Presently, a Powerglide fitted with a Neal Chance converter handles the shifting duties, but Arpin says a Lenco is in the car’s future. The torque is transferred to the rear wheels via 3.89:1 gears in the Fab-9 rearend connected to gun-drilled, 40-spline Moser axles.
The Cuda’s rear suspension is a typical four-link with Strange
Engineering coil-overs, but the front end retains the famous Mopar torsion
bar suspension. “And it still rides great,”
Arpin says. Wilwood
discs provide the stopping power at all four corners, assisted by a Simpson
chute when needed.
Lately, Arpin has been using the car for grudge racing at strips scattered across the Southeast. One of his best memories with the car came in a 2004 grudge match at Carolina Dragway, near Jackson, SC, when it carried the front wheels more than 200 feet off the start. “It got back on the wheelie bars, rocking back and forth from left to right, and it just felt so good, a perfect meeting of man and machine.”
Next year, Arpin says he may introduce the Cuda to the Outlaw 10.5 scene that does so well in the region. So far the car has run a best of 5.09 in the eighth, which is nowhere near competitive for the class, but Arpin remains confident that with a few new parts and tune-ups in the right places he can knock a good half second off that time.
Even if that’s overly optimistic, Arpin will still be going plenty fast next season after he takes delivery of a ’97 Viper Pro Mod currently on the jig at Camtech Motorsports in Charleston, SC. Also in the garage at home is a tunnel-rammed, 440-powered ’69 GTX convertible that’s mini-tubbed and stuffed with 29X15.5s out back. “But it’s an excellent street car,” Arpin stresses. “I drove from Savannah to Daytona, 250 miles to a car show, and drove it back with no problems at all. It’s a very cool car.”
Seems cool cars are just a normal part of life for this long-time Mopar lover.
