Chrysler tamed the popular 'pony cars' - once and for all

By BRUCE SIMPSON*

The year 1970 was the penultimate year for the muscle cars.

Compression ratios, horsepower and torque outputs peaked as manufacturers presented a dazzling array of cars to America's affluent young baby boomers.

The more stripes and spoilers the better as the carmakers competed for sales and street cred in what was called the "pony car" war.

The term referred to the Ford Mustang, which was named after a wild horse and adopted to describe the cars in this class.

Chrysler entered the war late in the piece, taking on the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird with its E bodies, the Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger.

Wider and slightly heavier than their rivals, the E cars took the biggest drivetrains Chrysler could engineer into them.

The performance model Cuda came with the 383 cubic inch big block engine as standard.

The optional powerplants were the 340 small block V8, the lethally quick 440 6bbl V8 and the magnificent 426 Hemi V8.

Those buyers fortunate enough to order the 426 Hemicuda gained an engine, said Road Test magazine in June 1970, with power that can rattle the dishes in the kitchen when you start it in the driveway.

Originally not intended for production cars, the race Hemi was released in 1964 in a bid by Chrysler to end the dominance Ford and General Motors enjoyed on the Nascar super speedways.

The Hemi did just that on its first outing, not only winning but filling the first three places in the Daytona 500.

It was banned from Nascar in 1965 (along with the Ford 427 ohc V8) and in 1966 released as a production option in several Plymouth and Dodge itermediates (mid-sized passenger cars) through until 1971.

The specifications of the optional detuned Hemi were impressive: 426 cubic inch (6.9-litre) engine, Hemi heads, big valves, forged alloy pistons, hardened crankshaft, beefed-up block (10.25:1 compression), two 650 c.f.m. four-barrell carburettors - and the best inlet and exhaust manifolds in the business.

Conservatively rated at 425 bhp (317kW) at 5000 rpm, the Hemi engine would easily wind up to 6000 rpm and produce 490 ft/lbs (365Nm) of torque at 4000 rpm.

Putting this engine into what was basically a widened Valiant body was no mean feat and gave the 108-inch (2700mm) wheelbase Hemicuda an aura all its own.

A heavy-duty Torqueflite automatic with a eight-and three-quarter inch differential, or the unbreakable 833 New Process, four-speed manual Hurst-shifted pistol-grip hooked up to a Dana 60 nine-and-three-quarter inch differential, certainly put the power on the ground.

On the original Goodyear F60x15 tyres, a 1970 four-speed Hemicuda clocked zero to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds and zero to 160 km/h in 13.5 seconds.

In May, 1970, Motor Trend magazine in the United States tested an automatic Hemicuda and pushed it from zero to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds and zero to 160 km/h in 14.0 seconds.

The same car recorded 101.2 mph and a time of 13.7 seconds for the standing quarter mile (400m).

On today's rubber, a automatic Hemicuda did the standing quarter in 12.95 seconds reaching 174 km/h.

With the right gearing the Hemicuda could clock its 150 mph (240 km/h) speedo.

What about the fuel economy? The Hemicuda ran on high octane premium fuel and consumption varied between six and 12 miles to the gallon, or between 2.5 and 5.1 km for every litre of fuel.

Some of the cars had power steering and power brakes and some didn't, giving a twist to the definition of muscle car.

The Hemicuda was quick in a straight line, but it didn't handle as well as the small block 340 Cuda, which had better weight distribution.

Way too wild for most buyers, this "fast fish" saw only 696 hardtops and 18 convertibles out of 19,515 Cudas produced in 1970.

The figures were down in 1971 with only 6602 Cudas produced, this time with 118 Hemicuda hardtops and 11 convertibles.

The low production volumes of the time now mean the model can fetch a premium price.

A nice example can fetch $150,000.

The very best original Hemicuda can command about $1 million.

Thirty years ago the Hemi variants cost between $8000 and $11,000, making what is perhaps the ultimate muscle car of its era a bargain when new.

* Bruce Simpson is a long-time admirer of muscle cars. He can be contacted at: V8City@Xtra.co.nz