The AARchives - Excerpt from Mighty Mopars 1960-1974 by Anthony Young

AARchives - Excerpt from Mighty Mopars 1960-1974 by Anthony Young

There was yet another way to go in a 'Cuda for 1970. In February of that year, Plymouth announced the availability of the AAR 'Cuda by late March. The SCCA-sanctioned Trans-Am racing series drew a great deal of attention in 1969, and Plymouth wanted a piece of the action. Said Chrysler's Larry Shepard, "We felt we had better cars and wanted to show it. You have to compete, even if you don't win, to get attention." Mark Donohue had raced Camaros and switched to AMC Javelins. Parnelli Jones drove a Mustang, and Jerry Titus drove a Firebird. Both Chrysler divisions wanted to gain high visibility with their respective ponycars, and the Trans-Am series was one of the best ways to do it.

To enter the series, Plymouth had to build 2,500 street versions of its racing 'Cuda. Plymouth contracted Dan Gurney and his company, All American Racers, to build and race the Trans-Am 'Cuda. Plymouth then contracted Creative Industries to design and manufacture the fiberglass hood and rear spoiler that were to go on both the racing and street versions. The AAR 'Cuda was conceived to resemble the racing car as closely as practicality, legality and cost would allow.

The sales code for the AAR 'Cuda was A53. The engine was unique to the car: a 340-ci block with reinforced main webs and filled pan rails, six-barrel carburetion using three two-barrel Holley carburetors on an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold, special cylinder heads and valve train. Dodge used this same engine in its 1970 Challenger T/A, but the 340 six-barrel V-8 was not available in any other Dodge or Plymouth. The choice of either the TorqueFlight or four-speed manual transmission was standard. The car was equipped with a 3.55:1 rear axle ratio with Sure-Grip; a 3.91:1 ratio was optional. Front disc brakes were standard. The AAR 'Cuda suspension included special front and rear stabilizer bars and heavy-duty shock absorbers. Special heavy-duty rear springs raised the rear end to make room for a Trans-Am type exhaust system with side outlets, and provided room for extra-large rear G60x15 tires. Front tires were E60x15. Plymouth's sharp Road Wheels were standard.

The AAR 'Cuda's appearance on the street made heads turn. The grille, hood, cowl and fender tops were flat-black. Ornamentation included a black strobe stripe which ran the length of the car on both sides, ending at the rear in an AAR 'Cuda decal with the AAR in the form of the Dan Gurney All-American Racers crest in red, white and blue.

These road rockets were a blast to drive on the street. The AAR 'Cuda was much better balanced than the big-block 'Cuda's and, with its quick-ratio manual steering, was an exciting machine on twisty roads. The engine, conservatively rated at 290 hp, was more than adequate to propel the car.

Of course, most owners really thrashed these cars, and few of the 2,800 AAR 'Cudas built that remain are in good condition. Those that are, are worth considerably more than the original selling price.

Swede Savage
The full-race AAR 'Cuda got off to a slow start in the 1970 Trans-Am series and driver Swede Savage
did not place well. Plymouth did not return to the series the following year.

Because the AAR 'Cuda was practically a mid-1970 introduction, it did not fare well on the Trans-Am circuit. Driver Swede Savage had his hands full behind the wheel of the AAR 'Cuda, for he had to compete against the likes of Mark Donohue driving the Roger Penske-prepared Javelin, Parnelli Jones in a Boss 302, and Jim Hall piloting a Camaro Z-28 (all with more development time behind them). By the end of the 1970 Trans-Am season, the Plymouth-backed Dan Gurney team finished in the back of the pack.