Take a closer look at some classic Mopar machines with the Hot Rod crew and our assembled experts and personalities…
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00:00 You're back with Hot Rod TV and you're just in time as we check out one of the coolest
00:05 and perhaps the most mod car in Steven Giuliano's vast collection of Mopar rides, memorabilia
00:11 and flat out muscle.
00:14 And speaking of muscle, don't be fooled by the top of this car, it's a ride that had
00:18 both pure power and personality plus.
00:24 This is a 1969 Barracuda Formula S 100% original unrestored mod top, mod interior, mod door
00:33 panel car.
00:34 This car is loaded, this car is automatic air conditioning, redline, 344 barrel.
00:38 Any of you flower children out there remember this?
00:44 Some of these cars aren't just rides that Steven found through others, some are more
00:48 personal.
00:49 Take for example the '71 Cuda Convertible.
00:52 My daily driver was a 1971 446 back Cuda Convertible, one of 17 made and the only red one.
00:59 I used to actually drive that to Manhattan, park it on the streets by Grand Central Station.
01:04 Since those loud and fast days in the Big Apple, the Cuda has been meticulously restored,
01:09 complete with its 440 six pack engine.
01:12 Without a doubt the most popular car right now is the '71 Cuda.
01:16 The Cuda was way ahead of its time.
01:19 If you looked at my email, I'd say every fifth email I got was, "Do you have any '71
01:24 Convertibles for sale?"
01:25 It was a 440 cubic inch big block motor and six pack meant there were three two barrel
01:31 carburetors, thus six.
01:33 The 446 back car was probably as fast on the street as the Hemi was but it's forgotten.
01:40 Also in the Steven Giuliano collection, this very cool 1971 Dodge Challenger Hemi.
01:46 Chrysler put every option available on this car, including the only 1971 Hemi Challenger
01:53 with a factory installed sunroof.
01:56 The Dodge Challenger was introduced in 1970 as an all new body style.
02:00 Chrysler called it the E-Body designation, even though it shares a lot of underpinnings
02:04 with the B-Body, especially the front suspension, a B-Body being like a charger or a road runner.
02:09 But the E-Body was a little wider on a little bit of a different wheel base and much more
02:13 of sort of a Camaro competitor, a two door long roof short deck SCCA racer as a matter
02:19 of fact because they raced them in Trans Am in 1970.
02:27 People bring up the topic of Mopar, the first thing that comes to mind is the Hemi.
02:32 Big heavy motor with major horsepower.
02:36 The Hemi engine is just an unbelievable piece of work.
02:38 To get inside one of those things, the way the pistons are shaped, the heads are shaped,
02:42 I mean who else could put a spark plug in the middle of a cylinder and make it work?
02:46 The Hemi definitely helped create the persona behind Mopar.
02:53 Nothing could beat the Hemi on the street, they call it the elephant and the elephant
02:57 is afraid of nothing.
02:59 You hear about how these guys would pull up and they would disguise their cars, they'd
03:03 take all the emblems off so that nobody would know that it was a Hemi car and then they
03:08 would just smoke people at the lights and stuff.
03:13 The Hemi was an option on many different models, two of which were known as wing cars.
03:20 The wing car was a breed all its own, I mean it was basically built just for Chrysler to
03:23 go out and race in NASCAR and win.
03:25 What else, there's nothing any more aerodynamic than a Daytona or a Superbird.
03:29 The pointed nose, the wing to hold the rear end down, it was built for top end speed.
03:40 The '69 Dodge Charger Daytona, way off the map in terms of styling, was built specifically
03:47 for going super speedway racing.
03:49 '69 Daytona is just such a cool story because Mopar looked at what NASCAR was doing and
03:54 says, "You know what, we're going to win no matter what."
03:56 They put together this ludicrous car with the big nose on it and the big wing in the
04:00 back, they just went out and dominated.
04:02 NASCAR came in and kind of said, "No more, we've got to make some changes."
04:05 So in '71 there was no more wing cars.
04:08 So you can get them for '69 for the Daytona and '70 for a Superbird.
04:11 The wing cars were so fast that NASCAR banned them.
04:14 They actually banned the 426 Hemi engine in the wing car.
04:20 Coming up, we're going to see Giuliano's most valued car in the entire collection, a true
04:24 and absolute gem, that and a whole lot more when we return.
04:28 Stay tuned for more Hot Rod TV.
04:30 [00:01:00] [SILENCE]
04:33 (explosion)