one wicked, 8-second ride.

www.dragzine.com

Congrats!

 

Stunning build @mopar_mark , the attention to detail is superb. I look forward to seeing it at the 'Pod soon.

 

Many Thanks, I ve been following your thread on here regarding your Dads old car.
I remember racing your Dad, think it was at the Mopar Nats or a RWYB, I pulled a great light for a change, car launched out of the hole, giving me a great jump on your Dad.

Only for my Cuda to die & I just watched your Dad fly past. It was at that moment, I realised I had not turned the fuel pump on

 

Why no show in first elimination? How does the car feel?

 

Hi there,thanks for asking.

The Alternator died during the Street Cruise part of qualification, so unable to qualify. battery took a pounding, so couldn’t get enough of a charge to tag on the end of qualy for a test run.

We had an issue with Creep/Bump not functioning, so struggled to get offf the line. Power curve was a little too agressive, hence blowing the tyres on the 3rd run. That said, it was great to get some seat time & get a better ferling of the car.

Plenty of little things to iron out, but seem to be planning our way through them. Currently reaseaching for a Hub dyno, so can get a better handle before going to the track. If we can’t find anything, may have to rely on the weather & a test day …

 

Hi mark
Saw that you were at the pod again. How did it go?

 

Hi mark
Saw that you were at the pod again. How did it go?

Hi,
Thanks for asking, as events go, I’m getting consistent, as was another shit meeting 😋


I struggled in getting the Bump/Creep to work, but was finally able to get it working on Friday night. Also had battery issue & my trickle charger was not capable of putting in sufficient amperage (0.8amps) to get battery up to charge in a sensible time. I now have a new 5amp charger, so should have that covered fir the future.

Feeling upbeat, I was really looking forward to finally being able to stage & launch, only to be let down by a broken rocker. Although I had a spare, I didn’t want to risk just fitting another rocker, till I had found a cause. So racing ended early for us.


On the plus side, no damage to the engine, other than the rocker arms. Having stripped the heads & finding no issues, other than higher spring pressures, than expected, all was OK. I have now switched to a different spec spring, which brings me closer to my desired pressures & also improve Coil Bind clearance tolerance.

As for the Rocker breakage, inspection of the break, talking & showing a few folks my set up data, it seems most likely I was unfortunate to have a parts failure. Hopefully not needed, but have ordered a few spare rockers.

let’s see how I get on next month 😋

 

Great to hear no major damage. Keep up the good work

 

Finally had a better weekend at the track. Still not setting the world alight with our ET’s never the less solid improvements with a best if 8.03 @182mph In full street trim. We even managed to complete the 20 mile cruise, which includes filling up with some pump gas & 2 x hot starts.

The main improvements being able to bump into stage, me getting more seat time.We actually made it into the semi finals, but got pushed back due to a fluid leak. Turned out to be a bolt had backed out of the motor plate, which goes through the motor plate and into the water jacket,normally a provision for a front mount water pump.

No valve train issues after the episode of the broken Inlet rocker arm at the last meet. So maybe it was just a defect in the material. I also changed to a lower poundage set of PAC Valve springs, to reduce the spring pressure, as I felt the others were too high for our needs (550lbs closed) I also increased oil flow to the heads.

Still have plenty of work to do on our 69fts, as they were worst I can remember ever having, typically 1.55/1.60

Also need to check fuel delivery, as lap top shows fuel pressure low/dropping. Got 3 weeks now till next meet

 

Great to hear💪. Just have to iron it out and it will fly and look gooooooood!!!

 

Very nice. It’s going to be a 7 second ripper in no time.

 

Massssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
BAD ASS

 

Well another good weekend at the track with good mates & more new friends. Weather was great too, which always helped.
although I have got the Bump/Creep working well, we are still struggling with the 1st 60ft, times we’re. As bad as 1.70 & a best if 1.54. Mostly caused by insufficient power, as opposed to suspension/ tyre grip.

We will get their eventually, just frustrating.… 😋

I still never got my 7 second pass, but came awefully close witha 8.0003, which is a PB. I also smashed my terminal with a 200.63mph pass.

In fact we had numerous terminal PB speeds of: 177, 193 & finally 200

 

Need to go to 2:11:45

Still slow out of the hole, once we get that sorted, should be a lot faster & quicker

 

Great work mark. Just grind away and it will be there

 

How was the season? Is the car and driver now comfortable with each other?

 

We are doing OK thanks, finally broke into the 7’s in full street trim, only a 7.92, but more to come for sure. Car was spinning the rears on 1-2 gear shift, so was off & on the throttle. Weather was abysmal & which caused numerous delays.

In addition our class was moved back for the Pro Classes. On the Sunday, we were scheduled to race at 10am, this was pushed back to 2pm, due to delays our 1st run was @18:30. Like a Dick, I went & red lighted 😡

Hopefully this weekend will be better.

Thanks for asking

 

Grats on the 7 sec

 

Most beautiful Mopar I have ever seen. Hands down, without a doubt.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions. In the center of the windshield, at the base, there is a raised section. Is this for the burst panel exit or something else?

The steering column support is a different design then what I typically see. Is this personal preference or was it dictated by lack of space under the dash? Normally I see 2 supports coming from the bar behind the dash.

I’m currently building an 88 foxbody and most of my time is spent cleaning and fixing what Ford did. Do you think it’s easier to start from a street car or a pile of tubing? Having to fab every detail is a daunting task but sometimes I think it might be the better play. What say you?

IMHO this is the greatest Mopar ever built. I can’t think of any that even come close. Please keep the thread updated with progress. It’s been a pleasure to read and study the pics.

 

Most beautiful Mopar I have ever seen. Hands down, without a doubt.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions. In the center of the windshield, at the base, there is a raised section. Is this for the burst panel exit or something else?

The steering column support is a different design then what I typically see. Is this personal preference or was it dictated by lack of space under the dash? Normally I see 2 supports coming from the bar behind the dash.

I’m currently building an 88 foxbody and most of my time is spent cleaning and fixing what Ford did. Do you think it’s easier to start from a street car or a pile of tubing? Having to fab every detail is a daunting task but sometimes I think it might be the better play. What say you?

IMHO this is the greatest Mopar ever built. I can’t think of any that even come close. Please keep the thread updated with progress. It’s been a pleasure to read and study the pics.

Hi,
Many thanks for the nice compliments.

Correct it’s the manifold burst panel

Steering column mount was partially due to lack of space, also because if the removable dash. I am going to add another support, it’s one of my winter upgrades. Just to give the column more rigidit.

Chassis build choice is really dictated by your end goal, or ease to reach end goal. It’s much easier to fabricate a chassis without the body in place, not applicable to Gymnastic welders 😋

Until this build, the old steel tube chassis was built within the confines of the car. So can be done & to me it felt less daunting. As your experience & confidence grows, things become less of an issue.

Fabricating every part can be daunting & takes a lot of perseverance to keep going. For me, I split the job up into quarters
1st part of the build, is deciding exactly what I want, layout, ease of access for maintenance, etc.
2nd part of build the progress is easy to see and helps keep momentum.
3rd part of the build, seems to be loads of effort with not a lot to show for all the work. Easy to be dejected
4th & final part is exciting as you can see the home straight. Always takes longer than expected & important to be strict & not cut any corners & to maintain standard if the build

I will keep the thread active & update as I do changes.

 

How is the car? Racing season in starting.....

 

Been a bit indifferent, it’s taking me longer to get a handle on things, especially launching. My 60ft’s are abysmal, averaging between 1.6 - 1.9. Back half of the track less of an issue, I seem to be setting fastest terminals for a high ET 😋

Hence, my 10.1 @ 197mph, 9.1 @ 187mph, 8.0 @ 200mph, I’ve still not beaten by 7.92 😢

Have made a few changes, in particular to foot/throttle area with an addition of a heel stop, to help stopping my foot come of the throttle. Should get the chance to test it in a couple of weeks at Santa Pod Door Slammers.

I also changed steering rack & added steering column, both have been worthwhile upgrades & feel so much better in easier to steer car at lower speeds. Also did a mod on rear fuel tank take off, as data sometimes showed fuel pressure dropping. Fuel press is now rock solid now.

As you know, runs are often limited by the weather, but getting more comfortable with each run. Also getting frustrated with the launch, but feel confident we will get there.

Cheers Mark…

 

What page are the chassis, motor, and interior pics on?

‘71 is my favorite looking car. Had one 1980-1995. Miss it dearly. Best of luck

 

Start around page 4, the early pages are picture heavy, so shouldn’t take too long to find what your looking for

 

When I setup a car for a new driver or someone have a problem with strange launches the first thing i look at is their foot to the pedal and how thight their belts are. I shoot for a "knee lock" when pedal is to the floor. Some drivers have their belts a bit loise so they rise in the seat and let of the pedal at the same time.....

Dont get me started on the weather... the season the team im in switched from blown bbc to a hemi we got 6 runs all season becaus of the weather.

Keep at it and you will get it💪💪

 

When I setup a car for a new driver or someone have a problem with strange launches the first thing i look at is their foot to the pedal and how thight their belts are. I shoot for a "knee lock" when pedal is to the floor. Some drivers have their belts a bit loise so they rise in the seat and let of the pedal at the same time.....

I think part of the problem was that my foot was sliding on my heel to push the pedal, consequently sliding back.
We have now changed the foot position platform & also added a rear heel stop. I can now pivot my heel to press the pedal & lock out. The other part of the problem is also me, initially intentional coming off , but bad habit forming. 😋

I couldn’t believe in the old set up that I was touching the shifter. When we stuck a camera on me in the car & I watched the play back, it was clear as day & I stopped doing it quickly after that